The Sri Lankan middle order decided to commit hara-kiri en masse, before the bowlers fought back hard to even things, but MS Dhoni kept his cool to slam 16 off the last over and give India the win in the tri series final in a thrilling finish at Kingston yesterday.
As Ashton Agar was setting Trent Bridge alight in the first Ashes test, cricket aficionados could be forgiven for forgetting about yet another India vs Sri Lanka encounter happening in the Caribbean. This match held its own importance however, for a few reasons. This was the final of the tri-series, and the first time Sri Lanka and India were meeting in a tournament final since the 2011 World Cup. It was also the 400th ODI for the grand master of the Lankan lineup, Mahela Jayawardene. He is only the second Sri Lankan to achieve this milestone, behind Sanath Jayasuriya. In addition to all this, this match also pointed at some serious questions regarding Sri Lanka’s future.
Sri Lanka brought in Suranga Lakmal and Kusal Perera for this game, in place of the injured Nuwan Kulasekera and Jeevan Mendis. India were bolstered by the return of captain MS Dhoni, who won the toss and asked Sri Lanka to bat first at the Queens Park Oval Ground.
India struck early, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissing the two Sri Lankan openers early. Upul Tharanga fell for 16, and while Mahela was looking in good touch, there was to be no fairytale innings in his 400th game. Soon after being hit on the thumb by Ishant Sharma, he pushed tamely at a Kumar delivery to give a comfortable catch at slip.
Once again it was left to Sangakkara and Thirimanne to build up the Sri Lankan innings. As they did against the West Indies, they put up another solid partnership of 122 runs. Although Thirimanne contributed 42 to the partnership, his innings was once again a struggle, as he failed to rotate the strike regularly. In the 72 balls he faced, almost half were dot balls, and he looked uncomfortable when trying to accelerate, before perishing while trying to play an unsightly hoick to a short ball. Sangakkara made another well crafted 71, but was unable to stay until the end this time, as he perished soon after, while attempting to clear mid on.
Sri Lanka were 174 for 4 at that stage, with over 10 overs left in the innings, and on a difficult pitch, found themselves in a great position from which to launch Sri Lanka towards a very good total. What happened instead was a collective brain freeze by the young middle order.
Sri Lanka’s middle order is considered the future of the team; a set of young and talented players who are slated to take over from the likes of Jayawardene and Sangakkara. If that is the case, yesterday’s performance was cause for serious concern.
First Kusal Perera decided to come charging down the pitch to R Ashwin in the very first over he faced, only to be left stranded outside the crease as Dhoni completed a simple stumping. Chandimal was in next, as the last recognized batsman. He decided to slog sweep a ball in the air, picking out the deep fine leg fielder with ease. Mathews has been exceptional this series, but he too fell attempting a cross batted swipe to a sharp short delivery. Once the middle order had all jumped off the bridge, the tail crumbled without any resistance, leaving Sri Lanka all out for a paltry 201 in 48.5 overs.
Much was expected from this young brigade when they first came on to the scene. It is common knowledge that Dilshan, Mahela and Kumar are no longer at the prime of their youth, and Sri Lanka needs these youngsters to fill those giant shoes when the time comes. This performance proved that they are not yet ready. While the talent is beyond doubt, their temperament has yet to measure up. This indifference has usually been covered up by the top order but today was ample evidence of it. Time is running out for the selectors, and they may well decide to have a look at other options in the future if something doesn’t change.
With such a meagre score, it was never going to be easy for the bowling attack. They put up a good fight at first though, keeping things extremely tight and grabbing the key wickets of Dhawan and Kohli early. Shaminda Eranga in particular, was quite decent, bowling great lines and lengths and causing the ball to jag around and trouble the batsmen. Ironically, it was Sri Lanka’s “strike bowler” Lasith Malinga, who let the pressure be released, going for plenty. He ended up giving away 46 runs in 8 overs. Rohit Sharma played a great knock for the Indians scoring 58 before being undone by the uneven bounce of the pitch.
There was then a twist in the tale as Rangana Herath picked up 2 wickets in his final over, trapping both Jadeja and Ashwin lbw.Herath finished up with figures of 4 for 20 and it was largely due to his efforts that Sri Lanka clawed back into the game. Malinga was then brought back in to the attack, and like he does so often, thrived at the depth getting his Yorkers on target and picking up the wicket of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. When Mathews got Vinay Kumar to have India 9 down, Sri Lanka were favourites.
Then there was Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Ice cool throughout, even as wickets fell around him, he kept the tail enders calm and guided the chase to the final over. Finally it was down to him to face Shaminda Eranga. 6 balls left to get 15 runs. MS Dhoni only needed 4. Dot ball. Six. Four. Six. And it was over. The Sri Lankans were left stunned and the Indians jubilant, as Dhoni showed yet again as to why he’s regarded as the best finisher in the game. India won the cup while Sri Lanka were left with bitter memories of the last time MS Dhoni hit a six of a seamer to wrap up a final – In Mumbai two years ago in the World Cup Final. It was a heartbreaking loss but in the end they only had their own batting to blame.
