http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hettige-Don-Rumesh-Lahiru-Thirimanne-c63124 and Jeevan Mendis – Cricket News Update
After losing the just-finished One Day International (ODI) series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750, Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain, is still looking at the positive side of things and is encouraged by some of the youngsters’ performances.
The visitors looked a far superior team in the five-match series, winning by 4-1. The Sri Lankans, who have been extremely criticized by different cricketing ranks for their inability to make the most of their chances against India,
have a lot of work to do on before the upcoming international challenges.
Jayawardene, who opted to sit out in the last ODI in order to accommodate the youngsters, is particularly pleased with the progress of Lahiru Thirimanne and Jeevan Mendis, who scored half-centuries in the dead-rubber but failed to
see their team home in the run-chase. The two left-handers scored 77 and 72 respectively.
Apart from praising Thirimanne’s ability to construct an innings and allowing the others to bat around him, the Lankan skipper also appreciated Mendis’ all-round skills, who is also a very useful right-arm leg-spinner.
The middle-order batsman is of the view that both these cricketers have a massive role to play in the future of the country’s cricket.
"The youngsters are identifying their roles. I was impressed with the way [Lahiru] Thirimanne batted the other day [in the fifth ODI], held the innings together, batted through the innings. He showed a lot of aggression when he wanted,”
the captain expressed. “Jeevan [Mendis] is becoming a much better all-rounder. Those components are fitting into our combination really well.”
Another budding youngster, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/LD-Chandimal-c1831, did not have a good series, scoring just 55 runs in the five games, although he is considered to be one of the finest talents in the Island.
The 35-year-old admitted that his side needs to improve on certain aspects of the game but expressed full confidence on Chandimal’s abilities.
"There are certain areas we have to fine-tune. Unfortunately [Dinesh] Chandimal didn't have a great series, but we know the talent he possesses," he added.
The only T20 of the tour is going to be played today at Pallekele, which is a massive preparation for the upcoming http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 World T20 2012.
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