Embattled Sri Lanka hope for World Cup miracle
Sri Lanka go into the World Cup with low expectations after losing eight of their last nine one-day matches and led by a captain who has not played 50-over cricket for more than four years.
While the 1996 champions have enjoyed some success in the Test arena, they have lost more than three-quarters of the ODI matches they have played since the beginning of 2017.
During that period, Sri Lanka have been led by six different captains, the most recent of whom is Test opener Dimuth Karunaratne.
Karunaratne, who is regarded as one of the best batsman in the five-day format, had not been part of Sri Lanka’s ODI set-up since the 2015 edition, largely because of his low scoring rate in limited-overs matches.
With the team’s top order having routinely proved fragile during the series against South Africa in March, the solidity Karunaratne offers as opener has proved attractive to team selectors.
In his first assignment as Test captain, the 31-year-old led Sri Lanka to a 2-0 win in South Africa, to make the islanders only the third team after Australia and England to win a Test series there.
But the skipper would have to preform a near miracle to make his team into serious contenders for the biggest prize in ODI cricket.
The left-handed Karunaratne re-started his ODI journey with a bang after scoring 77 off 88 balls to guide his team to a 35-run win over Scotland via the Duckworth-Lewis method on Tuesday.
His predecessor, Lasith Malinga, leads the team’s pace attack and is fresh from a title with Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament.
Serious weaknesses
The win against Scotland does not erase the shortcomings highlighted during their 5-0 ODI thumping in South Africa in March.
Most concerning was the batting, with Sri Lanka unable to last the full 50 overs in any of the four games that went the distance.
None of the Sri Lankan batsmen scored a century in that series and it was number nine batsman Isuru Udana who produced the team’s best innings of 78.
The lack of a quality spin bowler has also plagued the team with Akila Dananjaya, the spinner they had been grooming for the World Cup, proving a shadow of his former self after having his faulty action remodelled.
In place of Dananjaya, Sri Lanka have picked leg-spinners Jeffrey Vandersay and Jeevan Mendis as primary spin options in their World Cup squad, though neither of those bowlers had played an ODI in the previous 18 months at the time of selection.
Also of concern is the fielding, which has been below par in the past two years, with the catching especially poor.
Sri Lanka hope that highly rated fielding coach Steve Rixon can turn things around.
They can at least take heart from their pacemen Malinga, Suranga Lakmal and Nuwan Pradeep.
Pradeep claimed four wickets in the game against Scotland.
Sri Lanka begin their World Cup campaign against New Zealand on June 1 in Cardiff.
(AFP)
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At least SL should come to semi finals! A decent score around 275 in every match , with good fielding and tight bawling SL can do wonders.
Gone are the days that Sri-Lanka’s played Cricket for the country now its just trying to get in to to IPL , getting popular on Advertisements and making money most of all its the politicians and selectors that play the game.
My trust is that we will be in Semis. No DOUBT.
It is not surprising that our team would not reach the semi for the selectors have not picked Ajantha Mendis the mystery spinners who carrying a injury have with injections created records in test. ODI and 20/20 now free from injury have not found a place refer CRCIFO for the year 2014
in addition to the above comment made by me about Ajantha Mendis made by me please find the following
These are from Cric info the credible evidence which can be confirmed from Cric info
Ajanta Mendis: Even as the Sri Lankan mystery spinner found himself out of favour many a times through the year, he ended up as the leading wicket taker of 2014 in ODIs. In 17 matches, he took 38 wickets at an average of 21.63, with a wicket every 22.5 balls. Apart from some steller batting performances, Ajantha Mendis’ fin form with the ball made him the only Sri Lankan cricketer in the ICC ODI team fo year r 2014
Ajantha Mendis is the only Sri Lankan cricketer to be in ICC ODI Team of the Year 2014 (in batting order):
ball played a key role in Sri Lanka’s success in 2014, the 5-0 thrashing against India notwithstanding
Only Sri Lankan Cricketer to be
Mohammad Hafeez (Pak) Quinton de Kock (SA)
Virat Kohli (Ind)
George Bailey (Aus)
AB de Villiers (SA)
MS Dhoni (wicketkeeper) (captain)
Dwayne Bravo (WI)
James Faulkner (Aus)
Dale Steyn (SA)
Mohammad Shami (Ind)
Ajantha Mendis (SL)
Rohit Sharma (Ind) (12th man)
Eng. M.V.R.Perera