da luck： Hashan Tillakaratne, who celebrated the first match of his captaincy tenurewith his eleventh Test century, believes Sri Lanka still have work to do onthe final day despite his side’s strong reply to New Zealand’s 515 for 7 anda fourth day wash-out
Wisden CricInfo Staff28-Apr-2003Hashan Tillakaratne, who celebrated the first match of his captaincy tenurewith his eleventh Test century, believes Sri Lanka still have work to do onthe final day despite his side’s strong reply to New Zealand’s 515 for 7 anda fourth day wash-out.Play was called off with 48 overs still to be bowled in the day with SriLanka on 424 for 6. Tillakaratne was unbeaten on 126, a dour but defiantinnings that makes a draw the likeliest resultNevertheless, Tillakaratne still wants to chisel out more runs: "We want topress for 500 runs and get at least a 50-run lead – it would be a psychological factor for the series."It is a good batting track, conducive to batting and I must thank thebatsmen for how they applied themselves. They showed a lot of commitment andeverything went well."He paid a special tribute to Romesh Kaluwitharana, who played the innings ofthe day, a sparkling boundary-studded 76 from 90 deliveries in his Test fortwo years."Coming back after two years, it was a brilliant 76 and I am sure that hewill be getting more runs in the future," said Tillakaratne.He made no apologies for his grinding approach, the left-hander contributingjust 26 runs to a 107-run partnership with Kaluwitharana."At that time we were in a spot of bother," he said. "I wanted Kalu andmyself to bat on and get 316 (to avoid the follow on) and that is what wedid."Kaluwitharana, although disappointed to have missed out on a possible fourthTest hundred, was delighted to have grabbed his opportunity to cement aplace."Coming back after two years it was a challenging match for me," saidKaluwitharana. "I was under pressure. I know I have to score runs to stay inthe side and this was an opportunity for me."Having been left out of the side two years ago, I worked hard on occupyingthe crease for long periods and scoring heavily. I was inconsistent but nowI know I can spend more time at the crease."Jeff Crowe, the New Zealand manager, was disappointed with the performanceof his bowlers, who bowled too many loose deliveries during the last twodays."We haven’t bowled well enough. Not enough balls have been put in the rightspot to put enough pressure on the Sri Lanka batsmen after our good firstinnings."I thought the Sri Lankans played very well today – they waited for the badball and dispatched it accordingly."