Sports
Exciting series on the cards
by Rex Clementine
in Galle
Every time Sri Lanka play Pakistan, they introduce a teenage prodigy who has played little First-Class cricket, but the rookie takes up to Test cricket like a duck taking to water. In the 1980s it happened with Saleem Malik and Saleem Yousuf. In 1990s, it was Saqlain Mushtaq and Ijaz Ahmed. Since the dawn of the new millennium there have been champion players like Younis Khan, Mohammad Amir, Fawad Alam, Abid Ali.
Each of the players mentioned above made their Test debuts against Sri Lanka and went onto have a major impact in the game. You wonder what’s in store this time? We will have a better idea on Sunday when the first Test between the teams gets underway in Galle.
Sunday will mark the return of Shaheen Afridi to Test cricket. It was last year around this time, ironically at the same ground, the 23-year-old was fielding in the deep and dived to stop a boundary and hurt his knee. It looked like a minor niggle but not so. Not only did he miss the second Test but has been out of Test cricket for a year. He was on 99 Test wickets and with the new ball due was expected to become the 11th Pakistani quick to the milestone, but it has been a long wait.
There’s no better sight in cricket than to see Shaheen charging in from the Dutch Fort End armed with the new ball. You are in awe at the rate Pakistan are producing quality left-arm quicks. It’s as good as the quality chocolates that Kandos put out all too frequently.
Wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan is Pakistan’s vice-captain, but he may not get a game on this tour as Sarfraz Ahmed pipped him as Pakistan’s leading stumper.
Sarfraz of course is no stranger to Sri Lanka. In 2006, he skippered Pakistan to the Undre-19 World Cup tittle at RPS beating arch-rivals India in the final. It was a star-studded Indian side comprising Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja. Pakistan had only made 109 but their quicks bowled a couple of unplayable spells to bowl out India for 71 inside 19 overs.
Sarfraz was also the captain of Pakistan when they won the Champions Trophy in England beating India again in 2017. Pakistan were down and out and were almost knocked out of the competition by Sri Lanka in Cardiff but then Thisara Perera at mid-on dropped a dolly, Sarfraz survived and sealed Sri Lanka’s fate. Like Imran Khan, he didn’t quite say ‘we will fight like cornered tigers’, but he got under the skin of Sri Lankans by saying, ‘I’ll remember that dropped catch for the rest of my life and Thisara will remember it for the rest of his life.’
As for Sri Lanka they are a very settled unit. Test cricket is one form of the game where they have been quite steady and were in with a chance to make it to the finals of the World Test Championship.
Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne was contemplating to quit but kudos to the selectors for convincing him to have another go at the World Test Championship.
The absence of Asitha Fernando has opened up a slot. A selection panel headed by Sidath Wettimuny or Aravinda de Silva that aren’t afraid to take bold decisions would have handed someone like Dilshan Madushanka his Test debut. But the current lot are as conventional as the Vatican and they are unlikely to take the new ball away from Kasun Rajitha and Vishwa Fernando.
A few questions have been asked about Ramesh Mendis as he struggled with his lines and lengths during the recent Ireland series. Fellow off-spinner Lakshitha Manasinghe, the former Nalanda College player, has done well in recent months and it remains to be seen whether he makes his Test debut.
Sri Lanka (Probable XI)
Dimuth Karunaratne (Captain), Nishan Madushka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ramesh Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Kasun Rajitha and Vishwa Fernando.
Pakistan (Probable XI)
Babar Azam (Captain), Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood, Saud Shakeel, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Agha Salman, Abrar Ahmed, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Noman Ali or Mohammad Nawaz.
Umpires: Alex Wharf (Eng) and Rod Tucker (Aus)
Television Umpire: Chris Gaffaney (NZ)
Match Referee: David Boon (Aus)
Kusal Mendis’ 93 not out off 117 balls provided the backbone, Janith Liyanage punched out a 46, and DunithWellalage produced late burst, as Sri Lanka strode to 271 for 6. On a track that offers turn, and at a venue at which chasing has historically been difficult, Sri Lanka’s is a solid – if not imposing – score, even if the hosts are resting some key bowlers.
Adil Rashid added to his excellent Sri Lanka record with 3 for 44, and was unsurprisingly England’s primary weapon, given the conditions. Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, and Rehan Ahmed claimed a wicket each, as England found frequent-enough breakthroughs to cut partnerships short before they grew truly worrying. Although Sri Lanka will be pleased with their score, England will believe it is within their reach.
Mendis was cautious early on. Arriving in the 11th over, he faced out 12 scoreless deliveries – 10 of those from England’s legspinners – before he nurdled himself onto the scoreboard. He was awake to scoring opportunities, particularly in his favoured zones square of the wicket, such as when he struck Rehan for successive boundaries behind point in the 15th over.
But as England continued to bowl tightly to him, and the spinners extracted turn from a dry surface, Mendis chose to proceed in a middling gear, pushing for singles and twos instead of dusting off his more aggressive sweeps. He got to 50 off 62 balls, but slowed down a little after that, particularly after he lost Liyanage, with whom he had put on 88 for the fifth wicket.
Although Mendis hit only a single four after the 41st over, Sri Lanka had Wellalage to crash the finishing boundaries. He hit three fours and a six in his 12-ball 25 not out. Mendis was in the 90s in the last two overs, but Wellalage claimed the majority of the strike, taking a particular shine to Jamie Overton in the final over, which went for 23.
Rashid was masterful with the ball almost from the outset. He slipped a googly past the defences of Kamil Mishara 10 balls into his first spell, then later trapped Dhananjaya de Silva in front, having beaten the batter in the flight. Then in the 43rd over, he cramped Liyanage up and took a simple catch off his own bowling, just as Liyanage was preparing to press the pedal to the floor.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 271 for 6 in 50 overs (Pathum Nissanka 21, Kamil Mishara 27, Kusal Mendis 93*, Janith Liyanage 46, Dunith Welalage 25*; Adil Rashid 3-44) vs England
[Cricinfo]
Asif Nazrul, the Bangladesh government’s sports advisor, on Thursday said that the ICC and the BCCI made no effort to convince the the Bangladesh Cricket Board of the security for their players in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, scheduled to be hosted in India and Sri Lanka. He also added that they did not deliver justice to their plea of shifting matches to Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat first in the opening ODI in Colombo, a venue that has historically been difficult for chasing teams. England captain Harry Brook said his team would have batted first as well.
England made one change to the XI they had named on the eve of the match, with allrounder Will Jacks having taken ill overnight. Jacks, an offspin-bowling allrounder, has been replaced in the XI by legspinning allrounder Rehan Ahmed.
Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have opted for a young attack, perhaps with a view to resting the more experienced bowlers for the T20Is coming up. There is no Wanindu Hasaranga or Maheesh Theekshana in the XI. Left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage and legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay will lead the spin attack instead, with the likes of Dhananjaya de Silva and Charith Asalanka also able to bowl.
Asitha Fernando and Pramod Madushan are the frontline seamers.
Although conditions were warm and fair at the toss, there is a chance showers could roll through later.
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook (capt.), Jos Buttler (wk), Sam Curran, Rehan Ahmed, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Janith Liyanage, Pavan Ratnayake, Dunith Wellalage, Pramod Madushan, Jeffrey Vandersay, Asitha Fernando
[Cricinfo]
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