Do it for Dimuth Karunaratne and give him a memorable send off is Sri Lanka’s challenge in the second Test. – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE. (eLanka Sports Editor).
Dimuth Karunaratne has offered himself as the sacrificial lamb in a bid to remedy Sri Lanka’s sorry plight with his decision to resign from international cricket after his 100th Test in Galle.
Sri Lanka’s former Test skipper, has always been a man to be admired for his honesty and accountability, and this act is no different as he walks away from the game he loves with the thought of making way for the next generation and Sri Lanka’s progression.
Looking at things in perspective, Karunaratne is not the worst player in Sri Lanka’s current squad. In fact his average in Tests is the best ever for his country. He sits in the top five best openers ever for Sri Lanka.
But what makes him different is that his recent bad patch wih the bat has nudged him to move on, rather than hope for a form turnaround like most others would selfishly do.
Sixteen Test centuries and around 20 fifty plus scores puts him in a category of the best in the world and her has been Sri Lanka’s sole representative in the top ten in the ICC rankings for a considerable period.
There are names I could throw up that should have given it away long before Karunaratne, but Sri Lanka’s persistence with the talent available which is more in the nature of a rollercoaster, has not delivered the upward thrust to world topping standards. Not since the era of Aravinda de Silva, Arjuna Ranatunge, Marvan Atapattu, current coach Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardena, Tillekeratne Dilshan and the likes who lit up the world stage anyway.
Fans of Sri Lanka cricket would undoubtedly wish Dimuth Karunaratne a life of success after cricket, but right now, a century in his final outing could not be more apt.
Every Sri Lankan fan would be rooting for Sri Lanka to turn things around for their departing champion who’s given so much.
Sri Lanka go into today’s second Test still wobbly after the first game mauling. Only a different mindset and desperation to win the vital toss can reverse the result of this game.
Failure to win the toss, and a repeat of the substandard fielding, will not make a difference to the result of the first Test, as Australia are a team who are drilled to make you pay for lost opportunities. India found that out in Australia recently.
Sri Lanka have made some changes to the team that were drubbed in the first Test and indications suggest they will be expecting a better prepared surface that will be more spin friendly than the last one.
Both Sri Lanka and Australia have tinkered with their line-ups for this game. Opener Pathum Nissanka makes a welcome return to the side after a groin injury sustained against New Zealand kept him out of game one. Sri Lanka have also added all-rounder Ramesh Mendis to the team for better effect.
Australia have omitted Todd Murphy for debutante Cooper Connolly with skipper Steve Smith placing his faith in the youngster who he compared with Matthew Kuhnemann who destroyed Sri Lanka’s batting. The rest of the line-up remains unchanged.
Sri Lanka skipper Dhananjaya de Silva will expect a better showing from his batters who were outplayed by Australia’s spinners and Mitchell Stark. Australia have learned from the past and prepared themselves well for this tour.
It is hoped that Sri Lanka’s team will honour the passing of Bernard Rulach, a past player and Club cricket great, whose funeral is in Melbourne tomorrow.
Sri Lanka will need to produce something extraordinary to level the series.
If you missed TREVINEs’ last Sport Article – here it is! Humiliated Sri Lanka have got to bounce back or the future looks bleak going forward. Aussies rub salt in the wounds of beleaguered home team. – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE. (eLanka Sports Editor).
