India bowling coach Morne Morkel on Tuesday said Kuldeep Yadav would have been in the mix for selection had he not contracted a viral fever ahead of the second Test. “No, that’s (selection) not my call. I think he was asked to fill certain roles for the first Test, which was sort of a tough Test. But for me, I reckon his name would have been in the mix for the virtual selection,” he said. Batting coach Sitanshu Kotak on Monday said that Kuldeep was not considered for selection for Colombo Test because he was carrying a viral fever from Galle. The former South African fast bowler said India will look to grab the remaining two Sri Lankan wickets at the earliest on Wednesday to keep the advantage with them.
“The key is to find that breakthrough. For us, it is just about keep on asking questions, keep on rolling your best ball, and bowl well in partnerships. We are quite lucky that we have 500 on the board,” he said.
Sri Lanka offered some late fight through Sonal Dinusha, Keshara Nuwantha and Lahiru Kumara, and Morkel said such phases are a part and parcel of cricket.
“You want to get off the field as quickly as possible, that is always the plan. But it is part of the game. Kookaburra will sometimes get a little bit softer, and it is quite hard to get a little bit of zip off the wicket.
“I thought they (SL) played quite nicely, and they formed a nice partnership there. I don’t think we have got issues bowling to them, I think it is just the nature of the game,” he said.
Coming to the match, Sri Lanka reached 265 for eight when rain stopped play to force an early stumps on the third day of the second and final Test against India on Tuesday.
The home team trailed India’s massive first-innings total of 503 for nine declared by 238 runs when the rain interrupted proceedings.
Sonal Dinusha (85) and Lahiru Kumara (8) were at the crease.
Indian bowlers Prasidh Krishna and Manav Suthar struck early blows to put the Sri Lankan batting line-up under severe pressure, and the home team struggled to recover from there even though Dinusha fought hard to stretch the Lankan innings.
Besides Dinusha, Pasindu Sooriyabandara (80) was the other significant contributor with the bat for Sri Lanka.
For India, Prasidh and Suthar picked up three wickets each.
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