A batsman with limited abilities invests trust in
resilience. Our Javed Omar Belim was a batsman of limited abilities, but his
resolve helped him to travel through crucial passages of play many times in his
career during an era when Bangladesh were regarded as novices in Test cricket.
Those exhibitions of resolves were painful to watch but at
the end of the day, more often, they used to hold the innings together. Again,
resolve or resilience, whatever term you wish to use, can be helpful in chasing
totals on turners, when batters are not extraordinary batsmen.
268 is a very tough total to chase on this Galle track.
The Kiwi tail wagged to add more runs to the target this
morning, and when the Sri Lankan openers walked out to bat, I am sure the fans
were thinking, they might meltdown.
If you find time then do watch the opening spell of Trent
Boult and Tim Southee in fourth innings. On such a deteriorating deck, which is
bound to help the spinners, both of them swung the cherry in and away.
That opening spell demanded authority on the back foot,
playing behind the line and leaving the ball by dropping the wrist
appropriately.
Dimuth Karunaratne was authoritative while Lahiru Thrimanne
was shaky, but did not lose patience. His grit resulted in a half-century and
Dimuth, despite being lucky to survive twice, nudged his way to another
half-century.
If any batsman can show the way for Sri Lanka in this Test
then it has to be Dimuth. The kind of temperament this deck demands, Dimuth
possesses that. And, most importantly, he needs to bat at least one and a half
sessions tomorrow to ensure Sri Lanka a 1-0 lead.
Resilience proved vital on Day 4 and required on Day 5 as
well.
Batting with a positive frame of mind doesn't always mean
you have to play shots, but displaying resilience is also a very important
component of positive batsmanship.
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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