Shanaka and Hasarsnga heroics save Sri Lanka some blushes.Rain affected third game ties series 1-1- BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE. (eLanka Sports Editor).
Dasun Shanaka obviously lives a charmed life as a cricketer with plenty of questions around him and his timely return to form may have deflected his future which has been a topic of discussion as Sri Lanka skipper.
Thrust back into the role he was taken out of, his form certainly didn’t warrant his inclusion on performance, let alone as skipper for the upcoming World Cup, from ousted skipper Charith Asalanka after Sri Lanka’s tour to Pakistan.
Asalanka’s sacking as leader is debatable because of his decision to opt out of the Pakistan tour due to safety fears after a bomb blast near the team hotel in Islamabad.
Yes, he breached team protocols by not first consulting with team management and the squad about his decision which warranted disciplinary action, but jeopardising the country’s plan for the World Cup doesn’t help in their preparation which was obviously fractured by it.
To make things more bizarre was the decision to re-appoinnt Shanaka as an underperforming Captain which raised eyebrows around the world. Obviously this would have gone unnoticed or was irrelevant to Sri Lanka’s cricket administrators who would have had their own logic around it.
Would 34 runs off 9 balls after a long drought, in the game two triumph in Dambulla, make his place secure? Sri Lanka’scricketing brainsthrust appear to hold the answer to that.
Coach Sanath Jayasuriya has decided to walk away from his duties before the World Cup putting Sri Lanka’s preparation in all sorts and challenging their depth and resolve about how to still be in competitive spirit against the best in the world.
Playing at home in such a prestigious event doesn’t come everyday, and Sri Lanka, much like India as hosts, should have been milking every opportunity to gain home team advantage.
But from a Sri Lankan perspective, emerging from a situation of confusion and unplanned chaos has sometimes proven to be a pathway to produce the unexpected.
They did this in the chaotic 1996 World Cup win under Arjuna Ranatunge in Lahore where no one expected them to be in the final let alone win it over the formidable Australians.
Games cancelled due to terrorism issues in the Island nation resulting in some teams refusing to play there amid safety fears, a game in India called off when fans of the losing host team set fire to parts of the stadium resulting in Sri Lanka being awarded the win contributed to Sri Lanka’s first World Cup victory.
The win over Pakistan in game two levelled the series 1-1 in a 12-over affair curtailed by heavy rain in Dambulla after game two was abandoned due to waterlogged conditions.
Pakistan won the toss and invited Sri Lanka to have a bat and they did well to rack up a formidable 160 for 6 in the 12 overs.
Dasun Shanaka was the standout with his quick fire 30 off 9 balls. But it was the efforts of Wannindu Hasarsnga who grabbed 4 wickets that made the ultimate difference as Sri Lanka tied the visitors down to 8 for 146 in their allotment.
Hasarsnga had a great tournament and fittingly carried away the Player- of- the- match and Player-of-the-series awards. In my opinion Janith Liyanage deserved the latter recognition.
Losing batting mainstay Pathum Nissanka in the second ball suggested another belting for the rollercoaster Sri Lankans. But Kusal Mendis stepped up to steady the ship putting together useful partnerships with Kamil Mishara and Charith Asalanka.
Datsun Shanaka and Janith Liyanage then blasted a racy 52 run partnership that proved decisive in the 14 run win.
Pakistan refused to buckle after losing their furst wicket for 9. Matheesha Pathirana made the initial breakthrough but Pakistan skipper Salman Agar threw a few tremors through the Sri Lanka camp when he blasted 45 runs off 12 deliveries. But Sri Lanka’s pace- spin combination soon stifled the run rate after the dismissal of Aga and held on to a face saving win.
From now on, the preparation for what is paramount will be observed with interest.
