Ex-opener and sl team manager kuruppu hails young centurion
Ex-opener and sl team manager kuruppu hails young centurion
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Players of the calibre of Sanath Jayasuriya don't come a dime a dozen. The attacking opener is one-in-a-million andu00a0 his shoes are too big to fill.
Having said that, it's remarkable that Tillakaratne Dilshan is even being mentioned in the same breath as the left-handed Sri Lankan great by his teammates.
"It was an amazing hundred. Dilshan is batting aggressively and taking the attack to the opposition. He has taken over the mantle from Jayasuriya and is batting like Sanath did for Sri Lanka for 15 years in Test cricket," former Sri Lanka opener and manager, Brendon Kuruppu told MiD DAY yesterday after watching Tillakaratne tear apart the Indian attack.
Tillakaratne hit a scintillating 109 to help Sri Lanka reach 366 for eight on the opening of the third Test at the Brabourne Stadium.
Like Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne too started off as an all-rounder, a lower middle-order batsman and off-spin bowler. He discovered his full potential only after he started opening the innings. This was his sixth hundred of this year the maximum in international cricket.
"It has been one of the best things to have happened to Sri Lankan cricket that Dilshan accepted to open the innings (on the skipper and selectors' request)," said Kuruppu.
It was Tillakaratne's second century of the series after his hundred in the first Test at Ahmedabad. The challenge at the Brabourne was bigger given the added pressure on the Lankans in this must-winu00a0 third and final Test.
"Today's was one of his best innings as he had to curb his aggressiveness. The morning was tough as the ball was moving a lot.
"Later, the spinners got turn and bounce. In between, before the breaks, he was getting a bit eager to play his shots but refocused and returned to play a very tight game," said Kuruppu.
Dilshan rated this as one of his most satisfying centuries. "It's a challenging wicket. I had to concentrate hard and leave a lot of balls," he said.
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