Thilan Samaraweera made 80 as Sri Lanka frustrated their opponents
While praising Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara for his century, Roach said that they were looking to bowl the hosts out for just over 300 runs on the third day of the second Test at the R Premadasa Stadium.
He said: “Sangakkara batted pretty well on a very difficult wicket, kudos to him.
“The batters and bowlers stuck to their plans, but today (Wednesday) was a day for them. The pitch has more bounce than we had at Galle. The extra bounce is good for fast bowlers like myself.
“The pitch here was slow on the first day, and a bit slow on Wednesday as well, but it was good to get some bounce and carry.
“I would say the game is evenly poised at the moment. We would like to dismiss them as soon as we can and not let them get too many over the 300-mark, so we know we have work to do when play resumes.”
Talking about his personal effort, he said it was not easy to bowl in Sri Lankan pitches but was pleased with his bowling.
“The pitches are good for batting and I still have some work to do on my line and length. I have been working closely with the coach and the captain and they have been giving me good advice,” Roach said, who took three for 66.
Roach rued the missed opportunities of Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews and he felt that that could have given a different turn to the match.
“Obviously we would have loved to have taken the chances and have them six or seven down.
“But we are not down-spirited. These things happen in the game of cricket and we are looking to move forward and get the next five wickets and take it from there.
“On this type of wicket you will be playing and missing a lot outside the off stump,” Samaraweera said.
“When you try to be too defensive also that happens. At the end of the day I missed another hundred.
“It was lack of concentration. I am really disappointed because I fell into their trap.
“On the first day when I came at the close everyone appreciated my knock of 25 not out. That gave a lot of confidence to me. We knew if we could survive the first hour we could dominate the bowling, and that is what happened.”
Thilan Samaraweera who made a gritty 80 and shared a crucial 170-run partnership with his skipper Sangakkara said: “This year my one-day average is 49, I don’t know why I didn’t go to Australia. My duty is scoring runs. I am hoping for the best."
Samaraweera said he was confident that Sri Lanka can win the Test if the weather permits.
“We have to bat well on Thursday and if we can get 400 plus it is a big score on this wicket.”
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