Smaller victories despite CB series defeat
The Commonwealth Bank series may not have ended the way Sri Lanka’s cricket team and its supporters scripted, losing the finals 2-1, but it can feel a great deal of satisfaction and accomplishment having, in hindsight, done everything but win the trophy.
Little was expected from Sri Lanka – having won only seven of 20 One-day Internationals over the last four series since the World Cup last February – heading into the CB series, but there is no doubt that the team punched well-above its weight and produced some excellent results. Many expected it to be at the receiving end of a back-lash from the Indian team, who had endured a tough test series against the hosts, and even though losing two of the four games against the World Cup winners, they won and tied the other - a vertible turn-around since Tillakaratne Dilshan’s captaincy ran Sri Lanka aground.
Even more impressively, they beat Australia in four of the seven matches they played, a previously unthinkable achievement. It is easy to forget that the Sri Lankan team was – before the tournament – and still is in a rebuilding phase, and that reaching the finals itself was a considerable achievement,
One of the primary reasons for the success of the team, as was visible and mentioned right from the beginning of the series, was the leadership of re-appointed captain Mahela Jayawardena who, in his first tournament back at the helm, provided the spark that was previously quite obviously missing. His aggressiveness, willingness to take calculated risks and uncanny ability to use the right bowlers at the right time has reminded people about how good a captain he was when he first held the role, before handing it over to Kumar Sangakkara. His pro-active nature ensured that Sri Lanka was always in the game, even controlling it, and never gave up until the last possible moment – a fighting spirit long missing in the Sri Lankans. Barring the defeat to India at Hobart, where Virat Kohli scored a whirlwind 133 off 86 balls, even its defeats were closely contested matches, with even the tail-enders giving the team every chance of winnning.
Jayawardene opening the innings also brought Sri Lanka immense success, as it allowed Tillakaratne Dilshan – who was the man of the series for his good form which saw him score 513 runs in the series – to play with more freedom, while offering stability to the top order. Jayawardene himself found form – after struggling since last year’s tour of England – finishing among the leading scorers in the tournament having scored 406, which included three half-centuries. This allowed Sri Lanka to make good starts right through, making for a formidable batting line-up, capable of chasing down targets in excess of 300 – although they ironically failed in chasing a much smaller target at the most important, final hurdle. This despite being, arguably, the most consistent team in the series – a previously unfounded characteristic.
Another key has been the balance that has been struck in the structure of the team with the three allrounders. Prior to this series, Sri Lanka had just Angelo Mathews as the consistent all-rounder, but along with Thisara Perera making case for himself, Farveez Maharoof, with his bounce and well-executed slower deliveries brought variation to the bowling attack, and offered depth to the batting. In fact, it was the absence of both Perera and Mathews that cost Sri Lanka in the third final, who perhaps dug its own grave by bringing repeated failure Chamara Kapugedera into the team at such an crucial point. The younger players also continued to impress, with Lahiru Thirimanne and Dinesh Chandimal contributing valuable middle order runs for the Sri Lankans scoring six half-centuires between themselves and have really made a case for themselves, which is only going to help the team in the future.
But amongst all the good signs that sufficed for Sri Lanka there were also some major concerns which will need to be addressed soon if it is to continue this renaissance. First, was the form of bowling spearhead Lasith Malinga, who despite finishing top of the tournament wicket-takers list, was exceedingly expensive conceding 631 runs in the 101 overs he bowled, at an economy rate of 6.21. When Malinga was inconsistent and didn’t pick up early wickets, the rest of the bowlers found it difficult to assert themselves and looked uncertain as to how and where it could make a break-through.
The fielding was also unpredictable, much to the frustration of Jayawardene, and the inconsistency – at times lethargy – saw Sri Lanka regularly concede 20 or 30 runs more than they should have, and even saw it miss out on a bonus point, which would easily have out them into the finals, without having to wait till the final match.
It will be interesting to see if Sri Lanka can carry this form into the other two forms of the games, with number one ranked England touring Sri Lanka this month and the T20 World Cup to take place here, later this year. The first test however, and a stiff one at that, will be the Asia Cup currently underway in Bangladesh, as it faces the regions best teams; a series they are more than capable of winning.