Sri Lankan tracks should make the NZ series a close one
The three-day warm up match was unable to predict much on the forthcoming two-match Test Series between Sri Lanka and New Zealand - Pic courtesy SLC Media
Reciprocity, it appears, is not a term that is accepted by New Zealand and Sri Lanka. The Kiwis last toured the island in late 2012, but the Sri Lankans had visited the land of the long white cloud on three occasions, in the interim.
Two-match Test series have been the norm on the occasions that these years met, and New Zealand won six of the eight Tests, while Sri Lanka’s win at Galle in 2012 was their only success. That magnificent fight-back by Angelo Mathews (120n.o.) and Kusal Mendis (141n.o.) at the Basin Reserve made certain of a draw for the visitors.
Rangana Herath (11 for 108) ran through the New Zealand batting at Galle (November 2012), bowling them out for 118. Current skipper Dimuth Karunaratne and Tharanga Paranavitana put on 93 to win the opening Test by 10 wickets. Brendon McCullum scored 68 while his Sri Lankan counterpart, Mahela Jayawardena, replied with 91. The name of Angelo Mathews (who made 79) keeps bobbing up. It appears as though he could play Trent Boult, Tim Southee et al even in his sleep!
The New Zealanders hit back strongly at the P. Sara to win by 167 and tie the series. Hundreds from the Kiwi duo of Kane Williamson (135) and Ross Taylor (142) propelled them to a healthy 412. They overcame the wiles of Rangana Herath but never quite dominated him as his figures 49-10-103-6 show. Thilan Samaraweera (76) and Mathews (47) featured largely in the Sri Lankan reply of 244. Southee, who seems to love Sri Lankan batters, took 5-62 while his co-assassin Boult ended on 4-42.
Taylor struck 74 in a rather rushed New Zealand second innings to set the local team a target of 363. Inevitably, Mathews made 84 in Sri Lanka’s feeble reply of 195. The Boult-Southee combination ensured a 167-run win for their team.
2015 – both the start and the end – were unhappy times for the Sri Lankans as a tally of four losses in four Tests would indicate. New Zealand won the Tests at Christchurch and the Basin Reserve by 8 wickets and by 193 runs respectively. The bag end of the year brought little solace for the Sri Lankans who lost both Tests – by 122 runs at Dunedin and by 5 wickets at Hamilton.
Hung, drawn and quartered in these series, it was left to the now-ignored Dinesh Chandimal to rally his forces and buck the losing trend by drawing the 2018 Test at the Basin Reserve to give a sense of pride to the team. New Zealand, and Tom Latham, in particular, ran riot posting 578 towards which the left-hander contributed an unconquered 264, while his skipper moved smoothly to 91. Lahiru Kumara, as we have come to expect, hurried the batsmen on his way to 4-127.
There was some help from the weather, but basically it was the magnificent Mendis-Mathew show that enabled the Sri Lankans to end on 282-3 and earn an honourable draw. Mathews 83 and 120 not out added several cubits to his stature.
Suranga Lakmal (5-54) made early strikes at Christchurch, but the Kiwi team 64-6 at one stage, recovered to 178. They rubbed it in by demolishing Sri Lanka for 104. There was ample evidence of Kiwi batting – power as Jeet Reval 74, Latham 176, Williamson 48, Nicholls 162 not out and Colin De Grand Homme 71 not out guided the rots to an imposing 585-4.
Faced with the impossible target of 660, Sri Lanka subsided rather meekly to lose by 423. Chandimal 56, and Kusal Mendis 67 were the only batsmen to show up. Mathews retired on 22. Wagner 4-48 was wrecker-in-chief.
Much water has flowed under the Kelani and the Mahaweli rivers since. The Kiwis became nearly everybody’s darling by their dignified, implacable behaviour at Lords in the ICC World Cup 2019 final. Skipper Kane Williamson has shot up in Eastern for the uncomplaining way in which he accepted an unpalatable defeat. In my book, he remains, along with Virat Kohli and Steve Smith, the three most dominant batsmen of the present time. Joe Root runs them close, but his output is not as considerable.
Horses for courses as the visitors have arrived with a four-pronged spin attack. Santner can be an awkward customer on a turner. That apart the rest should not cause the likes of Karunaratne, Mathews and the two Kusals too many sleepless nights.
If the grass is taken off to help the Sri Lankan spinners (Mind you, there isn’t another Herath on the horizon), then the fangs of Southee, Boult and Wagner would be drawn. Lahiru Kumara and the rest of the fast bowling fraternity could curse, but it wouldn’t matter.