The national cricket team has enjoyed a few purple patches in Test match cricket over the years. The first such was from 1995 to 1998 when they won Test matches overseas in places like Pakistan, New Zealand and England. Then from 2006 to 2014 they enjoyed similar success with Test wins in West Indies, England, New Zealand and South Africa being recorded. Winning Test matches overseas is the hallmark of a great team.
Those two Sri Lankan teams of yesteryear were seasoned sides with wealth of experience. Batting was their forte and big first innings total was the key to success. The team’s bowling resources were thin but they managed within themselves either banking on Muttiah Muralitharan or Rangana Herath to script some famous wins.
The current Sri Lankan team is showings signs of going on to do some special things. Dhananjaya de Silva earlier this week skippered Sri Lanka to a famous win at The Oval to end England’s unbeaten home run this season. Sri Lanka’s last Test win overseas other than against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe had come more than five years ago in Port Elizabeth in 2019. It indeed has been a long wait. Sri Lanka were dead and buried leading into the final game and many predicted a 3-0 whitewash with the weather expected to be gloomy and overcast, ideal conditions for England seamers. But they kept believing and more importantly took some bold decisions to romp home to an emphatic eight wicket victory.
The decision to leave Prabath Jayasuriya out was a bold one and a gamble. Sri Lankan teams of yesteryear would have been reluctant to leave out the spinner especially someone like Prabath as he gives you the containing option. Against the free flowing England batters, you need a bowler, who will hold one end up with his impeccable line and length.
But Sri Lanka were ready to bite the bullet and threw in the dice. It proved to a be masterstroke. All four quicks bowled superbly. Playing four seamers allowed captain Dhananjaya de Silva to rotate them well providing them sufficient rest. On these conditions, you don’t need to have Roberts, Holding Marshall and Garner to succeed. You just need to stick to the basics. After a disappointing first day, this is what Sri Lanka did expertly.
They had done some brilliant planning and executed them to well. For example, Joe Root had been a thorn in their flesh in the series. His half-century was vital in securing a win at Old Trafford then he smashed Sri Lanka out of the game at Lord’s with hundreds in each innings. The former England captain had been prolific against Sri Lanka in recent years and has an average of 67 against them.
The plan for Root at The Oval was to bowl to him wide of off-stump. Frustrate him for a while without giving him easy singles and then send down the short ball which he would take on in search of runs. Having already taken 48 balls to score his 13 at The Oval, Root took the bait but was unable to clear fine-leg.
Then in the second innings Vishwa Fernando slipped in that sensational inswinging yorker and Root had no chance.
Asitha Fernando was the standout among the seamers finishing with 17 wickets and he outperformed the Englishmen. He was well backed up by Lahiru Kumara, who kept running in and bowling his heart out.
Milan Ratnayake was the find of the tour finishing with both runs and wickets. The ease with which he bats, the discipline he shows with the ball and the acrobatic fielding should make him a contender for white ball cricket as well.
It was England who were supposed to play Bazball but Pathum Nissanka showed them how to play it scoring less than run a ball half-century in the first innings and then finishing off with an unbeaten 127 in 124 balls.
For the first hour or so, Pathum was happy to play straight and his runs came through straight drives. Then as he grew in confidence, he smashed those cuts, pulls and cover drives and finished things off in style with those hooked sixes off Olly Stone. Pathum is too young to be called master, but it certainly was the master at work.
Kamindu Mendis finished off the tour on a high note too scoring a hundred and two half-centuries in five innings. Him and Pathum are the two players on whom the Sri Lankan team should be built on. This tour was an indication that after years of struggle, Sri Lanka have not only found a winning formula but have got the confidence back that they can compete against the top teams. They should do well in the New Zealand series starting shortly.
