A classical Mahela Jayawardene ton and gritty and calculated batting by Thisara Perera helped Sri Lanka survive a major Afghan jolt in their group A encounter as the former World Champions finally got their 2015 World Cup campaign on the winning path with a 4-wicket win at Dunedin on Sunday.
Jayawardene’s 19th ODI ton and 4th in World Cups came at a critical time after the Afghan quicks blew apart the Lankan top order with penetrative seam bowling which continues to be the island nation’s Achilles heel . Thisara Perera drafted in at the expense of Nuwan Kulasekara came good with the bat with an unbeaten cameo of 47 in 26 to drag Sri Lanka off what would have been a major World Cup upset with 10 balls to spare. Asghar Stanikzai top-scored for Afghanistan while Lasith Malinga returned to form, collecting three wickets while conceding 41 runs and Mathews’ figures reading the same value tide down the Afghan batting lineup to only 232.
After being sent in to bat, Afghans had to face disciplined Suranga Lakmal and Lasith Malinga early on. Both right-arm fast bowlers used the conditions perfectly yet Mathews took the first wicket in his first ball. The Afghanistan innings, which ended with two balls remaining in the final over, was built around an 88-run third-wicket partnership between Stanikzai and Samiullah Shenwari. They were not eye-pleasing yet effective against a struggling Lankan bowling attack.
Afghanistan was restricted to 128/3 in the 28th over and Sri Lanka started to get a grip on the game since Stanikzai fell to Rangana Herath. Stanikzai’s dismissal was the start of a collapse that saw Afghanistan losing 4 wickets for 47 runs in 11 overs. Sri Lanka gave away only 10 runs in the batting power play and it demonstrates how well Malinga and Lakmal bowled despite the T20 World Cup winning skipper still not being up to his best. The 3-wicket haul would have made a world of good to his confidence. Tournament debutants, Afghanistan’s saw all the top-eight batsmen in the order reaching double figures which is just the 5th time in a World Cup.
Chasing 233 to win, Sri Lanka was shattered as openers Lahiru Thirimanne and Tillakaratne Dilshan were dismissed for golden ducks, with Sri Lanka losing their first two wickets with as many runs on the board. Thirimanne got a peach of a delivery first up from Dawlat Zadran yet he could have been more cautious while Dilshan had to play at a rising delivery from Shapoor Zadran. This was just the second time in ODIs that both openers have made first-ball ducks. Zimbabwe v West Indies at Georgetown in 2006 (HP Rinke & T Duffin) was the first.
Sri Lanka made a tactical move of bringing in Dimuth Karunarathne to the number 4 slot to negotiate the early pressure and to give the Test opener a chance at proving himself in the Lankan batting lineup and it guarded Mahela at number 5. Sangakkara survived two run-outs but he was dismissed from a Hamid Hassan delivery which jagged back in and the Afghans were all over the Lankans with their body language showing why they have millions of fans all around the world.
Dimuth looked solid in his approach to score but he spooned a delivery outside the off-stump to slips restricting Sri Lanka to 51 for 4. Jayawardene, played with the calmness and authority you would expect from a man playing his 443rd one-day international and unleashed a typically dazzling array of shots with some exquisite timing and placement.
Mathews and Mahela proved why they are the two most vital cogs in the Lankan middle order as they notched up their 3rd hundred plus partnership together adding 126 runs for the fifth wicket. The partnership ultimately came to an end when Mathews was caught well short of his crease to depart on a score of 44 from 81 balls. Jayawardene’s dismissal a few deliveries later had the game in a balance once again. Mathews made a terrible mistake calling for that single and Jayawardene’s favourite ramp shot proved costly for the legend this time around.
Thisara Perera took the aggressive approach to take his country home and his first good knock on New Zealand shores together with Jeevan Mendis carried Lanka to safety in an unbroken stand of 58 to finish off the job.
A win is a win regardless of your opponent and this will surely bring some positives to the Sri Lanka team and boost their confidence going into the next game. On a positive note the long underestimated, criticized middle order showed promise and form which in turn will free the shackles somewhat for the seniors at the top of the order who have had to constantly bat with the pressure of an ineffective lower-middle.
Sri Lanka will face Bangladesh and England during the next week while Afghanistan, boosted by their strong performance against a Test nation, will seek their first World Cup win against Scotland on Thursday.
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