Sub-standard Performance By Lanka

Roshan
Abeysinghe

Sri Lanka Pakistan is a series which was weighted towards Sri Lanka. At least that was how it looked before a ball was bowled in the first test.
However at the end of the first test I am sure the odds have changed and unless something serious does happen to Pakistan they should be favourites going into the second test. Not good news for Sri Lanka but I am talking about reality here.
To start with, Sri Lanka has a lot of work to be done in the bowling department. Welegedara, Lakmal and Pradeep have potential but they are still highly inexperienced and have plenty to do. Pradeep in his first test looked nervous, which was understandable. Had he played on the helpful English pitches he would have approached the Pakistan test differently. In England he was bound to have pitches with pace and bounce and movement, which was hardly seen in Abu Dhabi. However, Pradeep definitely did impress with his pace running in hard in the heat and bending his back and clocking high one hundred and forties. Still what was lacking in him was consistency in line and length. I am convinced had he combined his pace with good line and length and used the short ball sparingly the returns were bound to be much more. My feeling was that he was attempting to intimidate the batsmen with his pace and sometimes wasted his energy by bowling deliveries which bounced far too high. He should have aimed his bouncers more at the batsmen’s chest or throat. Having said that, there is no doubt that Pradeep has the potential and will go on for bigger things in time to come.
The other fast bowler who impressed was Welegedara. His seam position which was upright made a huge difference in his bowling as he got nip off the track. One of his major problems was the scrambled seam when delivering the ball which doesn’t give him the carry and the nip off the pitch. Though in Abu Dhabi he was consistently hitting the seam and the delivery that bowled Azhar Ali was a beauty as it had everything in it.
Despite the promise and persistence in the bowling the Pakistan batting was outstanding. I was impressed with the manner the top three in the order applied themselves. None of them were tied down and were willing to force the pace when the opportunity permitted. By contrast the Sri Lankan approach on day one was far too cautious. Both Paranavithana and Thirimanne approached the game in a manner where run making looked difficult and one got the feeling that the good batting conditions before lunch should have been exploited more. What followed afterwards is the tale Sri Lanka should look to avoid. And one can never expect to be dominating a game after being dismissed under two hundred unless you are backed by top quality bowlers. Sadly that wasn’t the case and it was catch up cricket for the Lankans from day one. Thankfully the resolute Sangakkara was Sri Lanka’s saviour and his masterly double hundred saved Sri Lanka’s blushes. Sangakkara’s determination was brilliant. Here was a man on a mission to save his team from embarrassment and by the time he was dismissed late on day five he was very nearly there with his effort. The other outstanding effort was from the wicket keeper batsman Prassana Jayawardane who made his second hundred in a space of seven test matches. Jayawardane with a test average of thirty plus is highly underrated as a batsman and his century mixed with caution and aggression was the dose Sri Lanka needed. Jayawardane was the ideal foil for Sangakkara and this pair carried on against a tiring Pakistan attack. The most positive development for Sri Lanka in the test match besides the draw was the batting of young Lahiru Thirimanne. Playing only his 3rd Test match Tirimanne approached his second innings with great maturity. True a lapse in concentration very nearly cost him his wicket in the forties but otherwise his effort was tremendous. He definitely had the right partner at the other end in Sangakkara whose batting would have been an education for Thirimanne who should attempt to follow in the footsteps of Sanga.
As for the rest of the batting it is the old story being retold which has to be avoided at any cost during the rest of the series. In the first innings Mathews did score a very useful half century running out of partners. However, it is time that the batting click together for the greater good of Sri Lanka cricket. No team can win test matches with a first innings score of 197 as score board pressure is vital and when you also need all the help in the world for the bowlers. Another aspect that worked against the Lankans was the none usage of the DRS. Sri Lanka was the team that suffered most by the absence of it both when batting and bowling. I was most surprised to see the shocking errors of the two umpires Tucker and Hill. The caught behind decision of Dilshan was a bad one as it missed the edge and it was equally bad to see Taufeeq Omar given not out off an inside edge when he had just passed his hundred. There were few others too but the two mentioned were the most startling. I wonder whether the Umpires relaxed with the DRS not being used. Under normal circumstances most of these decisions would have been referred and possibly over turned which is not healthy for an international umpire as he would attempt to keep the ratio of bad decisions to as low as possible. I don’t mean that bad decisions in the first test wouldn’t go against both Tucker and Hill. It is sure to figure in the respective reports to the ICC. However my point is the mistakes were a bit too frequent and unlike two elite panel umpires.
Sri Lanka going in to the second test has one enforced change in the form of Kaushal Silva taking the place of Prassana Jayawardane. The diminutive Silva who has been knocking on the doors of selection for a very long time finally gets his opportunity even by default. If Silva can live up to the expectations of the selectors, it will only make the situation very healthy for Sri Lanka cricket and ensure that the competition for the keeper’s position is fierce, though Jayawardane is definitely the better keeper of the two. The other change is Dammika Prasad. The fast bowler who is also a more than useful bat coming in for Pradeep. Prasad is definitely the more experienced and can work up good pace in the same manner Pradeep did, though his biggest failing point has been his injury problems.
Sri Lanka is pretty desperate for a win as it has been barren since Murali’s retirement. To do that the Lankans have to maximise their strength which is batting. Unless that happens the waiting for a win can be longer.