Dilshan blames batsmen for defeat
Posted on
December 17, 2011 by
Ken
Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan said his team’s failings at the crease were to blame for their defeat by an innings-and-81-runs at the hands of South Africa in the first test at Centurion on Saturday.
Sri Lanka were bowled out for 180 and 150, in reply to South Africa’s 411, with none of their batsmen able to score more than Angelo Mathews’ 38 in the first innings or last for longer than two hours at the wicket.
“Our batting didn’t click, that’s where we lost the game,” Dilshan told a news conference after the defeat. “As a batting group, we definitely have to take responsibility. We’ve been working hard in the nets, but we didn’t carry that to the middle.
“It’s not easy to beat South Africa, especially in South Africa, but if we had put runs on the board, then we could have put pressure on them.”
South Africa captain Graeme Smith praised his bowlers for their efforts, Vernon Philander taking 10 for 102 in the match as Sri Lanka were bowled out in 47.4 overs on the first day and in 39.1 overs on Saturday, the third day.
“It was over in three days, but we needed to work hard initially. In the end it was emphatic because we bowled very well, the intensity was great today. Each guy really showed their skill and, in my opinion, the bowling today was probably the best standard – skills-wise – of the summer, even though we bowled Australia out for 47.
“We asked questions all the time and there weren’t too many free deliveries out there,” Smith said.
Philander continued his breathtaking introduction to test cricket by taking five for 49 – his fourth five-wicket haul in his first three tests.
“It’s an awesome achievement by Vernon, there was obviously still a bit of life in the pitch, but he deserved his 10-for. He’s got a lot of motivation at the moment, he understands his skills, he’s gained confidence from four-day domestic cricket.
“You always hope someone’s as successful when they debut as Vernon has been, but he’s played cricket for long enough and been through enough ups and downs to know that it won’t always be as easy. He knows there will be a few tougher times,” Smith said.
The South African captain, who scored 61 opening the innings, also praised a tenacious batting display by his team on a pitch that was soft and well-grassed.
“I think we saw today that the pitch had a lot in it, AB de Villiers’ 99 was as good as a century and each batsman contributed. We just had to knuckle down and I would have been happy if we were just a hundred ahead on first innings,” Smith said.
South Africa eventually gained a first-innings lead of 231, which was more than enough as Sri Lanka’s batsmen once again came unstuck against the home attack.