Thanks to the hectic pace the game of cricket unfolds nowadays Sri Lanka’s ODI loss to Pakistan in the UAE seems a thing of the distant past, although the last match of the series was played just six days ago.
In that game played in Abu Dhabi Sri Lanka managed some damage control by winning it by two wickets and ending the series with two victories as against Pakistan’s three.
In the series loss what stood like a sore thumb for Sri Lanka was the inability of the bowlers, especially the pace bowlers, to put the skids under Pakistan’s free-flowing batsmen, until the last match.
Runs galore
In the first match played at Sharjah, Pakistan made 322 runs for the loss of five wickets with Mohammad Hafeez making a century (122) and youngsters Sharjeel Khan (61) and Sohaib Maqsood (73) hitting half centuries. Sri Lanka however fell short by just 11 runs.
In the second game played at Dubai it was the opportunity for the 22-year-old opening batsman Ahmed Shehzad to score his highest ODI runs (124) as Pakistan totalled 284-4. Sri Lanka managed to win it by two wickets with two balls to spare.
In the third game played at Sharjah Pakistan hit another 300 (326-5), again Hafeez leading the way with an unbeaten 140. Shehzad’s contribution was 81. Sri Lanka were shot out for 213 runs as Pakistan won the match by 113 runs.
Pakistan clinched the fourth game by eight wickets with 53 balls to remain after bowling out Sri Lanka for 225 runs, again Hafeez hitting a century (113 n.o) and Shehzad and Maqsood hitting forties.
It was in the fifth match, played at Abu Dhabi, that the Sri Lankan pacemen came to their own as Pakistan were shot out for 232 runs, with Lasith Malinga (4/57) and Suranga Lakmal (3/42) sharing the spoils.
Besides Malinga and Lakmal, Sri Lanka used pacemen like Nuwan Kulasekara, Thisara Perera and Angelo Mathews, and their bowling figures are not at all impressive.
Malinga’s decline?
The series was clear indication that Malinga, the dreaded death over specialist, is human after all. By his lofty standards Malinga really had a forgetful outing in the desert. He managed just six wickets in five matches, each of them coming at 48.66. Four of those wickets came in the last match. His career (160 matches, 242 wickets) average is 27.30. He went for 78 runs in the second match and it was the most runs conceded by a bowler in the match.
Kulasekara captured only two wickets in three matches. His average of 75.50 was a huge disappointment from his career (146 matches, 161 wickets) average of 32.72. In the third match Kulasekara gave away 67 runs for a single wicket and it was the most number of runs concede by a bowler in the match.
Perera had three wickets in three matches, each wicket coming at 43.33. His career statistics looks impressive though (67 matches, 85 wickets, at 26.95). His batting too looked pathetic as the highly rated all-rounder managed just 13 runs with an average of 4.33.
Mathews sclaped two wickets in five matches, at an average of 58.00. His career tally stands at: 113 matches, 69 wickets, averaging 35.63.
For an inexperienced paceman Lakmal managed six wickets in three matches, averaging 27.33 with the ball (career 20 matches, 27 wickets at 32.92).
In contrast Pakistani pacemen had a dream series, their fine contribution with the cherry making spin king Saeed Ajmal’s workload lighter. Left-arm paceman Junaid Khan was the highest wicket taker of the series. His tally of 13 wickets in five matches coming at an impressive average of 16.07. Experienced Umar Gul, a late addition after an injury layoff, had seven wickets from three matches (14.28). Ajmal captured nine wickets from five matches.
Actual problem
Malinga is famed for his toe-crushing yorkers delivered at pace. Pace it was what clearly lacked this time around. Balls topping 140kmph delivered with that slinging action are lethal indeed. But in the UAE against Pakistan Malinga was barely touching that mark. His attempted yorkers often ended up as juicy full-tosses, and his bouncers became long hops, sitting up to be hit.
A closer scrutiny at what he dished out to Pakistan batsmen reveals Malinga was not quite prepared to bank on his variations – slower balls and yorkers pitching way outside off stump. Such a mixture was really what the doctor ordered on such slow wickets. But it was not to be.
He was also seeing moving too close to the wicket when bowling. By doing so he struggled to bowl a good line, especially to the right-handed batsmen, who duly dispatched him to the on-side boundary.
Was he doing this on purpose or was it a team plan? Lack of pace means one thing – lack of confidence.
Malinga did not impress with the new ball – in the first four matches he was called to bowl up front. In the last match he came on in the 11th over after Mathews and Lakmal had shared the new ball. There Malinga was an instant success. Some food for thought for the Sri Lanka’s think-tank.
Kulasekara was never in his usual rhythm. He was a pale shadow of the bowler who won the man of the series award in Australia in January 2013.
Perera who once said he learnt finer points in bowling from former South African ace Shaun Pollock during the IPL, looked disoriented. He was not clearly hitting the right length. Again, was it tactical? Or is Sri Lanka’s best all rounder after Angelo Mathews struggling with mental or technical issues?
Mathews’ style of bowling looked a successful formula on the docile wickets. But he was not prepared to bowl the full quota of his overs. As captain he seems to be under-bowling himself. That too did not help Sri Lanka.
One can’t just castigate the bowlers alone for Sri Lanka’s inability to win the series. When the debutant Ashan Priyanjan’s 74 runs in the fourth match stands as the best effort by any of the Sri Lankan batsmen, it tells another sad story.
What sort of plan did Sri Lanka’s batsmen have against the spin of Ajmal? Ajmal is known to be a spinner who bowls quick, when compared to other spinners around. Stepping out of the crease and trying to hit Ajmal on slow tracks is definitely not a wise move. To counter Ajmal what should a batsman do? He can use the sweep and the slog sweep as potent scoring shots against Ajmal.
Sadly Sri Lanka’s best player of sweep and slog sweep, Mahela Jayawardena, was not in the squad.
