Former India batter and presenter Cheteshwar Pujara has showered praise on the Sri Lankan middle-order batter Sonal Dinusha, who scored three consecutive fifty-plus scores in the ongoing Test series against India.
Speaking on Sony Sports Network, Pujara termed Dinusha as the best batter across both teams ahead of India’s No.3 batter Devdutt Padikkal. He went on to term the middle-order batter ‘special’ for scoring a lot of runs against India’s quality bowlers.
“He has performed throughout the series. For me, he has looked the best batter across both teams. Many players have performed in the Indian team as well, if we talk about Devdutt and the way Dhruv Jurel has batted. However, especially considering the attack the Indian team has, it has Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and three spinners, if you bat like this against these players, you have some specialty,” Pujara said on Sony Sports Network.
Furthermore, the former Indian cricketer added that the 25-year-old has emerged as the complete cricketer for the Sri Lankan Test team. In the first Test against India, Dinusha scored an impressive century in the first innings.
Later, he smacked an 84-run knock in the second innings to amass 184 runs across both innings. Moreover, he continued his good form with an unbeaten 85-run knock in the first innings of the second Test.
“You cannot do that easily. Considering the technique, temperament, and shots he has shown, the Sri Lankan Test team has got a complete cricketer, and he is playing just his fifth Test match. He scored his first century in his fourth Test, almost scored a second century in the second innings, and the way he is batting in this innings, he is about to reach a century,” Pujara added.
Overall, Dinusha has accumulated 269 runs at an average of 134.50 in three innings in the ongoing series.
