Sri Lanka vs Australia, 2nd T20I: Lankans’ chance for limited-overs glory

Sri Lanka veteran Tillakaratne Dilshan will make a final appearance in international cricket with the 2nd T20I against Australia at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

One exciting tour is about to come to an end as Australia play hosts Sri Lanka in the final Twenty20 International (T20I) match of the series. The tour has not been any less than a roller-coaster, with the Lankan’s dominating the Test series entirely while Australia proved why they are one of the best teams in the world in the limited-overs format. The tour is not only just a competition for the hosts, for their veteran member Tillakaratne Dilshan will make a final appearance in international cricket with the second T20I at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. One of the major drawback for the hosts side is the absence of their regular skipper Angelo Mathews in the upcoming fixture.Full Cricket Scorecard: Sri lanka vs Australia, 2nd T20I at Colombo (RPS)

Mathews has done a commendable job, standing strong during Sri Lanka’s rebuilding stage and making a team out of a bunch of inexperienced yet talented cricketers. The player, captaining the side for a long time now, knows well about the strengths of his team members and can play them accordingly.

Australia also have a new captain in David Warner, as Steven Smith has been rested midway into the series. However, Warner is a lot more experienced as a captain and player than Chandimal. Warner is a familiar name in many T20 leagues across the globe, including the Indian Premier League (IPL) where he led the franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to win the title. To Warner’s credit, the player had to deal with a lot of players whom he had not played before, for that matter, with players he did not find communicating an easy job.

Warner overcame those challenges and took his team to a victorious result in a tournament which had world-class players competing in it for different franchises. In contrast, Chandimal barely comes with any experience of leading a side. Chandimal received very little time on his hand to understand the positives and negatives of his teammates.

To say, Sri Lanka did not perform very poorly with the bat in the first T20I. The target was huge, for that matter, the highest in T20Is. But Sri Lanka fought till the last delivery and that is a very good sign. An intent to win reflected off the way they played and that says they will put in their hundred per cent in the upcoming game. The team has a lot of talented players and they just need to be used properly.

With Dilshan still there for the final match, Sri Lanka need not think of one opener. For the other, rather than Kusal Perera like the last match, Sri Lanka can opt for Dhananjaya de Silva. De Silva did well opening in the One-Day International (ODI) series and with K Perera failing to score as an opener, Chandimal can try de Silva once again.

Kusal Mendis has been one of the most consistent performers for the hosts in this tour and he has enjoyed batting at No. 3 position. Chandimal sent him to bat at No. 5 in the last T20I which did not go too well. Chandimal, though has performed at No. 3, plays regularly at No. 4 and will be happy to regain his spot.

With K Perera and Thisara Perera coming out next, the Lankan line-up looks strong enough to face the batting-heavy Australia side. The players have already shown the amount of cricket they have in themselves but have failed to put it all together in the limited-overs format like they did in the Tests. However, the way they performed after Australia put up the massive target is commendable and shows that Chandimal has a very clear idea about the game and how to proceed in different situations.

The Lankan bowling prominently lacks someone like Rangana Herath in the limited-overs format. Over the time, the team has tried many new options. Though successful on debut or the initial few matches, they have failed to maintain consistency and eventually have been replaced with others. This is one big problem for Sri Lanka, who are looking to get back their glory they used to enjoy, say, five years back.

Australia can bat well against the pacers that Sri Lanka currently have and that was evident from the way Australia hammered them all over the park in the last match. The bowlers could not find any answer to Glenn Maxwell’s fireworks and had economy ranging over 10. What worked for Sri Lanka in Tests was the advantage that Australia batsmen are not comfortable to play spin. However, the spinners could not affect Australia’s batting as much in the shorter formats.

With the Sri Lanka bowling already lacking the strength, Mathews’ absence will be a big matter of concern. Mathews serves as an all-rounder, being one of the pillars of middle-order batting and the leading pacer of the pack. Without him, the bowlers look like scattered forces which only in turn helps the opposition. Sri Lanka, since there is no other option in hand, will have to gather whatever strength they have to combat the strong opponents who are confident after the bashing in the last match.

Finally, one thing that Sri Lanka need is balance. Balance in batting order, as they have a heavy middle-order and inexperienced top-order. Balance in bowling as one single player doing well cannot hand them victory every single time. Sri Lanka need to rise above their dependency upon individual performances and act as a team with just one chance left on hand in the series. They need balance between good batting and bowling, as doing good in just one department does not always ensure victory. All-round performance with every player contributing is the key to long-term success and that is what must be on Sri Lanka’s mind at the moment. That is how the team needs to act.

(Paulami Chakraborty, a singer, dancer, artist, and photographer, loves the madness of cricket and writes about the game. She can be followed on Twitter at @Polotwitts)

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