Sonal Dinusha played a pivotal role for Sri Lanka, scoring an unbeaten 133 in the second and final Test against India at the SSC Ground on Thursday. His marathon innings contributed significantly to the team’s efforts, ultimately securing a hard-fought draw in the match. Dinusha expressed immense satisfaction with his performance throughout the series, highlighting the importance of his contributions in stabilizing the team’s position against a strong Indian side.
Dinusha, who was named the Player of the Match for his heroic knock in the second innings that saved the game for the hosts after Sri Lanka were forced to follow on, credited his preparation on turning tracks and lauded the lower order for standing firm alongside him to keep India at bay. However, de Silva also reflected on his own dismissal in the first innings, admitting it allowed India to assert dominance early in the match. “Maybe in the second innings I should have batted longer. That’s the point where they got back in the match.”
In all, Dinusha ended the series with 419 runs at 139.66 and became a gem of a find for Sri Lanka.
It’s really about the preparation at Galle, and here, I had an idea about the turning pitches, so I practised for that,” Dinusha said after receiving his Player of the Match award to raucous applause from the Colombo crowd. “First of all, I should mention who helped me get here. I want to mention our coaching staff and my school coach and provincial coach and family as well. “I would like to mention that the tailenders batted really well. It helped me get runs as well. I tried to do my best, reading the situation. I am really happy about that (getting three hundreds). When the team is down, I wanted to get runs for the team, so I am happy I was able to do that. Getting runs against India is a pleasure as a player,” he added. Sri Lanka skipper Dhananjaya de Silva praised the selection panel and team management for backing young talents like Dinusha. “It’s all about finding the talent. I think the selectors and coach gave me that opportunity to get the youngsters in and let them really go there and do the job for the country. It’s a good headache to have; three guys who were playing and have to come back will find it tough to get in,” he added.
