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Sri Lanka Told To Show More Patience And Grit In 2nd Test: ‘You Cannot Let India Run Away’
Russell Arnold has urged Sri Lanka to show greater tactical awareness, patience and grit against India in the second Test after their 165-run defeat in Galle.
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Former Sri Lanka cricketer Russell Arnold wants Dhananjaya de Silva-led Sri Lanka to show greater tactical awareness, patience and resilience in the second Test against India in Colombo after suffering a 165-run defeat in the rain-hit first match of the two-Test series at the Galle International Stadium.
In the first Test of the ongoing series, Sri Lanka struggled against both the Indian batters and bowlers and failed to put up much of a fight.
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Arnold, who played 44 Tests, 180 ODIs and one T20I for Sri Lanka between 1997 and 2007, acknowledged that while the Sri Lankan players failed to deliver as expected in the first Test, making changes to the playing XI is never easy, particularly because Sri Lanka do not have the same depth as India.
However, he believes the hosts can take several positives from their performance in the series opener and use those lessons to put India under greater pressure in the second Test.
“Playing XI changes are tough. Where do you go? Sri Lanka do not have the depth that India boasts of,” Arnold said when asked about possible changes to Sri Lanka’s XI for the second Test by CNN-News18.
Looking back at the first Test, Arnold felt Sri Lanka had a difficult start after India took advantage of favourable batting conditions and raced to 288/2. He stressed that the hosts needed to prevent India from building such a strong platform.
“If we look at that first Test closely, India got to 288/2 on a very good pitch, and winning the toss was so important. Beyond that, I thought Sri Lanka showed a lot of resilience to bowl India out for 462,” he said.
“In the second innings, they didn’t let India get away and got those wickets. At one stage, we wondered what India were doing because wickets kept falling and runs weren’t coming. So they did compete beyond that first day,” Arnold added.
However, the former Sri Lankan batter believes the hosts need to be better at putting pressure on India from the outset. According to him, allowing India to reach 288/2 on the opening day made Sri Lanka’s task considerably harder.
“From a Sri Lankan point of view, maybe they could have made scoring a lot tougher and not let them get to 288 — maybe 240. Little things like that make a difference,” Arnold explained.
Arnold also highlighted Sri Lanka’s top-order struggles as a major concern. He believes the batters need to show more application and make India’s bowlers work much harder for every wicket.
“They had the top-order batting issue in both innings,” he said.
For the second Test, Arnold wants Sri Lanka to focus on staying in the contest regardless of the match situation. Even if they lose the toss or find themselves playing on a good batting surface, he believes they cannot afford to let India dictate terms.
“What they need to focus on in the second Test is that even if you lose the toss, even if conditions are good, even if things aren’t working, you cannot let the opposition run away. You’ve got to tighten up and wait for those moments,” Arnold said.
He also called for greater tactical maturity from the Sri Lankan side, along with patience and determination from their top order.
“That’s about being tactically smart and experienced. I’d also like to see more application, patience and grit from the top order to make India work harder for wickets,” Arnold said.
Watch Sri Lanka vs. India 2nd Test Day 1 on August 23, 2026, from 10 AM IST live on Sony Sports Ten 1 SD & HD & Sony LIV.
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Original source: https://www.news18.com/cricket/
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