More than a Test series for Lankans
Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne (C), Head Coach Chris Silverwood and Asst. Coach Naveed Nawaz check out the pitch at Chattogram
Having had their bowling stocks severely depleted following the retirement of veteran seamer Suranga Lakmal and decisions to rest Dushmantha Chameera and Lahiru Kumara, Sri Lanka is in a painful position ahead of their two-match Test series against Bangladesh starting today in Chattogram, Bangladesh.
With their absence, pace injection has fallen on the shoulders of Vishwa Fernando, Asitha Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Chamika Karunaratne and uncapped Dilshan Madushanka. Can they rise to the challenge is the question.
The flat track saw Sri Lanka’s last two matches at the venue fetch over 1000 runs in each game. To strengthen the bowling department, the team management has picked spinner Ramesh Mendis to assist Lasith Embuldeniya and Praveen Jayawickrema.
“There’s no point going heavy on the batting front since the pitch is a flat track. So we will go with six batters and five bowlers–two seamers and three spinners,” a team source said from Bangladesh.
“We expect some turn from day three onwards and since our strength lies in the spin department, we added Mendis to the mix.”
At a pre-match press conference on Friday, Sri Lanka skipper Dimuth Karunaratne hinted the same when he said he needs a bowling unit that can take 20 wickets to push for a result.
“We’ve seen a lot of runs scored on this wicket before, so we know we’ll need some wicket-taking bowlers in the team, and we’ll have to see if we go in with an extra bowler or not,” Karunaratne said.
The teams played out a run-fest at the same ground in 2018, with Sri Lanka compiling 713/9 declared after the home side put up 513 across the first two days. Kusal Mendis (196) and Dhananjaya de Silva (173) put up a second wicket stand of 308 to ensure the tourists kept up, with Roshen Silva (109), Dinesh Chandimal (87) and Niroshan Dickwella (62) relishing the conditions.
In the absence of key three seamers, Vishwa Fernando will carry the burden with Asitha Fernando to share the new ball. The series will offer a great opportunity for its inexperienced fast bowlers to stake a claim in the side.
“Suranga’s retirement has also given a good opportunity for the youngsters to come in, perform and establish a spot in the side. In the past, we’ve seen that it was primarily Suranga holding up one end in terms of fast bowling, but there’s now a chance for someone else to grab that spot. So, I look forward to seeing who put their hands up,” the skipper said.
“If you look at the fast bowlers, there’s Kasun Rajitha. I played with him and I know him well. Vishwa as well had a good tournament. So, there’s good competition among the fast-bowling unit as to who will make it to the playing XI. As a senior, it’s something I really like to see. It means that the fast-bowling unit is in good stead.”
With Lahiru Thirimanne and Pathum Nissanka missing the tour, the skipper said that Oshada Fernando who scored four centuries and three half-centuries in his most recent domestic appearance is likely to open with Karunaratne.
“We will most likely go with Oshada as my opening partner for this game,” he said, adding that he also has Kamil Mishara at his disposal. And the captain expects his batters to perform as they did on the previous two occasions at the venue.
“If you compare both the sides, I think we have a good batting line-up, and I expect our batters to do the job,” he reiterated. Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, and Niroshan Dickwella will make the playing XI as batters along with either Dinesh Chandimal or Kusal Mendis.
Interestingly, the tour will be the first assignment for Chris Silverwood, the team’s new head coach. The skipper said Silverwood encourages fearless play.
“Chris is a very experienced coach, and we saw what he was capable of when he brought his England side down to Sri Lanka last year and won,” he said.
“He likes to take on a challenge. He likes to play fearless cricket. This is the first series and he’s not tried to make any major changes as yet. But I think you’ll see little, little improvements and shifts as time goes on–the standard of cricket we’re playing now–I think you’ll see at least a 20-30% improvement just purely on the strategies he’s looking to implement.”
The series is also important for both sides as they look to improve their positions in the World Test Championships. Sri Lanka is currently in fifth place while Bangladesh sits in eighth place on the nine-team table.