‘Need to manage Chameera, Kaushal very carefully’

COLOMBO: Dushmantha Chameera’s pace and Tharindu Kaushal’s turn was raw, but exciting, Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said, after his team completed a seven-wicket victory at the P Sara Oval. Chameera and Kaushal in their second Test — shared nine wickets between them, each playing a central role in Pakistan’s lower-order collapses.
Chameera consistently clocked the highest speeds, though Wahab Riaz was out of action for most of the game, and Kaushal impressed with the turn he obtained from a first-day surface, on his way to 5 for 42. Both of them play for the same Colombo club, but while Kaushal was picked after three years of domestic excellence, Chameera made his way to the Sri Lanka side largely on promise.
“Those two are players who can do a lot for Sri Lankan cricket,” Mathews said. “We have to manage them very carefully - especially Chameera. I haven’t seen a faster spell than he bowled in this Test match. He’s very quick. He clocked 149.9 kph which is extraordinary for a Sri Lankan but also for any bowler around the world.
“Tharindu Kaushal turns the ball. I understand that he’s raw, but he’s got more than 200 wickets in first-class cricket and we have to be positive with him. Test cricket is completely different, but unless we give them opportunities, we won’t know what they can do. It wasn’t a gamble to select them.”
Mathews said it was good to win without a major contribution from Rangana Herath, Sri Lanka’s primary match-winning bowler.