T Dilshan's sizzling ton hasn't surprised his Delhi daredevils teammates and support staff. One of the best strikers of a cricket ball today, says T A Sekar, who watched him from the IPL dugout
T Dilshan's sizzlingu00a0ton hasn't surprised his Delhi daredevils teammates and support staff. One of the best strikers of a cricket ball today, says T A Sekar, who watched him from the IPL dugout
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Ever since the start of this calendar year, Tillakaratne Dilshan has hit a purple patch. Irrespective of the format of the game, the versatile batsman who can open the innings, bat in the lower middle order, bowl off-spin besides keeping wickets has been in the form of his life in the last 11 months.
It wasn't a surprise then that once Sri Lanka commenced their innings after the wicket had eased off yesterday, Dilshan scored his fifth Test ton of the year to give his team a sniff of their maiden Test victory on Indian soil on Day Two of the first Test.
Batting at the top of the order, Dilshan's 112 off just 133 balls helped Sri Lanka finish the day at 275 for three, after winding up the Indian innings at 426 in the morning.
What was surprising in Dilshan's knock that it wasn't a whirlwind innings that he is known for, but the ease with which he worked all four Indian bowlers around for singles and twos. He gave the impression that he was batting in his own backyard, and not away from home.
In this respect, the Indian Premier League (IPL) certainly seems to have played a role in Dilshan who is an integral member of Delhi Daredevils since IPL's inception.
"Dilshan is going through a very good patch. He is one of the better strikers of the ball around the world today," T A Sekhar, who worked closely with Dilshan as a member of the Daredevils' support staff, told MiD DAY.
Sekhar agreed that IPL has given Dilshan the much-needed exposure to Indian conditions. "He has played so much in India, naturally he can plan his innings better. Though Test matches are a lot different than T20s, the basics remain the same. Anything that's pitched just outside the off-stump, he will smash it," Sekhar, a former Test pacer, said.
Invaluable
Dilshan too felt that IPL has helped the Lankan lions adapt to the Indian conditions. "We are used to playing on different Indian wickets because of two years in the IPL and the Champions League. We know how to adjust on different wickets and in different conditions. We know how to play here now," Dilshan said.
Speaking about his terrific run in Tests this year, when he has scored 961 runs at an average of 73.92, Dilshan said that his hunger for runs has doubled ever since he was promoted to open the innings.
"Changing my spot in the batting order has helped me. Now there's an opportunity for me to bat longer. I have got runs and I don't want to throw my wicket away," Dilshan said.
If he keeps going in the same vein during the rest of the series, India will find it very difficult to maintain their clean slate at home against Sri Lanka.
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