Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif has lavished praise on Sonal Dinusha for his fine knock in the second Test match against India at Colombo on Tuesday. Dinusha remained unbeaten on 85 runs off 137 balls on the third day’s play.
Kaif highlighted that Padikkal has scored consistently while playing at one drop, whereas Dinusha has scored his runs while batting in the lower-order, which is never easy.
Dinusha went on to score 103 runs off 162 balls and was eventually dismissed by debutant Saransh Jain. The left-hander has shown the right temperament as he has batted with great calmness in the middle. The southpaw has scored 287 runs in three innings at an average of 95.67 in the ongoing series.
“Padikkal comes at No. 3. Sonal Dinusha bats at No. 6 or No. 7. It means he has scored most of his runs batting with lower-order batters. This is a different aspect of the game where you take your game forward with tailenders and build partnerships. You have to talk to them and ask them to stay and play cautiously,” Kaif said on Sony Sports.
Kaif noted that while Padikkal bats with the top-order batters, Dinusha has to farm the strike while batting with the bowlers.
“He takes a single off the last ball and keeps the strike. It shows that, along with skill, his cricketing sense is fabulous. Padikkal plays at No. 3, and he has proper batters with him. KL Rahul is there with him, or he builds a partnership with Shubman Gill. You will rarely find what he (Dinusha) is doing,” Kaif observed.
On the other hand, former Indian Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara said Sonal Dinusha has looked like the best batter from both sides in the ongoing Test series.
“He has performed throughout the series. For me, he has looked the best batter across both teams. Many players have performed in the Indian team as well, if we talk about Devdutt and the way Dhruv Jurel has batted. However, especially considering the attack the Indian team has, it has Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and three spinners, if you bat like this against these players, you have some specialty,” he said.
Pujara hailed the left-hander for his consistent performances throughout the series despite the lack of experience.
“You cannot do that easily. Considering the technique, temperament, and shots he has shown, the Sri Lankan Test team has got a complete cricketer, and he is playing just his fifth Test match. He scored his first century in his fourth Test, almost scored a second century in the second innings, and the way he is batting in this innings, he is about to reach a century,” Pujara observed.
Sri Lanka was bowled out for 290 and has been asked to follow on
