R Ashwin:
“I haven’t given it a thought about what I need to accomplish in this game. It was a challenge because we were coming off a red-ball game. This ball behaves differently. It’s more of a priority for me to enjoy my spell. (On bowling) You have to understand the rhythm, the load-up, the jump, the amount of spin according to the pitch. For Axar, he probably doesn’t require that much time.
(Compared with Ahmedabad pink-ball Test) Ahmedabad was quicker and had a bit more bounce. When I was getting beaten here, I was getting beaten by a big margin. Dimuth batted beautifully because he was using his feet well. (Kusal Mendis wicket) Before that, we were caught in a bit of a whirlwind by those two. Whatever shots they were playing was coming off. It was a question of bowling at the right pace. I also came around the wicket, and it doesn’t always come off, but this time it did.”
ICC Rankings Test, ODI & T20I
Axar Patel:
“When playing besides these guys, I know I may not get many chances at picking wickets, but I try my best. I keep chatting with Ashwin Bhai about what pace to bowl at. I bowl to my strengths and it takes me an over to figure out how to bowl on this surface. Would love to wish him (Ashwin) all the best for RR because we will miss our team bonding, but there’s nothing we can do about it. Everybody knows Ash Bhai is different, and there are no secrets. They also know what I do.”
India vs Sri Lanka 2nd Test Day 3 Highlights today, Monday 14-3-2022 – 2nd Test, Sri Lanka tour of India from M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
Form guide
Last five completed Tests; the most recent first
India: WLLWW
Sri Lanka: LWWWD
India have won the toss and chose to bat first.
India team: Sharma (capt), Agarwal, Vihari, Kohli, Iyer, Pant (wk), Jadeja, Ashwin, Axar, Shami, Bumrah.
Sri Lanka team: Karunaratne (capt), Thirimanne, Kusal, Mathews, Silva, Asalanka, Dickwella (wk), Lakmal, Embuldeniya, Fernando, Praveen.
Post Match Presentation
Karunaratne:
“I would have been happier if we had won the match. Once I got in, I knew I could get a big one. As a team, we know we are a decent team. We didn’t get enough good starts to capitalise. And as a bowling unit, we gave too many loose balls. (On Lakmal) One of the best I have seen in my career. I am very happy for him that he’s going to county cricket and I know he will do very well there as well.”
Shreyas Iyer is the player of the match:
“(On first innings knock) That wasn’t my normal approach but when I saw other batters struggling, I knew I had to attack. I was just trying to be one step of the bowlers. When the tail came in, I was on 55 and I added 37 more, so I wasn’t too bothered about missing out on a hundred. (Second innings) We were given a target, and I was in the mindset to play as many balls as possible. I have always dreamt about being a Test player for India and playing alongside the greats and contributing at the highest level. I hope I can maintain that consistency in the time to come.”
Rishabh Pant is the player of the series:
Fair call, I think. Says: “As a cricketer, you want to evolve. In the past, I have made a few mistakes, but I want to keep improving. My mindset is not the same, but it was a difficult pitch and I decided I had to attack the bowling early on. (On his keeping) I think it’s more about confidence. I used to think too much about what I might miss. Now I am focusing on my process.”
Rohit Sharma:
“It’s been a good run, and I have enjoyed it personally and as a team. We wanted to achieve a few things as a team, and we have done that. We have seen Jadeja grow as a batter, and he seems to get better and better. He strengthens the team, and he’s also improving as a bowler. And he’s a gun fielder, so he is a complete package. Shreyas just carried on from where he left off in the T20 series against Sri Lanka. He seemed to carry that form into the Test series.
He knew he was stepping into the big shoes of guys like Rahane and Pujara, but he has everything that he requires. He will be better now when he starts traveling. Rishabh seems to get better with each game that he plays. Especially in these conditions. We saw it in the England series (last year) and now. A couple of catches and stumpings showed how confident he is.
(On Ashwin) It was personally my feeling (that he is an all-time great). Whenever we give him the ball, he comes up with match-winning performances. He’s got a lot of years left in him. We have lots of occasions to look forward to. I have to ensure he’s in a good mind space. Pink-ball Tests are challenging. We never knew what it was like to play with the pink ball in India, but we are learning to make those adjustments. The crowd just makes it more special.”
Match Timings: 04:00 GMT | 09:30 Local
Umpires – Anil Chaudhary, Nitin Menon
TV Umpires – Virender Sharma
Match Referee – Javagal Srinath
Reserve Umpire – Jayaraman Madanagopal
Match number – Test no. 2456
