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Will Sri Lanka create history down under? Will Sangakkara and his men become the first senior national team to defeat Australia in their own backyard when the ODI series starts? I am sure the crazy cricket fans of Sri Lanka are full of expectations whilst the team is also brimming with confidence.
As for the playing record, Sri Lanka has defeated Australia in a full series just once and that was at the U19 level when the Lankans beat the Kangaroos three games to two in the limited over series where the Mahinda schoolboy Rumesh Buddhika, one of Sri Lanka’s best young batsmen, was adjudged the man of the series.
But besides that there has been very little to show in terms of overall achievements as a team for Sri Lanka, though one cannot forget some of the displays of individual brilliance like the great Aravinda De Silva’s back to back hundreds, Kumara Sangakkara’s epic one hundred and ninety plus at Hobart and the individual hundreds scored by Jayasuriya, Gurusinghe and Sanjeewa Ranatunga in 1996, possibly the best achievements in Australia up to now.
Lankans climbing high Down Under |
Whilst on almost every tour to Australia, Sri Lanka started out as under dogs, and despite gritty and determined performances was never able to outclass the Aussies, the current tour appears to be different. For the first time the Sri Lankans though not being favourites appear to be on par with the hosts and posses a better than even chance of winning in Australia.
Skipper Sangakkara’s squad has the right balance with experience thrown in, in the form of some of the top performers on the world stage. Sangakkara, Jayawardane, Dilshan are three of the most attractive and quality players in the world, whilst Muralitharan, still available for ODI’s, and Lasith Malinga are class acts with the ball. In the rest of the batting the inclusion of Chamara Silva in the middle order is an excellent choice as he brings a decent cricket brain added to the value he provides with runs and fielding. Young Chamara Kapugedara on the other hand should feel under pressure as he is surely one of the players under scrutiny as he hasn’t delivered on the huge promise he has shown since his entry into the big league.
The other batsman who will have to showcase his mettle will be Upul Tharanga. With many young openers such as Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne in the fray and veteran Jayasuriya also pushing his case very strongly, Tharanga will have to form an effective opening combination with the belligerent Dilshan. The middle order appears to be solid with many options such as Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedara, Angelo Mathews and not forgetting the new entrance of the batting all rounder Jeewan Mendis at the disposal of Sangakkara.
Jeewan Mendis’ entry is definitely a very interesting accumulation as he was one of the brightest youngsters Sri Lanka possessed then without really doing justice to his talent. But with experience Mendis has matured into a fine middle order batsman who can hold his place purely on his batting, while he can also be a handy leg spinner who could get you a few wickets, without being in the class of a front line bowler. One could safely say that Mendis is the ideal shorter version player a team could have as he is handy on the field too and brings variety to the batting order as a left hander. It will be a tough baptism for him and much would be expected of him when he walks onto the field to take his place amongst the regulars in the challenging environment that prevails in Australia.
The tour of Australia, will also without a doubt confirm the class of Suraj Randiv, the tall off spinner, as a player of undisputed ability! Randiv with his very useful late order batting and brilliant fielding is bound to be an integral part of the Sri Lankan line up in all forms of cricket. And so far in the few games he has played he has shone with eye catching performances. The tour will also give him great experience and education bowling aside the master Muttiah Muralitharan who will not tour Australia again as a National Cricketer.
Thisara Perera the dashing allrounder who had an excellent five wicket haul against the Indians in Dambulla in the tri-series is another player given the license to have a go with the bat. Perera who is a whole hearted fighter in every sense has cut an impressive figure with the ball. However he will be expected to display his batting skills at the highest level as during the limited opportunities he has had, one has only seen a glimpse of what he is capable of.
From the rest of the squad Nuwan Kulasekera and Dilhara Fernando will be part of the seam bowling options available to Sri Lanka. Both Fernando and Malinga had been capable of touching speeds of around 145 to 150kmp in the past, but the spate of injuries that has plagued them doesn’t permit them to bowl at full throttle anymore. Instead it has been the occasional effort ball that has come into play, though in fairness Malinga has continued his wicket taking ability by reversing and also making good use of the Yorker.
But what about the chances of the Australians? For Ricky Ponting, back in the saddle as captain, the challenges are enormous. One doesn’t need rocket science to know that Ponting’s main concern is the Ashes whilst the Sri Lankans are bound to create a headache for him too. A poor performance against the Lankans or an average performance is not going to get his stocks appreciating with selectors on a personal level, not forgetting that the rest of the Aussies too for the first time appear to be feeling the heat. Also with Siddle and Haddin back just after injury it will not be the ideal make up for the Australians taking on a strong Sri Lankan outfit and then the old enemy in the prestigious battle for the Ashes.
For Sri Lanka it is an opportunity that one may not have for a considerable period of time and with the cricket World Cup to be staged in February next year, it is a case of ‘all to play for’ for them, with every win in Australia increasing their confidence level and enhancing their chances of a repeat performance of Lahore 1996.
Roshan Abeysinghe is a leading cricket promoter and an international cricket commentator |
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