Chandimal praises Herath
abu dhabi — At the end it was a one-man show at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium. Sri Lankan spinner Rangana Herath orchestrated the destruction of Pakistan in the first Test with a 11-wicket haul. He became the first bowler to take 101 wickets against Pakistan.
However, he has no idea as to how he has taken so many wickets against a single opposition.
“I’ve played nearly 20 Tests, maybe that’s why. I am so happy with the remarkable achievement. All credit should go to the people behind me, from my parents to the team and the supporting staff,” he said after the 21-run victory.
Herath became the world’s oldest player at 39 years and 197 days to complete 400 wickets.
“There was some assistance from the surface. There was something for the spinners,” he added.
Skipper Dinesh Chandimal was over the moon and said he wanted the services of Herath throughout his career.
“We have waited so long for this victory and it has finally come. Our guys did a lot of hard work before the match and it paid off. Credit goes to the guys as they played very good cricket, people like (Niroshan) Dickwella and (Dimuth) Karunaratne. I am sure this will continue throughout the series.
“In the second innings, Dickwella was unbelievable and got us
We have waited so long for this victory and it has finally come. Our guys did a lot of hard work Dinesh Chandimal
close to the 140-mark. We knew once we got that much, we had our legend (Herath) here. We knew if there were a couple of early wickets, we would do well.”
He noted the key role played by management and support staff.
“All the management and staff supported us. During the game they went around giving drinks to the players. We didn’t feel the heat as we bind as a family.”
He added that every young player looks up to Herath.
“He is a wily old fox and an asset to the team. He is 39 and old but always gives his best,” the skipper added.
Meanwhile, Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur said they had done a lot of homework to tackle Herath.
“Herath on the last day is always going to be a factor. You have got to give him a massive amount of respect. I would have liked to see us attacking him more, particularly early on and take him on. If you allow Herath to settle, he is going to do what he did today.”
The coach was disappointed with the result. “We just needed one good partnership from our top four to take us home. Unfortunately it didn’t happen. I really believed we would get over the line today.”
Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed, making his Test debut as a captain, was gutted.
“I’m very disappointed as we had recovered well in this game. We should have won this. We have a few issues, especially on the fifth day when we come under pressure. Some things have to change, we needed a partnership and didn’t get one.
Haris Sohail played really well. We’ll try and bounce back in the next game. Our batsmen played well but they didn’t play long innings. If we do that, we’ll do well,” the skipper noted on work to be done before the next Test. It will be interesting to see the game plan against Herath in next Test.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com