Sri Lankan pace bowler Dhammika Prasad feels that bowling well against a batsman of India skipper Virat Kohli's calibre is a certificate of excellence in international cricket
Dhammika Prasad
Sri Lankan pace bowler Dhammika Prasad feels that bowling well against batsman of India skipper Virat Kohli's calibre is a certificate of excellence in international cricket.
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On the eve of the second Test, Dhammika, who is recovering from a shoulder surgery, told mid-day that he felt terrible to miss a great opportunity to bowl at Virat Kohli & Co.
"I always like the challenge of bowling against good batsmen. Kohli is one of the best in the world. He has already proved himself. It would have been really exciting to have a go at him," said Dhammika.
Virat Kohli. Pic/PTI
Consistency is key
"When you are bowling to someone like Kohli, you have to maintain a decent line and length consistently. If you falter, he will punish you. But when I succeed in giving good batsmen a tough time, I really enjoy it.
It also improves your game, because when you are playing against the greatest, you tend to raise your game to their level," said the right-arm fast bowler who played his last Test against the visiting West Indies at Colombo in October 2015.
It is very rare that fast bowlers have memorable debuts on sub-continental wickets. But in August 2008, at the P Sara Oval in Colombo, Dhammika sent shock waves in the Indian camp by dismissing Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar cheaply in a fiery spell of fast bowling.
Dream debut
"My first game against the world's best batting line-up... I don't know how I was feeling. I haven't seen a more dangerous batsman like Sehwag in international cricket and he got a double hundred in the previous match. I bowled aggressively, because he always tries to dominate the bowling. My theory is pretty simple, if someone is trying to dominate, you shouldn't give in, try to dominate him in return. That's what I did in that game. Sehwag was my first wicket in Test cricket."
He also got rid of the the opening pair of Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir cheaply in the second inning.
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