It took some time for Sri Lanka to find their feet before they were able to perform the way they should and eventually they had to share the three-match one-day international series one-all with Bangladesh instead of ending up winners. It is the second time in the history of the two nations that they had shared the ODI series the previous occasion being when Bangladesh last toured Sri Lanka in 2013.
Usually it is the visiting team that takes time to adjust to conditions and pitches but in this instance it was the home team that was struggling not about pitches and conditions but to find the right combination and balance in their one-day team.
ONLY CENTURIONS IN THE SERIES: Kusal Mendis and Tamil Iqbal
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Anyone who has played as much cricket as those who form the national selection committee will tell you that a specialist off-spinner is essential against an opposition that has about 4-5 left-handers in their batting line up. It took Sri Lanka some time to realize that when they announced the squad for the series sans a specialist off-spinner and to their dismay found out that the absence of such a bowler proved a disadvantage to them in the first ODI at Dambulla, which they lost quite comprehensively by 90 runs. Bangladesh made full advantage of this lapse to go past the 300-run mark for the first time against Sri Lanka and this was achieved by the 144-run stand between left-handers Tamim Iqbal (127) and Shakib Al Hasan (72). The Lankan bowling attack to say the least was lopsided – three left-arm spinners (Lakshan Sandakan, Sachith Pathirana and Milinda Siriwardana) against the left-handers gave enough fodder for the opposition to cash in on. None of the three spinners bowled their full quota of overs – Sandakan delivered 8 overs, Pathirana 5 and Siriwardana was not even called up to turn his arm over.
Sri Lanka also made the blunder of inviting the opposition to bat first after winning the toss and the thinking behind it was that they expected dew late in the evening which would make it difficult for the spinners to grip the ball. Unfortunately for Sri Lanka it turned out to be a dry evening and Bangladesh capitalized on this lapse.
Bangladesh on their part also made a similar blunder in the third and final ODI at the SSC when they invited Sri Lanka to bat first hoping that they could make full use of the early life the SSC pitch usually offers in the first hour or so. But there was hardly any lateral movement and their new ball bowlers sprayed the ball around conceding 45 runs in the first six overs that included two wides before they settled down to bowling a steady line and length. By that time the Lankan openers Danushka Gunathilaka and Upul Tharanga had set their team on course for a challenging total by racing to 76 off 65 balls. Going into the second ODI also at Dambulla, Sri Lanka still retained the same squad sans an off-spinner and it was a hairline thumb fracture suffered by wicket-keeper/batsman Niroshan Dickwella at practice that saw them call on off-spinner Dilruwan Perera as a replacement. Dickwella’s injury was certainly a blessing in disguise for if not, one wonders what would have happened to the series had Perera not been included.
To prove a point it was Perera’s two crucial wickets of left-handers Soumya Sarkar and Shakib Al Hasan that turned the game Sri Lanka’s way at the SSC after the two had figured in a threatening 77-run stand.
Was the captain not part of the selection when the ODI squad was picked, so it seems.
“When the initial squad was selected, I was unaware. I wasn’t part of that selection. When we received the squad, we didn’t have an off-spinner,” said Tharanga who led Sri Lanka in the ODI series in the absence of the injured Angelo Mathews. “As captain, I made a request that we needed an off-spinner. Then when Dickwella was injured we were able to call up Dilruwan. Even during the Test series we knew that their left-handers were among the runs. Had they asked me, I would have told that we needed an off-spinner.”
Apart from the selection lapses Sri Lanka’s faltering fielding was under close scrutiny. They dropped crucial catches in the first ODI and paid for it dearly. In the second ODI rain made sure that only Sri Lanka batted so that the fielding was not tested. However at the SSC the Lankan fielding had lifted itself to a higher rung. The way the fielders threw themselves around at about everything trying to grab even half chances showed that the support staff had done some rigid home work on the fielding.
It was only the other day prior to the second ODI at Dambulla, the Sri Lanka cricket manager Asanka Gurusinha had spoken about the team’s fielding. He said, “We have to focus a lot more on fielding, more match condition fielding that is the most important thing. You can have a lot of fielding out there match conditions is completely different. We are trying to get that going for the team which will help us in the short term.”
There were several notable individual performances in the series and that includes the bowling of Suranga Lakmal. He seems to be the most improved Sri Lankan cricketer over the past six months.
Lakmal has shouldered the burden of being the spearhead of the bowling attack in the absence of Shaminda Eranga and Dhammika Prasad in the Tests and Lasith Malinga in the ODIs. If his figures don’t reveal how well he has bowled it’s not Lakmal’s fault for he has been very unlucky on the number of occasions he has beaten the bat without finding the edge and when the batsman got bat to ball the catches that are dropped off his bowling.
Sri Lanka’s next international engagement is not until June – the ICC Champions Trophy in England. They have enough time to reflect back on their mistakes and rectify them and prepare themselves earnestly to make a serious impact in the tournament. It’s almost a two-month break and time enough for the injured players to recover so that Sri Lanka will be at full strength and there is competition for places which is usually a healthy sign for any team.
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