An injured left hand, a finger in a plaster, and more than that, leading a team which suffered a huge loss can have a devastating effect. But Sri Lanka captain Rangana Herath, 39 summers old, smiled weakly and remained gracious in defeat. Speaking to the media after the first Test here on Saturday, Herath lauded the Indian team and conceded that his side had failed.
Looking back at the game, Herath said: “When you lose a game you are disappointed. But having said that, all credit to India, they played outstanding cricket.”
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Later, he added: “We should have bowled better. The other point is most of our batsmen got close to three figures and got out, but the Indian batters made big hundreds. That was a big difference.”
When talk veered to the injuries that plagued him and Asela Gunaratne, Herath explained: “The x-ray doesn’t show any fracture. But I had a fracture three years ago in the same area and that’s the reason there’s a bit of swelling and soreness. Hopefully over the next few days it will get better.”
Asked about having (batting or bowling) substitutes for players, who suffer injuries during the course of a match, Herath replied: “If there is an option, we would love to have that.” He also said that Gunaratne is ruled out for eight weeks while expecting regular skipper Dinesh Chandimal to play in the second Test at Colombo.
Herath mentioned that the Galle pitch, a traditional ally for spinners, did not live upto the tag but he drew heart from seamer Nuwan Pradeep’s bowling. “There is so much burden on spinners when we play in Sri Lanka and Pradeep bowling so well is a huge plus moving forward.”
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