That Sri Lanka’s batting would be their big asset in the hastily arranged five-ODI series in India was never really a surprise, considering the team was without Lasith Malinga and Rangana Herath, their leading fast bowler and spinner respectively.
Against the backdrop of this being a somewhat inexperienced side, with several players auditioning for World Cup roles, as well as the poor start to the series Sri Lanka had in Cuttack over the weekend, it was poignant to see the veteran trio of Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene – a staggering 33,227 ODI runs combined – watch intently, with sweat glistening on their faces after their individual batting sessions – a crop of younger Sri Lankan batsmen sweat it out in the outdoor nets.
Dilshan, Sangakkara and Jayawardene sat together and chatted on the sidelines while watching the likes of Thisara Perera, Upul Tharanga, Niroshan Dickwella and Kusal Perera bat. Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews batted earlier, and then spent time in consultation with bowling coach Chaminda Vaas, but the focus was clearly on the batsmen spending time in the nets.
Mathews had been critical of the batsmen after the 169-run hammering in the first ODI, and rightly so because the Sri Lankans were sluggish in pursuit of a target of 364 – they scored at under four during the mandatory Powerplay, then failed to accelerate – and called for more intent from the line-up.
The Sri Lankan squad trained in the later afternoon until the sun went down, under lights on the adjacent practice pitches, with the batsmen and bowlers getting a long time to go through their paces. Perhaps considering the batting underwhelmed in the first ODI, the big three batted for long periods, none more so than Dilshan who had an extended net session under the supervision of coach Marvan Atapattu. The former Sri Lanka opener gave throw-downs to Dilshan and then himself operated the bowling machine, feeding Dilshan a series of half-vollies which the veteran batsman drove fiercely for a lengthy period.
Big-boned Perera batted against the young Gujarat Cricket Academy bowlers as he would in the IPL, repeatedly slashing and pulling. One sprightly left-arm pace bowler will have a brief story to tell his friends tonight and tomorrow, for one sharp bouncer thudded into Perera’s helmet. That was as good as it for for the boy, however, for two balls later Perera cracked another short ball for what would have been six on most grounds. It is precisely that kind of batting that Sri Lanka will need plenty of to give Virat Kohli’s Indian team a challenge come Thursday, on a batting deck that looks like having an appetite for destruction.
Dhiraj Parsana, the veteran curator who has worked at the Sardar Patel Stadium for 20 years, reckons that Thursday’s ODI will offer all three facets – batsmen, pace bowlers and spinners – something to make for an entertaining match spanning 100 overs. “It will be a sporting wicket,” he says. “That has been the mandate from the BCCI for some time now – that a match should cater to all departments, so that the fans get a good show. There is no unseasonal rain forecast and we watered the sides of the square yesterday [Monday], and the staff has been tending to the outfield and inner circle. The pitch will provide some assistance to the quicks early on, but you can expect plenty of runs.”
On that note, its over to Sri Lanka’s big bats to try and make the series into a contest.
