Very sad to suffer heaviest defeat ever – Chandimal

Sri Lanka’s Test captain Dinesh Chandimal said that he was extremely saddened to have led the side that suffered Sri Lanka’s heaviest Test defeat in the history. Sri Lanka were thrashed by an innings and 239 runs well inside four days in the second Test match here in Nagpur.

“Very sad. As captain, I came to India with big hopes. I was hopeful we will be competitive given the team we have. Very disappointing with the effort we put in today,” Chandimal said in response to a question by The Island.

“But we shall see how Delhi unfolds. We need to come out of the hole that we have dug ourselves into. Just three or four players trying to get us out of the hole won’t help us. Everyone has to make an effort. We have 15 players and I hope all 15 will have that desire to do well,” Chandimal noted.

Sri Lanka had suffered a heavy 3-0 whitewash at home against India, but bounced back well to win the two match Test series against Pakistan which ended their unbeaten run in UAE stretching for seven years.

“We spoke a lot of things after we lost to India 3-0. We wanted to compete against them. We spoke of the need to take the game to the final day. Then only they will panic and it will present us an opportunity. That is what we failed to do in this game. I am really disappointed as captain. We talk a lot of these things at team meetings and stuff. But when we go out to the middle, we fail to produce results,” Chandimal went onto say.

Sri Lanka were shot out for 205 runs after electing to bat first in perfect conditions and then saw India pile up a gigantic 610 for six declared. The huge 450 run lead allowed Indian captain Virat Kohli to attack and put pressure on the Sri Lankans.

“The best way to bat in the Test match is first three days. There was hardly anything on that wicket. The batsmen needed to take responsibility. We know that they are playing only four bowlers. If we could have taken their bowlers into the third spell, they will be in trouble as they are playing only four bowlers. They are also human and fatigue will take to them. That was our plan. The batters failed to execute those plans. Had we done those we could have fought better,” Chandimal further said.