Tillakaratne Dilshan was a picture of supreme confidence in the post-match press conference here on Friday night.
After his 71 and three wickets helped Sri Lanka defeat Bangladesh by 126 runs in the Asia Cup match, the opener said: “Before the Zimbabwe tour for the Tri-series, I was out of form. I trained and watched videos of the little things that had gone wrong with my batting and I made adjustments.
“I got the start in Zimbabwe and I have carried the form to the Asia Cup and I am hoping to make 1000 runs in ODI cricket for this calendar year.”
Dilshan said that he is aware of his strengths as a bowler. “I am not surprised that I got three wickets. In the last one and a half years I was keen to bowl but I hardly got a chance because of the presence of Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan.
“Today there was only one spinner and I had to bowl and grabbed that opportunity and showed that I can still bowl. I think I can serve the team as an all-rounder bowling offbreaks,” Dilshan said.
In marked contrast to Dilshan's joy, Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons walked in with a creased forehead. “It is frustrating. We play spin all the time and yet our batsman struggle against it, be it in England against Graeme Swann or against New Zealand's Daniel Vettori.
“There is lack of footwork and poor decision making. Mohammad Ashraful is out of form. We need our middle order to support Tamim Iqbal and our fast bowlers should do the job and support Shakib Al Hasan, who is world-class,” Siddons said.
