In English, at least, Lahiru Thirimanne comes across as a man of view words. Yet in replying candidly to a question after scoring a career-best 139 not out to power Sri Lanka to a nine-wicket win over England when set 310, the opening batsman summed up what most present at Westpac Stadium felt.
Asked wryly by an English journalist how he felt Afghanistan’s bowling attack stacked up to England’s, Thirimanne actually paused before replying: “To be honest that day Afghanistan bowlers did really well, but there was a little bit for the team on that wicket. So today it was easy for me, to be honest.”
His answer cued laughs from the media gathered, and immediately Thirimanne grinned sheepishly too, a few nervous glances darting across the room. It was a candid confession, one that summed up the second half of Sri Lanka’s day. Few would have expected them to chase 310 with nine wickets and 16 deliveries remaining, even considering how inefficient James Anderson and Stuart Broad have been in the tournament, but in the end their chase turned out to be the proverbial walk in the park. It was, as Thirimanne put it matter-of-factly, easy.
His answer to that question was also reflective of the space he was in at the moment. After a solid 65 against New Zealand and a scratchy 52 versus Bangladesh, he made starts count by scoring his fourth ODI century, that too in a stand of 212 with Kumar Sangakkara, who was named Man of the Match for his confidence-coated 117 from 86 balls.
Getting the likes of Thirimanne contributing handsomely to wins is another big part of the jigsaw puzzle Sri Lanka are trying to assemble quickly. It was but expected that the mighty trio of Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene – over 1000 ODIs together – would carry Sri Lanka’s batting once again, in their final World Cup, and they have done so, Dilshan and Jayawardene scoring one century each and Sangakkara making it two in a row now. Getting Thirimanne to add on to the hundred count is a big step forward and has only bolstered the impression of this team being a strong batting unit, yet the dependency on the likes of Sangakkara still remains.
As he admitted, Thirimanne – dropped on 3 and 99 – was bolstered by the presence of an in-form and aggressive Sangakkara at one end. “At the current moment I think he’s No. 1,” said Thirimanne. “He is batting really well. Not only is he rotating the strike, but hitting the boundaries as well. So it is very helpful for the team because he got the hundred in 60-odd balls. So when chasing a big total it is really good that Kumar is in good form. I think he played a tremendous knock today that eased the pressure because at that time the run-rate was about 7, 7.5, so when he came to bat he just rotated the strike and hit boundaries. It was easy for me at the other end, I just wanted to rotate the strike and let Kumar bat through the innings.”
Sri Lanka have put their defeat to New Zealand in the World Cup opener on February 14 behind them, beating Afghanistan, Bangladesh and England to occupy second place on the Pool A table with the unbeaten home team. Yet if they are to be seen as genuine title contenders – and let’s not forget they made the final in 2007 and 2011 – they will need to significantly improve on their bowling. The bowling is yet to mark a tick in the box. Some bowlers have done well individually, but their effort as a unit needs to improve.
Today they allowed England to a big score. All due credit to Joe Root for his stroke-filled, superbly-paced 121 from 108 balls, but the England batsman was fed his cut shot and allowed to pull and sweep a lot. There were too many half-volleys and half-trackers, and 18 extras were a blemish. It is not a new concern.
Against New Zealand, Sri Lanka conceded 331 and lost by 98 runs. They let Afghanistan get to 232, then won with four wickets and ten balls remaining. Rangana Herath has a tournament strike-rate is 69.6. Four games, three wickets. Where the assumption was that spinners would struggle in New Zealand and Australia, another ageing left-arm spinner in Daniel Vettori has a strike-rate of 26.5. South Africas legspinner Imran Tahir has nine wickets in four games, strike-rate of 20.
Lasith Malinga’s much awaited return to the side has been a mixed bag. Six of his seven wickets came in the games with Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Against New Zealand, Malinga went for 84 in ten wicketless overs. Today in Wellington he had figures of 1 for 61 from his quota. He has looked the most consistent of the bowlers, that opening match aside, but today was again off with his lines. In the field, he was lethargic. Disinterested almost. The sight of their spearhead jogging after balls in the outfield can hardly be inspiring. Suranga Lakmal had a terrible day, giving up 71 in 7.4 overs before he was barred from bowing in the 49th over of England’s innings owing to a second high full toss.
Nuwan Kulasekara, a few years ago the top-ranked ODI bowler because of his nagging line and ability to skid the cricket ball on to batsmen, has not been picked since the first match. But perhaps the biggest disappointment has been Thisara Perera, who has managed three wickets in three matches while conceding 5.79 runs per over. This is a bowler who has taken a five-wicket haul in Australia, but in this World Cup Perera has been all over the place, his lack of pace and hit-me lengths allowing opposition batsmen to heave and cut freely. Perera has been backed in the allrounder’s role, but he has not delivered.
Thanks to Thirimanne and Sangakkara, Sri Lanka got away with a poor effort in the field today – Mathews’ captaincy was poor, with easy field placements allowing Root and Joss Buttler to score freely at the death – but against Australia at the SCG in a week’s time they cannot be expected to have it so easy. No matter how perfect their batsman can be on the day, Sri Lanka are being let down by their bowlers.
