Freedom doesn't mean swinging at every ball, says Dimuth Karunaratne

Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne said that playing with freedom doesn't mean swinging at every ball.

"When I say players should be free, I don't mean that you just hit every ball that you see. It's about keeping your mind free. If you at any time feel like you should play the reverse-sweep but you stop yourself, you're restricting yourself," ICC quoted Karunaratne as saying.

"There are times when you can get runs from that shot, and when it's a safe option. It's about being relaxed. Freedom doesn't mean swinging at every ball. It's about playing with confidence," he added.

Sri Lanka had won the first Test match by six wickets but in the second Test match, New Zealand made an impeccable come back and defeated Sri Lanka by an innings and 65 runs in Colombo on Monday.

Sri Lanka only managed to score 122 runs in the second innings and Karunaratne said that his team lacked patience.

"At times I felt our players really lacked patience. A Test is a very valuable thing, and batsmen should know how to play according to the situation. They should know how to handle that freedom," Karunaratne said.

Sri Lanka will now compete against New Zealand for the first T20I on September 1.