26 October – Bengaluru – Sri Lanka player Maheesh Theekshana post-match press conference
Maheesh-Theekshana-26-10-23
[Reporter]
In today’s victorious game, the bowling unit performed admirably. With the inclusion of Lahiru Kumara, let’s discuss his spell and also delve into Angelo Mathews’ spell.
[Maheesh Theekshana]
In the initial four or five overs, we conceded a few runs due to our inability to find the right length. However, when Angelo took the ball, he utilized his experience to adjust the length. This allowed us to regain our disciplined bowling. We witnessed Angelo’s success, and Lahiru emphasized the importance of maintaining discipline while bowling. Our strong bowling performance, characterized by wicket-taking, pressured the opposition into a defensive stance. They refrained from pressing forward and instead consistently attempted to clear the boundary with sixes and fours. So, we had a chance to take a wicket, that’s what we planned here.
[Reporter]
How was the pitch? Did it resemble the typical conditions you encounter in IPL, especially at venues like Chinnaswamy Stadium? Did it lean towards being on the drier side?
[Maheesh Theekshana]
I have played an IPL match and the pitch is a little different. There was a small turn and there was a little pace and bouncier quality. In the IPL match that was played, there was a flat pitch. Scoring runs was indeed relatively easy on that pitch. I’m not implying that it was tough to accumulate runs in this match, as we managed to score 150 runs with just two wickets down. We maintained our momentum throughout the match, which ultimately led to our victory.
[Reporter]
What a boost to the team with the addition of Mathews.
[Maheesh Theekshana]
As a team, we are very happy that a very experienced player has joined our team. He has played in India. We have a lot to learn from him. Even when we bowled, we used his experience in the match. The whole team is very happy to have such an experienced player on the team.
[Reporter]
Being the designated spinner today in a team predominantly consisting of fast bowlers, what sort of pressure did you feel?
[Maheesh Theekshana]
I don’t view it as pressure. Instead, I see it as an opportunity that the team to place their trust in me. I consider this a chance to contribute to my country while playing. Considering the condition of the wicket, today’s pitch, and the history of our game, we used only one spinner and [inaudible] we have been successful as a team. As a spinner, I believe that when you’re the sole representative in the team, the responsibilities can become quite overwhelming, so I tried to form a bowling partnership with the bowler from the other end so that we could succeed.
[Reporter]
After winning two games in a row, what kind of mental state does the team have now? Because we have now won two matches in a row and have forgotten our past defeats.
[Maheesh Theekshana]
Our confidence as a team has increased a lot because we have won two matches so far. And this match is a match in which we got a very happy victory. As a team, we are looking to play well in the upcoming four matches and reach the semifinals.
[Reporter]
In this match, the fielding department performed noticeably better than in previous matches. We took some excellent catches and prevented the opposition from scoring many runs. Can you tell us about the specific training or techniques you worked on to reach this improved fielding level?
[Maheesh Theekshana]
As a team, we have consistently emphasized the importance of maintaining a high standard in our fielding department. In several past matches, we made errors that allowed the opposition to score runs, putting pressure on our bowlers. However, in this match, we managed to secure two or three wickets, which put us in a stronger position. We made a concerted effort to apply pressure on the opposing team with the goal of securing our victory. All three departments of the team performed exceptionally well, contributing to our success in today’s match.
[Reporter:]
Until this game, Sri Lanka’s bowlers did not have a great World Cup, but the batters had done well. So, going into a game like this, against a team like this, in a venue like this, what was the talk like? And just talk about how you guys executed the middle over bowling because that is where you got it very tight there.
[Maheesh Theekshana:]
Actually, our plan was because the first four games, we didn’t bowl well in the middle overs. And the last game was against the Netherlands. We bowled well with the new ball. So, I think we lost the three games as well because of our bowling. And we did actually do some practice sessions to get more discipline, all the fast bowlers did their hard work before the game day so they know what they have to do in the game. So, we just backed our strength we just went for a simple plan, just bowling disciplined, then we can get success.
[Reporter:]
Did you sense before going into this game that England were really vulnerable and does it shock you to see just how much you they’ve been defeated by everyone?
[Maheesh Theekshana:]
I think they under underestimate our team because we also lost three games and we only won against Netherlands. I think they underestimated us. That’s why the result went our way because we backed our strength, we went like a simple pan, so that’s why we won the game today.