'We have some new plans', says skipper Karunaratne ahead of first Test against NZ
Sri Lanka were whitewashed by England in November last year. Recalling that, Karunaratne said they failed to stop the runs.
London: Ahead of the two-match Test series against New Zealand, Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne said that they have 'new plans' in place.
Sri Lanka were whitewashed by England in November last year. Recalling that, Karunaratne said they failed to stop the runs.
"When we played against England, we kept attacking them too much with our bowlers, and we couldn't stop the runs. But we have that experience with [the loss against] England now, and we have some new plans," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Karunaratne as saying.
"In these conditions, rather than giving away a lot of runs, we need to dry them up. Even though we lost the toss in all three of those games, we still had a good chance, and I think this is where we made the mistake. If their batsmen attack us, we need to know how to deal with that," he added.
Although Sri Lanka were white-washed by England, they managed to beat South Africa in both the Test matches played in February this year.
Angelo Mathews had missed the South Africa Tests due to injury.
"Angelo (Mathews) and Dinesh Chandimal are in this squad now, so there might be a few changes to the top order that played in South Africa," Karunaratne said.
The first Test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand will start from August 14.