Players should be embarrassed by performance: Lanka coach Pothas
NAGPUR: The record defeat in the second Test was a mortifying experience for the Sri Lankan players, who might have wished to be swallowed by the ground.
Resuming at 21/1, the visitors soon crashed to 107 for eight as even the Indian supporters looked on in disbelief .
Sri Lanka coach Nic Pothas, who called it a highly embarrassing performance, blamed his batsmen for playing too many shots even though they were trying to save the match. He said a comparison of the breakup of runs scored by the two teams exposed his team’s flawed approach.
Pothas said India scored only 37% of their 600-plus runs in boundaries whereas Sri Lanka got 61% of their total in boundaries. “There was a message. Whether I asked them to make 61% of them in boundaries? No. When the percentage of boundaries is so high in your score against a high quality attack, you are going to get into a lot of trouble. For example, in India’s 610, the boundary percentage was 37. That’s how they got their runs. We are talking about top batters in the world. If 37% is good enough for them, it sure should be good enough for us,” said Pothas.
He was disappointed that the team performed badly despite putting in a lot of work at the nets.
“It is hugely disappointing because of the amount of work ethics that goes in behind the scenes. It’s embarrassing. The players should be embarrassed of their own performances. Practicing in the nets means nothing if you cannot go out and put runs on the board,” said Pothas.