Blog Posts by Asian Age

There has been a lot of talk on Mendis and Murali and we will have to admit they are very good spinners. Mendis is not the easiest to play and difficult to read, says the Indian coach in an interview.

Coach Gary Kirsten left for South Africa on Tuesday to attend his ailing mother. The BCCI confirmed there was no interim appointment to replace Kirsten. The date for the South African’s return is also not known.

Kirsten said he had full faith in Anil Kumble and had had a good discussion with him and that the team was refreshed after the win in Galle. Addressing the media before his departure the coach touched on various issues.

Excerpts:

On the team’s mood now: I knew the team had the ability to bounce back. They have a proved it in the past. We were happy and chuffed with the response of the team. They lifted their performance by at least by 20 per cent to pull themselves back into contention. But the important thing is there is a real awareness about things to achieve in the next

Mendis is a revelation not only for Sri Lankan cricket but for world cricket as well. He is different from most spinners say a Muralitharan, Anil Kumble or Harbhajan Singh, says the Sri Lankan coach in an interview to Asian Age.

Sri Lanka’s practice session ahead of the second Test here against India was full of intensity and indicated no complacency that can come with a win as convincing as the one achieved in Colombo. A good part of the credit should go to coach Trevor Bayliss for making this team constantly strive to better their game.

Excerpts from an interview:

On wrapping it up in Galle: We were looking forward to this series even before it started and we played some very good cricket in the first Test. It was a near perfect match for us. We expect to play a similar match here and wrap up the series and at the same time we know it won’t be as easy as the Indians will come back hard.

On the pitch: It looks very similar to SSC. Last time when we played here Chaminda Vaas