Upul Tharanga evokes memories of Sri Lanka’s ICC Champions Trophy win over India
Sri Lanka will be eager to bring a turnaround in their fortunes when they take on India in the upcoming One-Day International series which begins on Sunday.
Sri Lanka should look for positives from two months back rather than agonise over what went wrong in the last two weeks or so when they take on India in the first One-day International on Sunday, believes new skipper Upul Tharanga.
The seasoned left-handed batsman, who struggled in his traditional role as opener but will drop down to No 4 to boost the middle order, urged his players to forget the 0-3 drubbing at the hands of India in the just-ended Test series.
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“We have been successful in the last decade. Unfortunately, we didn’t do well in the last 18-20 months. We have to be more consistent,” Tharanga told the pre-match media conference on Saturday at the Dambulla International Stadium.
ANGELO TO BOWL
Sri Lanka received a boost after it was confirmed that all-rounder Angelo Mathews, who quit as skipper following the shock defeat at home against Zimbabwe in the previous ODI series, was fit enough to bowl a few overs.
The middle-order batsman has avoided bowling since his return to the team following a calf injury. “We will play two seamers, and Angelo also might bowl a few overs. A few overs from him will give the side the balance,” said Tharanga.
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Tharanga said he had told the players to focus on what happened in the ICC Champions Trophy, where Sri Lanka upset India in the group stages, although Virat Kohli’s team went on to qualify for the final. “We beat them in the Champions Trophy and that is a positive for us. We as a team can beat any team. As a captain, I will say that we must be consistent.”
He brushed aside suggestions that Sri Lanka could gain due to the absence of pace bowlers Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav, who have been rested for the series, apart from spinners R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
“For India, Bhuvneshwar (Kumar), he is the No 1 in the side,” he said referring to the man who has emerged as one of the best death-over specialists in the game. “India have a very good bowling attack, especially everyone has played well in the IPL. We can’t underestimate them.”
