Galle, July 21: Sri Lankan coach Trevor Bayliss was naturally elated. The team has outplayed a higher ranked opponent in all departments and an early finish is in place in spite of an entire day being lost to rain in this, the first match of the three-Test series.
Bayliss stressed on a few points that had been the difference, but was guarded against talking too early. Excerpts:
On an early finish: Nothing is easy with this Indian team. We have had a good day and are happy with the position we are in. There’s still some hard work to be done. We are hopeful of weather not playing foul and being the same as today.
On Malinga’s return: He is our number one fast bowler. With him injured and not fit for Test match cricket, we were forced to try out other bowlers. The others who came in also chipped in quite well over the last 12 to 18 months.
On the Herath-Malinga stand: The hard work put in by the tail-enders on their batting provided good results. Malinga was telling me he should be batting higher so he had a point to prove. The bowlers like having a bat in the nets and if I miss them out, they let me know about it. They did a good job for us the other day and allowed us to get to the bigger scores which allowed us to make the opposition follow on.
On Murali reaching 800 wickets: From Murali’s point we would all love him to get those two wickets. If you ask him, he would want all five wickets. It is going to be some tough work because they have two good batsmen at the crease.
On whether Murali should have carried on: It’s obviously his call. He has made a decision. Obviously he knows how his body feels. Personally I feel it is the right call. Before this match he bowled as many overs in the nets as he has done before. He obviously didn’t want to take it easy. He wanted to do well. This is the first time I am seeing Murali showing some emotion after taking a five-wicket haul.
On Lanka’s impressive record at home: We have been really playing well at home. It’s well known that touring India is one of the hardest. I thought we played pretty well there. Here, at home and it’s obviously a bit different for the Indians.