India in Sri Lanka: Kusal Perera Believes It's Anyone's Game Now
India were left gasping at a precarious 21 for three in the second innings to allow Sri Lanka to neutralise the visitors' first innings advantage. Kusal Perera believes his bowlers can now make it count.
Having hit a defiant fifty to help Sri Lanka claw back into the game, wicketkeeper-batsman Kusal Perera on Sunday said the match was evenly poised after India's top-order was rattled in the second innings on Day 3 of the third and final Test.(Day 3 Report)
On a dramatic day which saw fortune fluctuating from one team to the other, India had the game firmly in control by taking a decent 111-run first-innings lead which could have been much bigger but for some audacious counter attack by debutant Perera (55) and Rangana Herath (49).(Scorecard)
India were then left gasping at a precarious 21 for three in the second innings to allow the islanders to neutralise the advantage. Perera believes his bowlers can now make it count.(Highlights)
"Our bowlers bowled a lot of good lines, and the pitch was quite lively. The match is open now. We've taken three wickets. If we take two wickets in the morning, there's a chance we can win this match," Perera said in the post-day press conference.
Sri Lanka were in trouble at 47 for six, when Perera stitched a crucial 79-run seventh-wicket partnership with Herath to lift the hosts to 201 in reply to India's first-innings score of 312.
"When I went to bat there were a few nerves. It was 45/5. My role was to score as many runs as possible. That's what I tried to do. When you're batting at number seven, you have to bat with the tail. You have to bat according to that situation. I had to decide whether to play my natural game," said Perera.
"Herath made it easy for me, because by blocking up an end, I was able to go for shots myself. There wasn't much pressure on me. I wasn't afraid to give him the strike because he was batting well," he added.
Talking more about his maiden half-century, Perera gave a tip or two on how to bat on this SSC wicket, "The wicket is quite lively. There's a chance to give away your wicket but when you bat for a bit, it also becomes decent for batsmen. We have to be positive, but if we're too aggressive early, you could lose a wicket because they are bowling good lines. We have to respect the good balls and hit the loose ones otherwise we can't put them on the back foot."