Off-spinner Dilruwan Perera, who became the fastest Sri Lankan to take 100 Test wickets, says he is hoping to emulate veteran Rangana Herath. Perera completed 100 Test wickets in his 25th Test, two fewer than champion spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.
Perera made his Test debut in 2014 at the age of 32 and his 100th Test victim was Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan, who was dismissed in the first session of the third Test in Delhi on Saturday (December 2).
“Even Rangana Herath got a proper go in the side when he was 31 having got fewer opportunities earlier on in his career,” Perera told Cricbuzz. “I made my debut when I was 32 and you can learn a lot by looking up to Rangana as you move forward. I am not looking at too many milestones. I am 35 now and I will be glad if I end up with 200 Test wickets. I will keep trying. I need to keep fit, need to ensure that my form is good and that I wouldn’t lose my place in the side.
“I was actually hoping the 100 wickets will be completed in Kolkata. When I came to India, I needed seven wickets to get there. But couldn’t make it. Nevertheless, I am glad that I have achieved the milestone in my 25th Test match. I was the fastest to take 50 Test wickets as well. Ajantha Mendis had got there in 11 matches I think. I knew that Murali had taken 100 wickets in 27 Tests so glad to get there in 25 games,” he added.
India finished day one of the third Test on 371 for four and Perera explained the challenges of playing against Indian batsmen and particularly Virat Kohli. The Indian captain has scored more than 450 runs in four innings in the series with one double hundred and two hundreds. “They are always trying to score runs off us,” Perera observed. “They won’t let us settle in. They use the crease and they don’t let us bowl to one line. It is tough playing against them.
“As for Kohli, whenever we play against him, we can’t afford to send him too many loose balls. If you do, he will cash in. If you go on the back foot, he will attack. You need to keep bowling good balls at him if you intend to dismiss him,” Perera elaborated.
Sri Lanka’s batting has been a huge disappointment on this tour as the tourists trail the three-match series 1-0 and Perera bemoaned the team’s batting collapses. “We had a good series against Pakistan,” he recalled. “Here we have not been able to score centuries. As a team, if we can score 400 runs, that will help us to fight. Not having that kind of total makes our job as a bowling unit tough.
“When you are scoring 400 plus runs, the batsmen have used the wicket for a considerable time and when the wicket has wear and tear it helps spinners. That happened in the series against Pakistan when we battled for more than four sessions. Unfortunately, against India that has not happened. India are still batting when the wicket is good,” Perera concluded.
