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Sri Lanka’s shocking tactics reason for crushing defeat to South Africa in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 quarter-final

Decisions such as sending Jayawardene late to the crease cost them a crucial match.

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The Sri Lankans will have to wait another four years now if they are to lay their fingers on the coveted World Cup again © Getty Images
The Sri Lankans will have to wait another four years now if they are to lay their fingers on the coveted World Cup again © Getty Images

All was going well for them in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, until Sri Lanka pulled out the plug. They made some atrocious decisions and then backed them up with a poor show on the field to crash out of the tournament with a heavy loss in the quarter-final. Devarchit Varma opines that Sri Lanka’s poor tactics were the reason behind their loss.

In the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, for various reasons Sri Lanka made as many as four changes in their playing eleven for the match against India. While Sri Lanka felt all those changes were important, none of it went in their favour and they lost the match to India by six wickets. Looking back to that loss and the one today — at the hands of South Africa which ended Sri Lanka’s stay in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 — one cannot fail to notice that it is these sweeping changes which Sri Lanka keep making that play a big role in their losses.  Read: South Africa vs Sri Lanka quarter-final 1 Highlights

There is no harm in making changes in the playing XI, but teams must realise the impact that these changes can create. More often, the obnoxious changes throw the teams in a state of misbalance, and it only ends up creating further troubles. In the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 quarter-final, the man in form Lahiru Thirimanne did not open the innings but Kusal Perera partnered Tillakaratne Dilshan. Perera looked like a man on a mission to score off every single ball and in the end, was dismissed without creating any impact whatsoever. Read: JP Duminy, Imran Tahir create South African records

Sri Lanka won the toss, and given the form their batsmen have been in, it would certainly have been their game had they batted with lot more freedom. Thirimanne looked in good touch but his wicket opened the floodgates. The issue here is, Thirimanne was not at fault in his dismissal — he was scoring runs positively and batted with a lot of ease — and his innings was contrastingly different to that of Kumar Sangakkara’s. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: SCHEDULE & MATCH DETAILS

Thirimanne walked out to bat at No. 4, ahead of Mahela Jayawardene. Now, both the batsmen have scored runs in the ongoing tournament, but the experience that Jayawardene has, and that too of playing with Sangakkara, could have come in handy for Sri Lanka. Jayawardene walked out to bat when Sri Lanka were three wickets down in the 20th over — and not in the fifth over when his side lost openers for a small total early on. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Complete Coverage

The pressure of rebuilding the innings was far greater in the 20th over than compared to the fifth, and perhaps Sri Lanka missed a trick by not sending in Jayawardene early. Also, the fact that Jayawardene and Sangakkara have enjoyed their cricket together so many years down the line, the occasion would have definitely spurred them to do it once again for Sri Lanka. Top 10 batsmen in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

Before the start of the second innings, in the Sri Lanka team huddle, quite a few dropped shoulders were seen, which did not suggest a positive body language. With just 133 to defend, Sri Lanka did not give their slow bowlers enough overs as they began the attack with the seamers and continued them for far too long. Top 10 bowlers in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

One cannot forgo the fact that South Africans would be the first bunch to crumble under pressure, and Sri Lanka just did not do enough to create chances early on and try and put pressure. There were misfields and far too many extras, which showed that Sri Lanka had given up the game in their minds even before the start of South Africa’s chase. Top 10 fielders in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

Sri Lanka cannot afford to let go of their opportunities, and one can only hope that they are much better in their decisions, as trifle matters can end up together against them. Top 10 wicketkeepers in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

(Devarchit Varma is a reporter with CricketCountry. He can be followed on Twitter @Devarchit)

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