Most important thing is to rotate the strike - Perera

By Amindha de Alwis 

Jaffna Stallions skipper Thisara Perera who has been in a rich vein of form in the ongoing Lanka  Premier League stated that while it may be his big hitting that has grabbed the highlights, rotation of strike was the main focus during his match defining 118-run stand with Dhananjaya De Silva (61) which helped Jaffna Stallions overcome Kandy Tuskers on Tuesday -- their third win in as many games. 

Perera followed up his 97 not out against Dambulla Viiking the previous day with an equally impressive 68 off just 28 balls inclusive of five fours and five hits over the rope, taking him past Dasun Shanaka as the leading run-scorer of the tournament so far. To cap off his evening, he came back to claim two wickets and three catches to derail the Tuskers’ pursuit of 186. 

“Whatever is in my zone, I go for the big shot but the most important thing is to rotate the strike. I had told Dhananjaya (De Silva) because we need only one boundary and we can get nine-ten runs in an over. So what I think is that we did a really really good job in that period,” he said. 

Jaffna Stallions appeared by far the most balanced side on paper heading into the competition and they have not disappointed, winning all three of their games by comfortable margins and having found ways to bail themselves out even after less than ideal starts  by the top order in the last two games. 

“Three in a row means as captain I am happy and very very proud of my team. Our team plan was to put up a good score of 175 plus. I think we did a good job and we got 185 at the end of the day,” said Perera.