Plan worked against Kohli: Pradeep
GALLE: Nuwan Pradeep’s 6/132, his maiden five-wicket haul, has finally given Sri Lanka something to cheer for in the Test.
Pradeep made an impact on the first day when he removed Abhinav Mukund, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli. His dismissal of the India skipper was well planned.
After getting out to a short ball, Virat can expect a barrage of bouncers during the course of the series, especially early in the innings when his feet are not moving well.
Though he did say as much, Sri Lanka’s most successful bowler so far in the Test, Nuwan Pradeep, said he was delighted that the plan for Kohli was working out.
“For a batsman like him, we plan a lot. It was one of our plans that worked against him, and I’m really happy about that,” said Pradeep, who claimed a sixwicket haul in the first innings.
“He’s one of the best batsmen in the world. I’m very happy to have got him out like that,” the bowler said.
Sri Lanka’s bowling coach Chaminda Vaas said they worked on the short ball plan after seeing that the wicket was good for batting. “We had a few plans as well, but we saw that the wicket is really good for batting. We thought of surprising the India batsmen by bowling a few bouncers,” said Vaas.
It was Pradeep’s first fivewicket haul, and he said after picking up four wickets he worked on specifics which proved fruitful.
“I’ve taken four wickets seven or eight times. This is my first five-wicket haul and I’m very happy that I could get it. I didn’t do much different – just a little change.
“Because I took four wickets a lot of times and missed out on the fifth, today (Thursday) was the day I worked out how to get a five-wicket haul, and I did that.”
Pradeep’s 24-Test career has witnessed plenty of ups and downs. Before he even played a Test, he was laid low by injuries that forced him to miss tours to England and South Africa.
After making his debut, Pradeep had a rough start when he picked up only one wicket in five Tests spread over three years.