A win fashioned by unpredictability

Sports

The unpredictable nature of Pakistan cricket was clearly evident at the Sara Stadium when they were blowing both hot and cold and eventually surrendered meekly.

I am sure it must be a huge disappointment and frustration to the millions of Pakistani fans. Surely how would they come to grips with the spectacular collapse witnessed in the 2nd innings! 8 wickets lost for something like 25 runs. Unbelievable stuff! Mind you this was after young Fawad Alam and Skipper Younis Khan had added 200 runs in a fashion which suggested that Pakistan was getting on top of the Sri Lankan bowling and also the extent of freedom they enjoyed on the pitch. But the test match is now history and will only be remembered as another poor display from the Pakistan team and of course for the brilliant bowling of the Sri Lankans.

Kulasekera bowled the in-swinger to a very good effect trapping many Pakistan batsmen

Now about the Sri Lankan performance! Skipper Kumara Sangakkara continues to enjoy a dream run as captain. His strategies adopted and the decisions made were just fantastic. It was very apparent that every move made by the skipper paid off. But the biggest gamble was to give the 2nd new ball immediately after lunch to the left arm spinner Rangana Herat who bowled just magnificently for his first five wicket return in test cricket. If Herat’s Galle performance was great, his performance at the Sara Oval was just magnificent. At a time when Sri Lanka was loosing its grip, his spell just mesmerized the Pakistan batting. The extent of control he had on the Pakistan batting was evident with the delivery he dismissed Shoaib Malik! It was only the previous ball that Malik had hit a massive six off him and Pakistan’s hopes were naturally pinned on the shoulders of Malik and the follow up ball from Herat was just brilliant. It had enough drift and bounce to clip the bail creeping through the bat and pad!

Then let’s turn to Nuwan Kulasekera. What a series it has turned out to be for the medium-fast-bowler from Bandaranayake Vidyalaya Gampaha. Never a permanent member in the side, Kulasekera has fought his way in to reckoning at the highest level. Whilst being the best ranked ODI bowler, Kulasekera has shown us what a great operator he is with the new ball with his eight wicket haul following up his 6 wickets in Galle. Bowling at brisk medium pace, Kulasekera bowled the in-swinger to a very good effect trapping many Pakistan batsmen in front with their feet planted to the ground. His length has been so good and nagging that it appears to have taken the front foot play option of the Pakistan batting out of their game.

However whilst there is a lot of positives emerging from the bowling the batting still doesn’t seem to function at the level it should. In the first place had the batting clicked and had the rest batted around Skipper Sangakkara, Sri Lanka should have never had to bat a second time and if they did the target could have never been so much. Imagine if Pakistan ended up scoring 450 runs in the second innings? People may argue that the way the Sri Lankans chased 171 they could have easily made it to the 300. Though this may be a school of thought it is definitely obvious that a difference could have been seen in the approach from both sides when the target is 300 from 171. The bowling team would be more confident and will be willing to take chances for wickets whilst the batsman will naturally be a bit more cautious. It is very important that the likes of Dilshan, Samaraweera and Mathews transform their immense talent to big runs and not just 20’s and 30’s which has unfortunately been the case. On the same topic of batting the return to form of Opener Malinda Warnapura was most welcome. His runs-at-the-top was missing in three straight innings and when it came, what a difference it made to the team. His motto of dominance from ball one has been his success story and it was great to see him take his tried and tested route and succeed in the second innings.

Sri Lanka for the first time against Pakistan has won a series at home and they now have a great chance of making it a clean sweep by winning the 3rd test to be played at the SSC. On the topic of the SSC, one wonders whether Sri Lanka will want to look at changes to the team or go with the winning combination. With Muralitharan still being a doubtful starter, lets hope that Sri Lanka persists with the same combination and more importantly let Ajantha Mendis bowl the way he knows to bowl. Watching him from close quarters it looks that Mendis is a bit confused and has started to loosen on his great control. Now lets face it Mendis is neither a great turner of the ball or bowls with the loop and orthodoxy of a conventional spinner. His strength was his mystery and control which has accounted for his high percentage of wickets. He is the type of bowler that can curb runs at all times whilst getting you wickets and if that approach is changed it may not profit him in the long run. So it is important that Mendis goes back to the way he knows to bowl and starts providing the wickets the team so badly needs from him, with his tight control and mystery, as he is more than capable of serving Sri Lanka cricket for a long time to come.

Roshan Abeysinghe is a leading cricket promoter and an international cricket commentator

E-mail

views[1]