Jayawardene praises teammates for impressive recovery – Cricket News Update
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DPMD-Jayawardene-c1397, the Sri Lankan captain, praised his team for their impressive recovery in the opening Test against New Zealand.
The hosts took a 1-0 lead in the series after thumping the Kiwis by a 10-wicket margin at Galle as the match ended well under three days.
The situation looked rather bleak on the second day after the Lankans were reduced to 50 for 5 at one stage in reply to the tourists’ first innings total of 221. The Kiwi bowlers got extra purchase from the track and accounted for big guns in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AD-Mathews-c913 rescued the innings with a fighting 156-run stand.
Despite their impressive recovery, honours were even at the close of play as the lower order capitulated easily against the likes of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Trent-Boult-c2708.
However, when play resumed on day 3, it was all one-way traffic as the hosts put a firm grip on the proceedings, courtesy http://www.senore.com/Cricket/HMRKB-Herath-c1559, who took six Kiwi wickets and ended the match with 11 scalps to his name.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Frank-Dimuth-Madushanka-Karunaratne-c57388, both of whom shared an unbeaten stand to help their side cruise to a 10-wicket win.
Jayawardene hailed his side’s fight back in the contest and praised their attitude after being put in plenty of bother by their opponents.
"This is what winning Test matches is all about," Mahela Jayawardene said after his team took a 1-0 lead in the series. "Winning tough moments and getting ourselves into a winning position under pressure.
"It was a good Test match for the first two days. New Zealand fought really well with the new ball and put us under a lot of pressure. We managed to fight through that situation and get ourselves into a position where the first innings wouldn't have mattered."
The second and final Test begins from November 25, at the P Sara Oval, Colombo. New Zealand are yet to win a game on the tour after going down 3-0 in the five-match ODI series.
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