Pakistan's record run chase of 342 against Sri Lanka on the final day of the first Test in Galle has gotten their skipper to evaluate his side's performance. Pakistani batter Abdullah Shafique notched up 160 not out along with skipper Babar Azam to take his side home.
Karunaratne wanted his side to perform better
Sri Lankan skipper Dimuth Karunaratne wasn't content with how batters performed in the first innings. He said, "I think if we put more runs in the first innings we could have put more pressure on Pakistan. But we batted well in the second innings".
To further assess his team's defeat against Pakistan, Karunaratne mentioned that the other bowlers in the side should have supported Prabath, who took nine wickets in the match.
"With the ball we could not support Prabath from the other end. We had to give him more support. Naseem supported Babar really well. The pitch went a bit flat at that point, but as a bowling unit we need to give more support to Prabath. He is capable of bowling a lot of overs. He did a great job. He bowled good areas despite bowling 30-35 overs."
Sri Lanka to have one more chance at redemption
Karunaratne's side will look to overcome their failure when they face the same side in the second Test from July 24 in Galle. Sri Lanka will battle it out to save the series and acquire some critical World Test Championship points.