Sri Lanka hoping to emulate India's historic display in Test series against Australia

Sudhir Gupta 20:37 22/01/2019
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  • Sri Lanka are all set for a two-match Test series against Australia.

    Sri Lanka are hoping to take a leaf out of India’s playbook as they get ready to take on hosts Australia in a two-match Test series that begins at Brisbane on Thursday.

    The islanders are searching for their maiden Test win on Australian soil and come into the series on the back of a 1-0 defeat at the hands of New Zealand.

    Sri Lanka have been watching their subcontinent rivals India closely in their recent tour of Australia where Virat Kohli and his men engineered the country’s maiden Test series win Down Under.

    Ahead of their battle against the Aussies, bowling coach Rumesh Ratnayake revealed that Sri Lanka had been following the exploits of Jasprit Bumrah and Co to prepare for the Test series.

    “It’s one of the major things we looked at, the areas which they (India) had bowled,” Ratnayake was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

    India won their maiden Test series on Australian soil.

    India won their maiden Test series on Australian soil.

    “It’s just making the bowlers believe that whatever their bowlers can do and the other teams can do, we also can do. That belief is something we are trying to work on at the moment,” he added.

    India triumphed 2-1 in the four-match Test series against the Aussies and Ratnayake is hoping to emulate their display in all three departments.

    “In batting and bowling, and even in the fielding, the Indians showed the world every place they go to is a home-from-home. I believe we can take that from the Indians. We came here with the motto to win a Test match – we are going to New Zealand, Australia and South Africa so we would love to win a Test match in a country and Australia is one of them,” the bowling coach explained.

    Sri Lanka will have to make without the services of their star batsman Angelo Mathews against Tim Paine and his men after he injured his hamstring in the recent tour of New Zealand.

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