Oh! To beat the Australians

Sri Lanka’s performance in the second test against Australia at Hobart was a much better effort than in the first game. The pitch was much friendlier towards the Sri Lankan batsmen and of course the return of Kumar Sangakkara to the playing eleven elevated the batting performance to another level.

The bowlers found the going tough yet again. Muttiah Muralitharan, the team’s hope in all conditions and situations got nothing from his opponents. They held onto their wickets when facing the champion off spinner almost if their life depended upon it. Over the past ten years almost every time Sri Lanka has dismissed an opposition line-up Muralitharan has had a hand in it.

Had he not been tormenting batsmen, then, Chaminda Vaas was doing it. After an unsuccessful first test Vaas was sidelined. With the combination of left arm pace and right arm off spin being negated, the run hungry Aussies once again made hay. Not once but twice.

To make matters worse Farveez Mahroof, wobbled off the field with a stress fractured ankle -- a severe blow for the youngster. The question is, was the workload too great for a young body; Remember Nuwan Soysa? He was worked to the bone at a young age, was sidelined with one injury or another and never lived up to the early promise. Let this be a lesson for the future and let’s also hope that Mahroof recovers fast and continues from where he left off.

The quick bowlers of both teams could not get much movement in the air in both test matches. Although there was some rain during both games, when dry, conditions were clear and often sunny and the ball did not juggle around. The Australians had the ability to get more bounce and more movement (earlier in the game) than the Sri Lankans and that made the difference.Brett Lee was impressive once again. He kept coming back over and over again, like the waves in the ocean, that there was no relaxing against him. That burst when he trapped Marvan Atapattu at deep backward square leg and then bowled a reverse swinging yorker to bowl the first innings centurion Mahela Jayawardena with match winning deliveries. He finished with four wickets hauls in the two match series and signaled that he had filled the boots of Glen McGrath.

The three most technically sound players of the visiting team all tasted success. Mahela Jayawardena, Kumar Sangakkara and Marvan Atapattu, demonstrated how valuable it is to follow the fundamentals of batting, when playing good bowling and when a long innings is required. That is test match batting.

It was a remarkable test match pitch. The pre match predictions were that the ball will seam around at the beginning or at least that was the reputation. It played well from day one for the players to display their abilities. Certainly, the spinners could not get into the action. Although Muralitharan bowled a lot of overs economically, he could not get the ball to rip and have the batsmen at his mercy. Give credit to the Australian batsmen they watched his every delivery and played them off the pitch.The Sri Lankans failed in two areas with the bat.

They could not put together an opening stand value. The lower top and middle order also did not make enough. Sanath Jayasuriya scored a quick forty in the second innings whilst Chamara Silva and Prasanna Jayawardena failed to contribute.

Therefore, the efforts of Jayawardena, Sangakkara and Atapattu fell by the wayside. Each individual has a role to play. In test cricket, over the five days, should that not happen, most often, that missing link gets exposed.

In the end, the fourth innings total was good. To score 410 runs in the fourth innings is indeed hugely creditable. It was all possible because Kumar Sangakkara played a remarkable innings. It must rank amongst the best played by a Sri Lankan during the twenty five years of playing test cricket. For the man himself, this will be a rich and fulfilling experience. To go to the lions den and tame them gave every Sri Lankan so much to cheer about.

The final analysis is, good, but not good enough. To get the better of the Australians on their home turf is still a far cry!