Coach Silverwood desires Shanaka, Dhananjaya ‘to supply firepower’ as finishers
Sri Lanka know they’ve points at Nos. 6 and seven – their batters in these positions have been regularly unable to ship huge finishes. But these batters are working laborious to supply that firepower, says coach Chris Silverwood.
At the second, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sri Lanka’s incumbent No. 6, averages 26.04 and strikes at 74.93 at that place. Their captain Dasun Shanaka, at present the No. 7, averages 25.43 and strikes at 86.59 there. Both units of figures fall effectively wanting these of the very best finishers in world cricket.
“Dasun is working very hard at the moment, as he always does,” Silverwood stated forward of Sri Lanka’s Asia Cup Super Four match in opposition to Bangladesh. “We’re working hard with him at the moment so he can get the runs that we know he can.
“We assume at No. 7 he could make actual robust contributions for us, and assist construct on the great begins that we have been getting. We’ve been entering into positions we might launch from, and it might be nice to see Dasun actually damage the opposition and get us over that 300 mark.”
Like Shanaka, who has led a white-ball resurgence for the team despite his own batting form, Dhananjaya also has other attributes. Not only does he often deliver reliable overs through the middle period, but he has also developed a reputation for rebuilding the innings if the top order falls cheaply – something Silverwood pointed out.
“With the 2 of them sat at [Nos.] 6 and seven, we wish them to supply firepower. It’s not only a case of going on the market and slogging. It’s about doing it their manner, and hitting their robust photographs. And ensuring that they’ve a transparent plan of how they are going to execute that. As we have seen previously, Dhananjaya has been excellent at getting us out of a gap, and getting us to a rating that we are able to then defend.”
In an Asia Cup that has so far been a showcase of excellent fast bowling, though, Silverwood singled out Bangladesh’s seamers as a particular threat ahead of Saturday’s match. The tracks in Colombo are expected to be slower than in Pallekele, but with rain around, the quick bowlers might nevertheless have big roles to play.
“I believe Bangladesh have gotten a really robust bowling unit. From what I’ve seen to this point, on this competitors, I’ve been very impressed with them – significantly the tempo bowlers,” Silverwood said. “They’re huge, they’re robust, they’re correct, they usually get motion. We have to verify we put together effectively and guarantee that each batter on our aspect has a plan on how to deal with each bowler on their aspect.
“We’ve been watching Bangladesh and preparing well. It’s a different surface here compared to Kandy. We’ll have to make sure that our combinations are right for this wicket.”