While the Sri Lankan spinners totally destroyed the South African batsmen in the first Test of two-match Test series at Galle, Sri Lankan opener Dimuth Karunaratne hugely impressed with the bat as he scored 158* and 60 in that Test match. In fact, he was the only batsman in that entire game to play 50+ innings.

As Sri Lanka has taken a 1-0 lead in this series after winning the match by 278 runs, Karunaratne revealed that how he managed to get success against the South African spinners. He said that he used his feet and forced them to bowl where he wanted.

Talking about his success story, Karunaratne said, “If you give spinners a chance to dominate you, they will step all over you. To avoid that I use my feet, and I’m trying to create scoring opportunities by doing as much as I can. What I’m trying to do is make them bowl in areas that are good scoring zones for me. If you move around the crease and take a little risk when scoring those runs, you can get the bowlers to bowl where you want them to.

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He further added, “On pitches like this I am always looking for runs and trying to bat positively. Often my strike rate is in the 70s – like it was in this match. That’s the biggest thing. When you are playing spin you need to have a defence, but more than that you have to dominate the spinners before they dominate you.”

The 30-year-old Sri Lankan cricketer believes that he is getting matured, but he also feels that he can be better. As he likes the challenges, he feels that he is applying his skill correctly.

Talking about his batting style, Karunaratne elaborated, “I think I’ve matured since I first came into the team. But I’m not complete yet. The more I play, the better I will become.

“I knew in this match that there would be spin after those early overs, because Galle is anyway a spin-friendly track. But I like that challenge, because it tests you. You get better when you face challenges like that. I think I’m applying my skill and doing well on turning tracks.

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“When I go to bat, I’m thinking of the first 15 overs, because it’s in those 15 overs that an opener has it toughest. But if you can get through that, then you should know how to carry on. Rather than doing all the hard work and passing the job on to someone else, it’s better to build the innings yourself. If an opener that wants to score runs, that’s really important.”