Sri Lanka were down and out in the first two days of the Abu Dhabi Test against Pakistan and in the next two days fought back admirably and earned a draw. What was more satisfying was that it was Sri Lanka’s young brigade that stood up for the challenge.
Here is confirmation that the future, at least with regard to batting, isn’t bleak.
The New Year Test in Sydney in 2013 was the first occasion in a long time that we saw some of the younger players rising to the challenge. Lahiru Thirmanne, a late replacement to the injured Kumar Sangakkara, arrived in Sydney just 48 hours before the Test and scored an outstanding 91 and earned high praise from Ian Chappell.
There were other noteworthy knocks from Dimuth Karunaratne (85)and Dinesh Chandimal (62*) against an attack that comprised Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Mitchell Starc and the progress of these young players was only dented by the cricket board that cancelled two crucial Test series. A home series against the number one ranked Proteas and an away series against the resurgent West Indies could have done much good for some of these younger players. Yet, money making was the priority of Sri Lanka Cricket and not developing younger players.
In Abu Dhabi, Mathews fought a lone battle in Sri Lanka’s first innings where they were bowled out for 204 runs. He was last man out for 91. Pakistan then responded in style and at stumps on day two they had reached 327 for four. Despite losing the last six wickets for not many on the third day, a first innings lead of 179 runs put the Sri Lankans under tremendous pressure.
When Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene fell in the space of seven deliveries with Sri Lanka still 29 runs behind, the team was facing a tall order with two full days left.
Kaushal Silva had got a break when Prasanna Jayawardene was injured two years back but had failed to grab that opportunity. Loads of runs in domestic cricket and for Sri Lanka ‘A’ meant that he got another opportunity, this time as a specialist batsman filling in for the retired opener Tillekreatne Dilshan.
In the second innings Kaushal negotiated Pakistan’s three fast bowlers for over four hours and made 81 runs before being dismissed in the last over of the day. If there were doubts whether he could fit in to the demands of a Test opener, Kaushal had done enough to be persevered with at least for the series against Pakistan.
The most satisfying knocks came the following day. The day began with Sri Lanka just seven runs ahead with six wickets in hand and there were two full days of play left. The captain and vice-captain were involved in a terrific rescue effort that made many Sri Lankan fans happy.
Chandimal had thrown it away in the first innings with a rash shot; Mathews in Test Match cricket had lacked consistency. This was the perfect platform for both of them to deliver and they accomplished that task so well.
There’s been never a doubt about the talents of the duo. Like all good players with experience they go onto become solid Test cricketers. This is just the start and hopefully there are lot more match saving and match winning efforts to come from them.
Mathews and Chandimal added 138 runs for the fifth wicket. Chandimal fell after batting for over four hours. He followed his instincts, hooked Junaid Khan and was caught at deep fine-leg for 89. He deserved the century, but more importantly had done his bit to the team.
Mathews was more cautious. Over the last two years he had improved a lot. He was solid in defense, put away the loose balls and exhibited patience in abundance. When he declared Sri Lanka’s innings on the final day, the tourists had got to a position from where they couldn’t lose the match, an unlikely scenario at the end of day two when Pakistan threatened to run away with the game. Mathews remained unbeaten on 157 when he declared the innings with a lead of 301 runs.
In a long time, Sri Lanka had saved a Test Match without the support of Sangakkara, Samaraweera, Dilshan or Jayawardene.
Mathews occupies the number six position. Although a crucial position, the Sri Lankans have struggled to find someone ideally suited to bat there. The tendency has been that once a player becomes established in the side he moves up in the order. It’s said that you need to get your best batsmen to bat higher in the order. That argument of course is subject to debate. Not all players excel in batting with the tail – rotating the strike, farming the strike and taking risks occasionally. It requires special talent and the likes of Hashan Tillekeratne in Test cricket and Michael Bevan in ODI cricket were remarkably successful in that role. Mathews could be the man to thrive under pressure batting at six in both Tests and ODIs.
Mathews is 26 and Chandimal is 24. They have a lot to offer Sri Lankan cricket. Off the field the next few months will be crucial. Sri Lanka’s tour of England is scheduled for May and it will clash with the Indian Premier League. In recent times when the IPL clashed with international assignments, the cash rich IPL was given the priority by team’s senior players. The younger ones simply followed. Here’s a chance for Mathews and Chandimal to make a difference. International cricket has been continuously undermined due to the IPL by Sri Lanka’s cricketers in recent times. The trend needs to change soon.
