Former Indian batter Ajay Jadeja has showered praise on rookie Sri Lankan batter after the second Test match ended in a draw at Colombo on Thursday. Dinusha scored twin centuries in the match, scoring an unbeaten knock of 133 runs off 264 balls in the second innings. Furthermore, he scored 103 runs in the first innings as he batted at the top of his game.
The left-hander turned out to be a thorn in India’s flesh throughout the series. The southpaw amassed 420 runs in two Test matches at a stunning average of 140 and ended as the highest run-getter of the series.
Jadeja said there is no doubt that Dinusha is a special player after he impressed one and all in the two-match series.
“You can play those many balls while standing as well. I think the number of sweeps he had played was 125 at lunchtime. Whoever does exercise, how many squats do you do? You do 10, 20, or 30 squats, and how many lunges do you do? He is doing lunges and squats, and there is no protein shake after that,” Ajay Jadeja said on Sony Sports.
“There is no doubt that he is a special player. He showed how to play in spin-friendly conditions. In this innings, I don’t recall a silly point or short leg being placed when he started playing. He didn’t throw it away. We kept waiting, and he said he wouldn’t make a mistake. That shows his mental ability,” he added.
On the other hand, former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra highlighted that Sonal Dinusha didn’t drive against off-spinner Saransh Jain throughout his innings.
“Sonal Dinusha, what an incredible batter he is. He plays spin extremely well. He had decided that he would do everything, but wouldn’t drive Saransh. He either played a sweep or played off the back foot on the off-side against those balls. He used the reverse sweep well,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
Chopra noted that Dinusha looked in complete control through his innings as he wasn’t troubled by Indian bowlers.
“He was in absolute, complete control. The team used to be stuck whenever he came, and the team used to cruise until he was there. He batted with the tail and endured the second new ball. India threw everything at him, but he was good enough to handle. Sometimes you have to doff your hat and say, ‘You are excellent,’” the cricketer-turned-commentator observed.
India won the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka by 1-0.
