Tillakaratne Dilshan, whose
innovative batting earned him the player of the tournament award in
the recently concluded Twenty20 World Cup, says opening the innings
has provided a late spark in his career.
"I feel happy and proud about becoming the player of the series in a
World Cup series," Dilshan told reporters on
returning to Sri
Lanka after his team finished runner-up at the tournament.
"The past year
of my cricketing career has seen a change. I got an opportunity to open
the innings and I took maximum advantage of it and was able to make a
difference to the team and to my career."
The 32-year-old right-handed batsman has had a mediocre career while
batting mostly at No. 6 in one-day internationals and Twenty20 games until
he was promoted to opener last year.
His average in Twenty20 games went from 18.80 runs in six matches as a No.
6 to an impressive 54 in eight matches as an opener. His strike rate is
142 runs per 100 balls.
In one-day internationals he batted at No. 6 in 87
matches with an average of 18 runs per innings. He doubled that
average in the 11 matches in which he opened the innings.
Dilshan made 317 runs at an average of 52.83 in the tournament. His
innovative shot right above the wicketkeeper has brought him much
attention
with some commentators naming the shot the "Dilscoop."
Sri Lanka had a successful Twenty20 campaign in England with an
unbeaten run in the preliminary matches before losing to Pakistan by
eight wickets in the final.
Captain Kumar Sangakkara rejected suggestions that not using reserve
players caused Sri Lanka's defeat.
"Unfortunately in a short tournament not everyone will get an equal
chance, some people might not get a chance at all," he said. "We
always try for the best of the team . . . and all selections are
geared and based for that."
