Nikith Perera

Sri Lanka can pretend no more. They are just a hopeless Cricketing nation at the minute. What is being discussed by the wider circle of cricket fans is how did a team that is so lopsided actually challenge the best and attempt to make the Test Championship final? On reflection it would be fair to say it was laughable and unattainable. It also throws a heavy cloud over coach Chris Silverwood who confidently predicted a memorable tour. If by memorable he really meant nightmarish, the tour so far, is forgettable and delivered just that. Silverwood who appeared to be the Island nation's good luck charm is now probably scratching his head for answers as the teams in all formats continue to flounder. Where they actually belong has been unravelled by New Zealand who gave them an allround lesson on application and sensible approach with a comprehensive thrashing in the two Test series.  While New Zealand's batters flourished on the first two days, Sri Lanka's batters except for skipper Dimuth Karunaratne and to a lesser extent Dinesh Chandimal, found the Wellington wicket nearly unplayable. A pathetic batting performance scraped up 164 in their first dig and some referred it to 'Duck season' in New Zealand, as four batsmen were out without scoring whilst the rest barely scraped up double figures.  While Sri Lanka attack appeared toothless, New Zealand showed how it should be done with skipper Tim Southee,  Blair Tickner, Matt Henry and spinner Michael Bracewell combining with the rest of their attack to take 20 wickets. Faced with a mountainous task of overhauling a massive 416 run deficit and trying to win from there was insurmountable let alone batting over three days to save the Test was also beyond reality.  They battled hard in the innings but were definitely out of the contest from the outset and were rolled by an innings and 58 runs as expected.  They made 358 in the second innings but were guilty of poor shot selection that could have made the Kiwis toil for their win.  Four guilty batsmen that could have made a difference with mature Test cricket mentality but sacrificed their wicket with rash and irresponsible execution were Kusal Mendis and Angelo Matthews early in the morning session, followed by Dinesh Chandimal in the last over before lunch and newcomer Nishan Madushka, in the last over before tea.  Tim Southee has arrived as an astute leader after taking over the reins from Kane Williamson, but there is no doubt that the New Zealand strategy at home has been cleverly mapped out. The Kiwis underlined their superiority at home in familiar conditions while Sri Lanka showed they were underprepared mentally technically.  Sr Lanka toiled valiantly in their second stint against a tidal wave of runs to overhaul but it was too little too late. Dhananjaya De Silva 98, Skipper Karunaratne 51, Dinesh Chandimal 62 and Kusal Mendis 50 top scored. The one-day series is next followed by the T20s and Sri Lanka fans are hoping for some form of redemption after the Test debacle. 
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