Perseverance was the key for success - Pradeep

First Test at Galle

Perseverance proved the secret of personal triumph for fast-bowler Nuwan Pradeep as he completed his first-ever five-wicket haul in international cricket during the First-test against India at the Galle Stadium yesterday.

Pradeep, playing his first Test since January, said that having come close to taking a five-fer on six previous occasions, persevering through his tiredness – the reason he said he had never captured that fifth wicket before – had helped him to achieve career-best figures of six for 132.

“When you get four wickets, you have to bowl 15-16 overs, and you’re very tired after that. If you’re bowling more than that you still have to maintain that intensity and still bowl quickly. I think I did that. I maintained that intensity and bowled fast in my later spells. I think I couldn’t get to that fifth wicket before because of tiredness,” he said.

Pradeep, who has had the misfortune of injury taunting ever since he made his Test debut in 2011, said that having Virat Kohli among his six victims made him happy.

“For a batsman like him we have to plan a lot. It was one of our plans that worked against him, and I’m really happy about that,” Pradeep said.

While some plans went right – like the one that got Kohli out – others did not, and Pradeep said that was why Sri Lanka sit on the wrong end of a huge deficit.

“A lot of our plans went badly. We had to go to new plans but they didn’t always work as well. But cricket is like that and you have to stick at it. At least we could get them for 600,” Pradeep contended.

Meanwhile, Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lanka’s bowling Coach said that the first two hours of the game would be important, and it was paramount that the two overnight batsmen stay as long as possible at the crease.

“At the moment Angelo Mathews and Dilruwan Perera are batting well, so tomorrow hopefully they will stay at the wicket and bat well until lunch. If we can bat until tea we might be able to escape danger. That’s what we should aim to do – to bat well in the first two hours,” Vaas said.