Kamindu Mendis and Sri Lanka are streaming towards the summit of world cricket. Sri Lanka spinners have New Zealand in a dizzy tailspin. – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE. (eLanka Sports Editor)
Sri Lanka’s stupendous turnaround after thrashing England in the third Test at the Oval continues to spiral them upwards, now with the series victory over New Zealand in Galle.
Suddenly, a team widely categorised as ordinary, has catapulted themselves to number three in the World Championship rankings behind Australia and India making everyone sit up and take notice.
Obviously former coach Chris Silverwood was sitting on a golden nestegg but was unable to notice it’s shimmer. Sanath Jayasuriya appears to have polished it to its shining brilliance and produced what was always there to be exploited but needing tinkering through a different mental approach.
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The blend of youth and experience has made Sri Lanka a revelation in the Test arena as they continue to surge back to a team that has won back respect after a considerable period.
Success has come with hard work and a complete change in discipline and mindset which was a worrying factor especially among the young guns in the white ball game.
Under Jayasuriya and a no nonsense approach, things appear to be on track for a welcome return to the once feared reputation they held.
And things appear to be heading for success on all fronts after the recent elections in the country which promises to correct the wrongs of the past few decades eliminating political interference that has brought the country to its knees.
Sri Lanka won an arm wrestle in the first Test as New Zealand tried to go with them and learnings about the expectations of a tricky Galle track.
But the wheels fell off in the second Test when Sri Lanka’s batters found form to run up a mamoth total that completely demoralised the visitors as the crumbled to the wiles of Prabath Jayasuriya and debutante Nishan Peiris who combined to script New Zealand’s forgettable tour.
Jayasuriya has revelled in Galle with his audacious turn and variation which bamboozled New Zealand’s batters as they crashed to an embarrassing 88 all out off 39.5 overs in their first innings.
New Zealand attempted to save face in their second stint but were bamboozled by Peiries who snatched six wickets for 170 relegating first innings hero Jayasuriya to second fiddle. Both bowlers ended with nine wickets apiece after a dominant display.
The story of the series however was around the emergence of prolific left hander Kamindu Mendis who rewrote the record books with unforgettable performances with the bat that will be long remembered.
The freakish all-rounder who is ambidextrous as a bowlers and a batting sensation has an extraordinary average above 91 percent in eight Teats which puts him among the All time best. He has breathed new life to Sri Lanka cricket and will be grabbing the headlines for the foreseeable future.
The victory in the second Test revolved around Mendis specials, (pardon the pun), with Kusal Mendis scoring 106 not out and Kamindu 182 not out not bothering about personal achievement and focussed instead on getting the series win. Irate fans questioned the decision to declare with him within sight of his double century but he said he was comfortable with it knowing the game plan was around unsettling the New Zealand batters in the last two hours.
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When Sri Lanka batted, Pathum Nissanka fell cheaply but Dimuth Karunaratne 83, Dinesh Chandimal 116, Angelo Matthews 88, Skipper Dhananjaya de Silva 44 joined the two Mendis’s in a match winning total.
Sri Lanka amassed 602 for 5 declared then skittled New Zealand for 88 before they showed fight in the face of embarrassment making 360 in their second stint but to no avail.
If this is the new Sri Lanka, the writing is on the wall of a new force at the top. It’s been a long time coming.
