Sanath laments over Lankan batting woes
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By S.R. Pathiravithana
A disappointed Sri Lanka Cricket chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya reiterated that the seven batters in the lineup should learn from their mistakes and strive for a better show at least in the final Test match which is scheduled to begin in Cape Town on Thursday.
Jayasuriya told the Sunday Times “We selected a side which is a blend of youth and experience. Besides, even the young ones have had their own share of exposure in the recent past. May be we can excuse misreading the game in the first instance as for most of the players it was their first time out in South Africa, but, I can’t understand why they failed in the same manner in the second Test also.
In the first Test match the Lankans limited the South Africans to a total of 286 and scored 205 runs in reply and that too came after they were struggling at 3 for 22 at one stage. Then in the second innings after a 116 run stand for the first wicket the Lankans began losing its grip, as most of the top order batsmen failed to come up with a commanding inning in spite of four batsmen getting in to positions that they could have capitalized upon.
“I feel that at least one batsman should have risen to occasion and held on to it. But, sadly that did not happen. There are seven batsmen in the side so that they can get the job done. “Now at least in the final Test it is up to the Lankan batters to come up with the much anticipated satisfactory performance.
“The same cannot be said about the bowlers. They have bowled with a lot of purpose and never let the totals rise up to unmanageable levels, but, when it came to the batsmen they have let the side down”.
Seamer Suranga Lakmal seems to have adopted a liking for the South African strips. He is among the top wicket getters in the series so far with twelve wickets at a cost of less than 25 runs per head. Besides nineteen year-old Lahiru Kumara also has shown a lot of promise.
However the Johannesburg strip on which the third Test is scheduled is supposed to be the fastest in the African continent and would be a daunting task for the young Lankan batters. Even so what is most eagerly awaited is the display of grit and gumption to face the pace of Kagiso Rabada and the wiles and guides of Vernon Philander.