In this series, played on raging turners, Sri Lanka tied the first match, won the second game comfortably, and then trounced India in the third match by 110 runs.
Sri Lanka did not have their premier spinner Wanindu Hasaranga in games two and three either, after he was ruled out with a leg injury.
“The biggest positive was winning a series against India after 27 years,” Asalanka said. “The other big positive were the spinners. We had relied on Wanindu Hasaranga, but we’ve had Vandersay and Dunith playing well here too.”
But while on such helpful tracks, the spinners were perhaps expected to thrive, Sri Lanka’s top order also provided the kinds of platforms they have frequently failed to provide, especially against India.
“On these pitches, until the ball gets a little older, it’s easier to bat, and it takes less spin,” Asalanka said. “What we planned was for someone in the top order to get a big score, and for others around him to play around him and get to a good score. Today that was really successful, as Avishka got to 96, which isn’t easy on a pitch like this.
“But the coaching staff and me as the captain gave that challenge to the batsmen playing up the order, including me. If you look through the series the middle order was a little hit and miss, but the top order was successful, so we were able to get to those targets.
“The top order gave great starts and that’s the biggest change I see in this team. If you look at our one-day cricket two or three years ago we weren’t getting good starts. As the No. 5 batter, I was coming in at the 10 over mark quite frequently. But now there’s a foundation, and that’s a sign of us maturing.”
“As a team we tried to create a good environment, after talking to the coach,” Asalanka said. “We tried to give a lot of freedom to our players and to show their talent. We don’t put much pressure on them. We identify what the positives and negatives are and we back their strength. If they fail it’s not a problem. If you have that backing you can play against a good team like this. In the T20s though we lost there were positives in our top order. I knew as a captain that when we play to our potential, we can compete against the best.”