Sri Lanka lost two home test series in a row, unfortunately in the series against India Kumar Sangakkara could not make a significant contribution when it mattered most. It was the batting that let the side down, the openers never gave a good start and Upul Tharanga failed, and down the line Jehan Mubarak and [...]

The Sunday Times Sri Lanka

How India won a Test Series in Sri Lanka after 22 years

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Sri Lanka lost two home test series in a row, unfortunately in the series against India Kumar Sangakkara could not make a significant contribution when it mattered most. It was the batting that let the side down, the openers never gave a good start and
Upul Tharanga failed, and down the line Jehan Mubarak and Lahiru Thirimanne did not impress and Thirimanne the vice-Captain to my mind is highly overrated and will never be able to fill the legend Sangakkara’s shoes.

It would be a good idea, if the selectors give him a rest during the upcoming West Indies series. The selectors were generous to recall Jehan Mubarak when youngsters like Dhananjaya de Silva who scored heavily for the ‘A’Team against the recently concluded series with Pakistan ‘A’ Team, was knocking on the door.

The selectors gave this youngster the opportunity to play for the T20 series with the Pakistani’s, which baffled me, because de Silva is a youngster who plays with a solid technique and with grace which remind me of “Roy Dias” whose footwork was akin to a ballet dancer.

He looked very confident and composed although playing out of his depth, in the T20. I foresee a good future for him in the future and hope the selectors will include him in the Test Squad in the forth coming Test Series against the West Indies, hope the selectors will leave Mubarak and Tharanga out, Milinda Siriwardene an allrounder who has proved himself when given the opportunity, should also be in that squad. Angelo Mathews excelled with the bat and fitness issues are haunting him and he under bowled himself when needed on the 4th day of the 3rd Test Match, Siriwardene deserves a place in the squad since he is a useful left arm spinner and a brilliant field. Kusal Janith Perera was given the green light at last on the 3rd Test and he impressed with two half centuries, but he committed suicide by playing that reverse sweep and getting out at a critical juncture, where the match hung in the balance.

The aftermath of this series could be summed up as follows, India showed a great Team Commitment in the field, holding on to vital catches and saving valuable runs, due to the exuberance of their skipper. Ishant Sharma of course overstepped the mark by behaving like “The wild man of Borneo”. By and large The Sri Lankan skipper’s laidback attitude did not warrant much enthusiasm in the field, he was unable to hide the passenger in the team when fielding, it was a funny to see him jogging in the field creating singles into twos and twos into three.The footwork of most of our batsmen were poor, they hardly used the crease when playing off the back foot.

India won the Test series mainly on Sri Lanka’s mishaps

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