New concerns arise after batting debacle in Bangladesh
The 1999 Cricket World Cup in England is considered one of the low points in Sri Lanka’s proud cricketing history. But it paved the pathway for then youngsters such as Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Rangana Herath to enable Sri Lanka to be a dominant force in world cricket.
After 22 years, the newly appointed selection committee led by Pramodya Wickramasinghe opted for the same strategy leaving out some of the senior players including Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal, deciding to test out a young team for the Bangladesh ODI tour.
It began with the appointment of Kusal Janith Perera and Kusal Mendis as captain and vice captain with the aim of building the team for the 2023 Cricket World Cup.
After their defeat against the West Indies, the Bangladesh tour was considered as an ideal opportunity to get the points that they desperately need for them to obtain direct qualification for the global showpiece.
Only the captain had played over 100 matches from the entire squad announced for the tour. The cricketing fraternity in the country did not expect the team to do miracles but all they wanted was to see them compete and fight until the final ball is bowled in the series.
The pitches that were provided at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka were not easy to bat on but Sri Lankan batsmen are acclimatised to play on spinning conditions. The series was poised to be an intriguing one as both teams hunted for consistency in all three facets of the game.
In the first press conference, skipper Kusal Perera stressed the fact that the players must play according to their instincts and play with a posit ive mindset at all times. Unfortunately he couldn’t convert his words into action.
The exclusion of Niroshan Dickwella from the first two ODIs was a surprise when considering the experience that he possesses, eventually he got a call for the final ODI but couldn’t do anything significant.
Throughout the series the Sri Lankans were tentative with the bat and as a consequence the Bangladesh bowlers kept the batsmen on their toes and they eventually lost wickets in clusters. Sri Lanka’s weakness against spin bowling was exposed on several occasions in the last few years.
The two spinners Mehedi Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al-Hasan bowled 59 overs in the series and the duo claimed 10 wickets for 236 runs. One of the main concerns was the rotation of strike by Sri Lankan batsmen. Kusal Perera’s inability to score runs at a rapid rate exerted pressure on the inexperienced batting line up in the first two ODIs. Despite scoring a century in the final ODI it is fair to say that he had a fluctuating series as a batsman as well as a captain.
The selectors had faith on senior players Dananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis but none of them showed determination or the grit to score runs throughout the series. In fact Kusal Mendis’ dismal form with the bat continued as he scored just 61 runs at an average of 20.33.
In hindsight, the Sri Lankan batsmen should have observed how Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad dragged Bangladesh out of danger in the first two matches. That enabled them to score competitive totals and the Bangladesh bowlers did exceptionally well to defend modest scores. They were also helped by some hapless batting by the middle order and that proved costly as the hosts went on to dominate the series.
Fielding has been an area where Sri Lanka has given priority and they were rewarded for their commitment they have shown in the recent past. The quality of fielding has been one of the major positives in the tour.
On the other hand, the bowlers performed exceptionally well throughout the series. Dushmantha Chameera bowled with express pace and he was rewarded for his consistency with nine wickets and he also registered his maiden five- wicket haul in One Day Internationals. Bowling coach Chaminda Vaas will be pleased about the performance of his young bowlers on tour.
For Bangladesh, it was Mushfiqur Rahim who was consistent with the bat scoring 237 runs at an average of 79. Mehedi Hasan Miraz and Mustafizur Rahman were the standout performers with the ball.
After the series loss the Sri Lanka captain Kusal Perera admitted that the lack of experience in the middle order was one of the reasons for the defeat. Despite the consolation win, Sri Lanka will rue the fact that they had two batting collapses which enabled Bangladesh to win their maiden series win against them.
This series loss will further dent Sri Lanka's chances of obtaining direct qualification for the 2023 World Cup as they languish at the bottom of World Cup Super League table with eight points.
The team management and the selectors will have to reassess their plans as tougher challenges lie ahead for the wounded lions.