Sri Lanka head coach Chris Silverwood praised Indian pacer Umran Malik for his ability to change the game on its head with his fierce pace.
Addressing a press conference ahead of the final ODI of the three-match series, Silverwood heaped praises on India’s pace sensation. He mentioned that the Indian bowler is a joy to watch and makes batsmen commit mistakes with his fierce pace.“He has bowled superbly and can change the game with pace. Makes batsmen do strange things at times. Being an ex-fast bowler I do enjoy watching fast bowlers at work. He has hit the hard lengths. He has used the wobble seam, and bouncers beautifully. We can learn a lot from watching these guys,” expressed the Sri Lanka head coach.
Mentioning the two aspects he would like his team to improve in the Thiruvananthapuram ODI, he said, “The top six where we have been seeing starts, we would like to see the seniors stay long and take the game deep for us. Put challenging scores on board for India to chase. In the bowling department, it’s constant work. We see how India exploits the conditions when they are in the field. We will have to try and replicate that and keep the pressure on the Indian batters all the time.”Silverwood stated that he would have liked to come into the third ODI with the series on the line but hoped that the visitors could learn from playing in India and play good cricket.
“We would have liked to be 1-1 here but, nonetheless, another opportunity to learn for us. We have a World Cup coming up so what can we take out of the experience which has been superb so far for our youngsters. We are here to win and play good cricket and let’s see what happens tomorrow,” stated the former English fast bowler.
The Indian team has clinched the ODI series with wins in Guwahati and Kolkata ODIs. They will be looking to clean sweep the ODI series when they face Sri Lanka on January 15 at the Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram.
India earlier won the three-match T20I series 2-1 against the Sri Lankan team.
India’s next assignment will be the limited-overs home series against New Zealand. The New Zealand home series will feature three T20Is and three ODIs. India will begin the series with the 50-over matches starting on January 18. The T20 series will commence on January 27 and will end on February 1.