Sri Lanka cricket’s year of fluctuating fortunes
Sri Lanka wrapped up 2019, becoming the first nation to travel Pakistan for a Test tour
The National team has won three Test matches out of eight, seven out of 21 ODIs and four out of 13 T20I’s last year.
It has been a year of fluctuating fortunes for the national team. A close look at team’s shows that they lack of consistency in all three formats throughout the year.
The year started with a disastrous tour of New Zealand where Sri Lanka lost a hard fought Test series though Angelo Mathews and Kusal Mendis went on to deny the hosts from winning the Wellington match. Unfortunately, the tourists were comprehensively beaten in the second Test in Christchurch.
Ahead of the limited over leg Lasith Malinga was appointed to lead the side in New Zealand but the move backfired as Sri Lanka went on to lose the One Day International Series (ODI) and the lone T20 international comprehensively.
The tour of Australia was the toughest assignment they had to encounter last year, where the Lankan Lions failed to provide any resistance to the hostile Australian fast bowling attack spearheaded by Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins.
Dinesh Chandimal is considered to be one of the best batsman alongside Mathews in the national team but Chandimal’s captaincy had been under scrutiny due to Sri Lanka’s lacklustre performances in New Zealand and Australia. As a result of that Chandimal was axed as captain and eventually excluded from the South Africa tour.
Chandimal was excluded from all the formats for 10 months. He made a timely return to the Test team during Sri Lanka’s tour of Pakistan in December.
When Dimuth Karunaratne was appointed as Test captain it raised some eye brows before the tour. It turned out be a blessing in disguise for the Lankans. It was the first time that a team from Asia had won a Test series in South Africa.
This historic series will be remembered for many reasons. Especially for Kusal Perera’s master class in Durban and the emergence of Oshada Fernando who made his Test debut in South Africa.
For Sri Lanka, it was a dream that fans never thought that it would happen in reality. The youngsters were able to contribute significantly throughout the series. Players such as Vishwa Fernando, Lasith Ebuldeniya and Oshada Fernando also played an important role in the historic series win.
This victory boosted the confidence of the Lankan team. It was thought to be a moment that will change the fortunes of the National team.
Despite the flaws in New Zealand, Malinga continued to lead the team against South Africa, but they failed to replicate what they had done in the Test series. Their poor record in limited over formats continued as they were whitewashed across the shorter formats in South Africa.
Sri Lanka lost eight consecutive ODIs leading up to the World Cup in England.
Dimuth was due to play a county stint for Hampshire, England. But the selectors had thought that Karunaratne was the best candidate for the role after his successful captaincy stint in South Africa.
When Sri Lanka went in to the World Cup there were no expectations that they will do anything significant considering the performance leading up to the tournament.
Leading in to the tournament, Sri Lanka’s trump card off spinner Akila Dananjaya was suspected of an illegal bowling action.
Dananjaya had been a consistent performer for Sri Lanka across all three formats until his action was reported during the Test series against England in November 2018. Despite returning to the national set up against South Africa this year, his wicket taking ability had diminished.
During the South Africa series he averaged 92 with the ball and he was only able to take four wickets. As a result of that Dananjaya was excluded from the World Cup squad. Sri Lanka went in to the WC with only one frontline spinner Jeffery Vandersay who was hardly used during the tournament.
Sri Lanka had to use the services of part time spinner Dananjaya de Silva in the absence of a premier spinner.
Despite the poor record in the ODIs, Sri Lanka went on to win three matches out of nine, where two of them were washed out due to inclement weather.
The highlight of Sri Lanka’s World Cup campaign was their victory against England at Headingley, Leeds and their nail-biting victory against West Indies in Durham.
Even though they won the matches against England and West Indies they were not able to hold their nerve against strong opposition. Throughout the tournament their batsmen were on their toes against formidable bowling line-ups.
There were a lot of expectations on Kusal Mendis but he did not live up to the promise in the year as he averaged just 26 across all three formats of the game.
On a brighter note, it was pleasing to see the resurgence of Mathews who is considered to be Sri Lanka’s senior most batsmen. He played a pivotal role in Sri Lanka’s historic victory against England, where he scored an invaluable innings of 85 and he scored a memorable century against India at Headingley in Sri Lanka’s final group stage match.
On the other hand their premier fast bowler Lasith Malinga also played a vital role for Sri Lanka during their WC campaign. Despite being down on pace, he still had the ability to take wickets at crucial stages throughout the tournament.
Avishka Fernando was the shining light of the tournament. He scored 203 runs at an average of 50.75. He became the youngest Sri Lankan to get his first century during the World Cup when he scored a counter-attacking century against West Indies at Durham.
After their early exit from the WC, the chairman of selectors, Asantha De Mel pointed out that despite being knocked out from the tournament Sri Lanka had won 50% of their matches, and he believed Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is heading in the right direction. He praised the captain for keeping the team together at all times.
It was a quick turnaround for Dimuth and his team after the World Cup as Bangladesh landed in Sri Lanka for a three-match ODI series.
Bangladesh were without senior players such as Shakib Al Hassan, Liton Das and Mohammad Saifuddin .
Throughout the series, the Bangla Tigers failed to show any resistance for the hosts as they were comprehensively beaten in all three ODIs.
For Sri Lanka it was a rare series win and they dominated in all three facets of the game. Avishka Fernando and Kusal Perera continued from where they left off during the WC as they dominated the inconsistent bowling from Bangladesh. On the other hand the bowlers were able to bowl to a proper game plan as the opposition batsmen fail to come out of the pressure created by the bowlers.
This series was a confidence booster for Sri Lanka as they executed their game plan before the commencement of their World Test Championship (WTC) campaign.
Leading up to the New Zealand series head coach Chandika Haturusingha was suspended from national duty due to the team’s poor performances in the recent past. Rumesh Ratnayake who was the bowling coach at the time was appointed as the interim head coach of the National team.
Sri Lanka commenced their WTC campaign against New Zealand. This series was the first Test series after their historic series triumph in South Africa.
New Zealand were hammered in the first Test, but stunned the hosts by showing the resolve to fight back. While the Galle Test was anybody’s game until Dimuth Karunaratne produced a gem of a fourth innings performance.
In the second Test, it was a complete turnaround. The proceedings were dominated by the visitors and coming into the final day, the only realistic outcome was a New Zealand win or a draw. The hapless batting performance by the senior players on the final day ensured a fascinating victory for the New Zealanders.
Both teams were pleased about the fact they had 60 points each under their belt and they will be satisfied with the fact that they started the WTC on a winning note.
Their poor record in the shortest format of the game continued as the hosts lost the T20I series (2-1).
The national team embarked on a historic tour to Pakistan after a decade to play an ODI series and a T20I series.
Sri Lanka went in to the tour with a depleted squad as ten senior players pulled out due to security reasons. Lahiru Thirimanne and Dasun Shanaka were appointed to lead the ODI and T20I teams respectively. In the ODIs, Sri Lanka were comprehensively beaten, but in the T20I series, the Lankans were able to bounce back as they went on to whitewash Pakistan on their own soil.
It was a moment to cherish for Dasun Shanaka and his team. This was a series that proved the capabilities of the future prospects of Sri Lanka cricket.
But those golden memories were short-lived as Sri Lanka had to encounter an embarrassing whitewash against Australia. Throughout the tour of Australia the Sri Lankans were outclassed and as a result, they capitulated under pressure.
The bowling attack led by Lasith Malinga was severely punished by the strong Australian batting line-up
Skipper Malinga the T20 specialist has led Sri Lanka in 10 internationals during the last 12 months but has managed just one win. It is fair to say that a prompt change in captaincy should be made in the T20 format with the T20 World Cup is on the horizon in Australia in October this year.
Malinga still delivers the goods in T20s – his double hat trick against New Zealand was a prime example. Despite all that, the need of a balanced squad is vital for Sri Lanka if they want to repeat the heroics of 2014.
To wrap-up an eventful year for the national team, they toured Pakistan for the second time as Test cricket returned after a gap of ten years. The first Test in Rawalpindi was marred by inclement weather but yet the Pakistani batsmen made their way into the record book as Abid Ali and Baber Azam scored hundreds as the first Test ended in a draw.
The second Test is a great example to show the weaknesses that the national team has encountered in the year. They had a great chance of winning the Karachi Test after restricting Pakistan for a low score. The Pakistan batsmen rectified their mistakes in the second innings after conceding an 80-run first innings lead. On the other hand, the Lankan bowlers felt the pressure and gave away runs at a fast rate. None of the bowlers manage to contain the Pakistan batsmen.
As a result, they had to chase a mammoth score of 476 and the weaknesses of the Lankan batsmen were exposed. Soon after, they crashed to an embarrassing defeat. Sri Lanka lost the series 1-0.
The year 2019 has given us moments of excitement and at the same time as well as some bitter pills to swallow. So there will be a lot of hopes that the team will be able to live up to the expectations of the nation in 2020.