Youngsters need to step up to revive Sri Lanka's fortunes
Youngsters need to step up to revive Sri Lanka's fortunes
Sri Lanka's batting performance in the ongoing Test series against South Africa has been disappointing to say the least. Despite the likes of Suranga Lakmal and Lahiru Kumara coming up with spirited performances with the ball, the lack of application from the visiting team batsmen has meant that they have already conceded an unassailable 2-0 lead ahead of the third Test at Johannesburg, which stars in a couple of days' time.
Angelo Mathews and Kusal Mendis are the only two Sri Lankan batsmen to have crossed fifty in the series so far, both in the opening Test, with the Lankan skipper's 59 being the highest score for the visitors. Only Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva and Mathews have batted in excess of 100 minutes in an innings, all three doing so in the second innings of the first Test on a Port Elizabeth track that didn't have any devils in it.
"They had a few soft wickets and if they didn't do that and batters had put their hands up, they could have chased this score down," Faf du Plessis, the South African skipper, had reckoned after the first Test, which Sri Lanka lost by 206 runs. The visitors, however, did not learn from their mistakes.
On a Newlands wicket that wasn't at all outlandish in nature but at the same time offering some help to the bowlers, South Africa managed to post close to 400 after being asked to bat first. Sri Lanka might have had the best of the pitch in terms of batting had they shown some self-control; instead they displayed something completely contrary to be shot down for 110 and then 224 in their second essay to lose by 282 runs.
Mathews, following the series loss, stressed on the importance of "long hours of concentration" and playing according to situations while admitting that the "fifth-sixth stump (line) has been troubling" the visiting team's batsmen. Dhananjaya De Silva, Sri Lanka's middle-order batsman, appeared in agreement with his skipper. "I don't think we need to make huge changes to the way we bat or bowl, but we do need to adjust to the situation better. We need to limit our shots. We can't hit shots all around the ground like in Sri Lanka, or even Zimbabwe. We've got to set boundaries for ourselves about where we are not going to score and which balls we aren't going to go after," de Silva said on Tuesday (January 10).
The Wanderers wicket will also aid the quicks, offering them pace and bounce in good measure, but de Silva is of the opinion that movement off the pitch is the Achilles Heel of subcontinent batsmen, and there would be less of that at the bullring as compared to Port Elizabeth or Johannesburg. "It wasn't fast and bouncy like this (Wanderers) pitch, but those other two matches we played - they were seaming pitches, probably more than this. I think this wicket will suit us," de Silva said.
Sri Lanka's top-order woes have been such that De Silva, who usually bats in the middle order and has shown solidity while batting with the tail, was asked to bat at No. 4 in the second Test. He did show some promise at that position, although he could not convert his starts into substantial contributions. "I had a good series in Australia, and I've had a start in every innings here. In my mind, I have to make a big one here," said De Silva, who added that he is a lot more comfortable batting at No. 7.
"I've played (at number) seven in lots of matches, and I think that's a position in which I can get some runs. At No. 4 it's a different role. We have to stay in the wicket and get some runs. I prefer No. 7. When I batted seven, a lot of the time, my job was to bat with the tail. I often try to score quick runs because the tail is vulnerable, and we need to get as many as possible for the team. When I go second drop, sometimes I can't play my strokes, because I'm trying to play a long innings," he reasoned
It has been a testing period for the gen-next of Sri Lankan cricket, who have experienced their third loss in an away series since the retirement of Kumar Sangakkara in August 2015. While they have won three series in the same period - against West Indies and Australia at home and an away series against Zimbabwe - their frailties, especially in the batting department, have been exposed during the tours of New Zealand, England and the current one in South Africa.
"We don't like to lose three matches in a row. We have to give them a fight," said the 25-year-old de Silva, who is only seven Test matches old. If he manages to be at the forefront of a fight - Wanderers would be a good place to start - it would set a good example for the other youngsters in the team and would also augur well for Sri Lankan cricket, which has spent enough time in the transitional phase and needs to move on from there.
Sri Lanka's batting performance in the ongoing Test series against South Africa has been disappointing to say the least. Despite the likes of Suranga Lakmal and Lahiru Kumara coming up with spirited performances with the ball, the lack of application from the visiting team batsmen has meant that they have already conceded an unassailable 2-0 lead ahead of the third Test at Johannesburg, which stars in a couple of days' time.
Angelo Mathews and Kusal Mendis are the only two Sri Lankan batsmen to have crossed fifty in the series so far, both in the opening Test, with the Lankan skipper's 59 being the highest score for the visitors. Only Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva and Mathews have batted in excess of 100 minutes in an innings, all three doing so in the second innings of the first Test on a Port Elizabeth track that didn't have any devils in it.
"They had a few soft wickets and if they didn't do that and batters had put their hands up, they could have chased this score down," Faf du Plessis, the South African skipper, had reckoned after the first Test, which Sri Lanka lost by 206 runs. The visitors, however, did not learn from their mistakes.
On a Newlands wicket that wasn't at all outlandish in nature but at the same time offering some help to the bowlers, South Africa managed to post close to 400 after being asked to bat first. Sri Lanka might have had the best of the pitch in terms of batting had they shown some self-control; instead they displayed something completely contrary to be shot down for 110 and then 224 in their second essay to lose by 282 runs.
Mathews, following the series loss, stressed on the importance of "long hours of concentration" and playing according to situations while admitting that the "fifth-sixth stump (line) has been troubling" the visiting team's batsmen. Dhananjaya De Silva, Sri Lanka's middle-order batsman, appeared in agreement with his skipper. "I don't think we need to make huge changes to the way we bat or bowl, but we do need to adjust to the situation better. We need to limit our shots. We can't hit shots all around the ground like in Sri Lanka, or even Zimbabwe. We've got to set boundaries for ourselves about where we are not going to score and which balls we aren't going to go after," de Silva said on Tuesday (January 10).
The Wanderers wicket will also aid the quicks, offering them pace and bounce in good measure, but de Silva is of the opinion that movement off the pitch is the Achilles Heel of subcontinent batsmen, and there would be less of that at the bullring as compared to Port Elizabeth or Johannesburg. "It wasn't fast and bouncy like this (Wanderers) pitch, but those other two matches we played - they were seaming pitches, probably more than this. I think this wicket will suit us," de Silva said.
Sri Lanka's top-order woes have been such that De Silva, who usually bats in the middle order and has shown solidity while batting with the tail, was asked to bat at No. 4 in the second Test. He did show some promise at that position, although he could not convert his starts into substantial contributions. "I had a good series in Australia, and I've had a start in every innings here. In my mind, I have to make a big one here," said De Silva, who added that he is a lot more comfortable batting at No. 7.
"I've played (at number) seven in lots of matches, and I think that's a position in which I can get some runs. At No. 4 it's a different role. We have to stay in the wicket and get some runs. I prefer No. 7. When I batted seven, a lot of the time, my job was to bat with the tail. I often try to score quick runs because the tail is vulnerable, and we need to get as many as possible for the team. When I go second drop, sometimes I can't play my strokes, because I'm trying to play a long innings," he reasoned
It has been a testing period for the gen-next of Sri Lankan cricket, who have experienced their third loss in an away series since the retirement of Kumar Sangakkara in August 2015. While they have won three series in the same period - against West Indies and Australia at home and an away series against Zimbabwe - their frailties, especially in the batting department, have been exposed during the tours of New Zealand, England and the current one in South Africa.
"We don't like to lose three matches in a row. We have to give them a fight," said the 25-year-old de Silva, who is only seven Test matches old. If he manages to be at the forefront of a fight - Wanderers would be a good place to start - it would set a good example for the other youngsters in the team and would also augur well for Sri Lankan cricket, which has spent enough time in the transitional phase and needs to move on from there.
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