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It wasn’t the start Sri Lanka wanted and definitely not the type of performance they were banking on! Losing the World Cup opener could be tough to recover from, though thankfully the next game is against Zimbabwe. Having said that I wonder how nervous the Lankan camp will be up to the 3rd of May when they meet them at the same venue considering the fact that the Zimbabweans have already humbled the Aussies and the Pakistanis in practice games!
Hence the Lankan’s will be expected to put their best foot forward in the crunch games or otherwise may definitely face the ignominy of an early exit.
In the opening game against the Kiwis the pitch at the Providence stadium was not the ideal T 20 pitch with low in bounce and sluggishness appearing perfect for the spin bowlers and also for the likes of Bond and Malinga who were tough to score off, every time they looked to take the pace off the ball. As for the spinners who were on display, they were both pivotal and were almost critical factors in the final out come.
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As explained previously the Providence wasn’t a boundary pitch by any stretch of imagination though we did see some class shots executed. The innings of the match was from Mahela Jayawardane in his new role as an opener. The manner he constructed his innings when the rest appeared to be struggling was a class act. Also his short making was exceptional with the improvisation being of very high standard! In the Kiwi camp it was Jessie Ryder. He definitely matched Mahela with the impact he created though he couldn’t really carry on for too long. But both these innings were critical towards the final outcome of the match.
I also felt, that, one hugely significant difference in the two teams was the consistent factor of the respective batting departments. In the Sri Lankan innings if you detach the knocks of Jayawardane’s and young Chandimal’ there isn’t anything to show from the rest though all of them had some time available to them in the middle with the exception of Jayasuriya.
But in the case of the Kiwis almost every batsman had a start and did come in with something useful during their stay at the crease allowing them to take a shot at the Sri Lankan total and over come it at the final post with a ball remaining.
Back to the Sri Lankan innings I am sure the 135 for 6 wouldn’t have inspired many of its supporters but listening to Sangakkara’s comments after he won the toss and the very manner the pitch played, overhauling it was never going to be easy as the bowling of Sri Lanka on display was definitely good enough. But what happened in the end had more to do with determined and sometimes fortunate batting by the Kiwis and an inconsistent display on the field by the Lankans. On the subject of fortune you couldn’t have asked for anything greater than the one handed loft by Oram off Mendis blown away for six when otherwise it would have been a fairly straightforward catch to the deep fielder causing another swing in the pendulum towards the Sri Lankan camp and a wicket to the deserving Mendis. But then cricket is about such luck and situations which makes it all the more enjoyable.
On the field the Lankans had many opportunities which they missed. Catches at vital times and even run outs which should have been effected had all taken its toll in the final out come though one cannot forget the sheer brilliance by Dilshan to run out the dangerous wicket keeper Hopkins with a precision throw after Welegedara had castled yet another ominous looking Jacob Oram.
Focusing on Sri Lanka’s future in the tournament one should attempt to identify both the “do’s” and the “do nots” in the next game as they are both vital in the final outcome of any situation leave alone a cricket match. I am sure there were both pretty straight forward and key learnings from the last game. Though the strongest and the clearest picture that is emerging is for the dashing Dilshan to be amongst the runs! Looking back at the golden year Dilshan has had, let’s not forget that in most games he scored, Sri Lanka won. It is imperative that he gets to similar form very soon. He is too good a player to have an extension of low scores. And as the assistant coach of Sri Lanka Stuart Law said “he is just a boundary away from getting back to his best form”.
In addition to that one cannot understand the logic in playing the veteran Jayasuriya as low as no 8 in the batting order. When considering his record Jayasuriya has been a top order player all his life and should be utilized more effectively than merely being used to make up the numbers and bowl some cheap overs of spin. For example in the game against the Kiwis where experience was a critical factor, Jaysuriya should have been sent in at no 3 where he would have been the ideal foil for Jayawardane and to take on the lead role as I am sure his experience on similar pitches would have made him aware of how to be effective .
Also Jayasuriya is one player who could clear the 75 yard boundary with his power pack hitting and after Dilshan took 19 balls for his 3 runs he should have been given the licence to go out there and play his normal attacking role. But what happened effectively was that Sangakkara who came in next took a further 11 balls for his 4 runs effectively giving Sri Lanka a net return of just 7 runs from 05 overs or from 25% of the available number of balls. What should have really been the strategy was for Sangakkara to decide on his position of batting depending on the situation of the innings rather than stick to the rigid method of being the no 3 in the side come what may!.
Surely there is no better player to carry on at no.3 after a sound start in a T 20 game than Sangakkara but in a difficult situation such as the game against the Kiwis there could have been no harm done in Jayasuriya coming up the order. Had the change been effected I am sure Sri Lanka would have got to the 140 plus mark which is critical in modern T 20 cricket.
As for the rest of the team I really don’t see any changes being made or needed for the next game as one can not think of any major part that needs immediate repairs other than the runs at the top. In any event the only spare batsman available to the Lankans is Chinthaka Jayasinghe who is more an all rounder than a specialist. Also a word about the Sri Lankan bowling should be mentioned here! Let’s not forget that it has been the bowling which carried the flag for Sri Lanka in most games in the past, and it wasn’t anything different against the Kiwis too.
True the pitch was slow and difficult to bat and run scoring was not easy but haven’t we witnessed teams in T 20 games over hauling similar scores with ruthlessness and ease some time in as few overs as 15 in the past? But to the credit of the Sri Lankan bowlers they definitely were a very strong force to reckon with and were the main factor to give the Kiwis the fight they had.
Having said all that lets not try to read too much in to one bad day in the office which can not determine the out come of an entire tournament. As such it is important that the rest of the matches be viewed in that perspective. After all Sri Lanka has the potential to go all the way and they are a too good a team to be inconsistent on two straight days.
Roshan Abeysinghe is a leading cricket promoter and an international cricket commentator |
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