‘Five Bowler’ strategy lends balance- Vaas

Former Sri Lankan pace ace Chaminda Vaas was in all praise for the Virat Kohli led young Indian test side, pinpointing that their aggressive brand of cricket has played rich dividends.
“It is good that India are playing aggressive cricket. All good sides do, especially when they play with five bowlers. They are rebuilding under Virat Kohli and I like their aggressive brand of cricket,” said the former Sri Lankan bowling coach.
The Indians were dismantled by spin in their fourth innings in the first test match at the Galle, but returned fighting and won the second test comprehensively. Virat Kohli, a relatively young test captain, took heart from the demoralising defeat at Galle and stuck to the ‘Five Bowler’ strategy and the bowling unit played its part in the big win that followed.
“At Galle, they got bogged down after the match turned against them. But they didn’t let that happen again. Sri Lanka will have to play very good cricket to try to beat them again,” said Vaas, “Playing five bowlers gives a certain balance to the teams. But that is not always possible. Then different combinations are tried out. There may not be proper all-rounders in there, but all good sides have players who can perform dual roles,” he added.
The Lankan regarded as one of best paceman fron Asia also heaped praise on the legend that is Kumara Sangakara.
For Sri Lanka, Kumar Sangakkara was an all-rounder, keeping wickets and performing with the bat as well. That allowed us to play an extra batsman or bowler for many years when he used to do both those roles,” he added.
“Yes, every cricketer wants to win that trophy. But Sangakkara has been part of many Lankan teams that have always challenged for the title in every tournament they played. I was with him in the Sri Lankan team that reached the final of the 2007 World Cup in West Indies.
“Then four years later, he was the captain when Sri Lanka again reached the final of the World Cup. He might have missed out on both occasions, but it tells you about the quality of player he is. He never gives up. He is fully committed to what he wants to achieve and I do believe he will be very happy with the way his career has shaped up,” he cocncluded.