SL vs NZ 2024: Dhananjaya de Silva reflects on historic whitewash of New Zealand

With an innings and 154-run victory in the second Test, Sri Lanka made history by slyly navigating their way to a dominant series win over New Zealand.

As the winning team’s captain, Dhananjaya de Silva, thought back on the exciting match and the entire series, he was encouraged to see how hard the bowlers, especially the spinners, bowled despite the intense heat. De Silva also disclosed that the team had been putting a lot of emphasis on fielding in the lead-up to the series.

“It was amazing to watch how well they bowled extended stints. We’ve been working hard on our practice, and we’ve been catching a lot. It has paid off,” he said during the presentation held after the game.

In total, Prabath Jayasuriya, who was named Player of the Series, Nishan Peiris, who was making his debut, and Ramesh Mendis bowled 223 overs together and took 33 of the 40 wickets that the Black Caps took during the series. It was pretty encouraging to see the Lankans hold on to 18 catches over the course of the two games, considering they have been rather careless in the field lately.

Perhaps good fortune! I tossed well and called: Dhananjaya de Silva

Jokingly attributing the series win to his good fortune when tossing a coin, he acknowledged the distinct contributions of Dinesh Chandimal and Kamindu Mendis.

“Possibly good fortune! I tossed well and called. We have a well-balanced side thanks to Chandimal, and Kamindu can play the whole innings. It was excellent,” de Silva continued.

Surprisingly, out of the eight times de Silva has led the red-ball team, he has won the toss seven times.

In the first innings at bat, the hosts produced three centurions, Chandimal and Mendis with scores of 116 and 182, respectively.

Also Read: WTC 2023-25 Points Table: Here’s a look at current standings after Sri Lanka’s win against New Zealand in 2nd Test at Galle

Interestingly, Mendis was about to achieve a first-ever double century, but de Silva’s decision to close the innings on a score of 602/5 prevented him from reaching the milestone.