Sports
Asalanka’s masterclass: A Test captain in the making
by Rex Clementine
When the ICC announced the ODI Team of the Year for 2024 last month, there was a pleasant surprise – Charith Asalanka was chosen as captain, ahead of battle-hardened leaders like Pat Cummins, Rohit Sharma and Jos Buttler, who had all won the World Cup for their respective countries. The selection panel, a mix of former players and journalists, must have seen something extraordinary in him to hand him the reins. And on Wednesday, under the floodlights of RPS, he showed us why, leading Sri Lanka to a morale-boosting win over Australia after the bruising Test series.
A poya day, a Sri Lankan win, and the Aussies struggling against spin – what more could fans ask for? While the stands weren’t bursting at the seams, thousands were glued to their TV screens, watching Sri Lanka turn the tide and reminding the Aussies that, despite their cricketing pedigree, playing spin in our backyard is still a bridge too far for them. There’s no better feeling in sports than to beat the Aussies.
Defending 215 was always going to be a tough ask. By Asalanka’s own admission, he had hoped for at least 270, but he adapted brilliantly, handling the game like a seasoned pro. His dismissal of the ever-dangerous Alex Carey was a captain’s dream. Carey, a prolific sweeper, was lured into a false sense of security as Asalanka cleverly took the pace off the ball, making the shot riskier. The inevitable happened—Carey mistimed one and Sri Lanka were back in business.
But Asalanka’s leadership wasn’t just about his own performance; it was about reading the game and making bold calls. Wanindu Hasaranga, the team’s premier bowler, wasn’t quite landing them where the team needed. Many captains would have hesitated to pull their trump card out of the attack, but Asalanka? He didn’t blink. He quickly switched to another spin option, showing that he isn’t afraid to make the tough calls – even if it means telling his best bowler to get lost.
What truly sets Asalanka apart is his man-management. He’s tactically sharp, but more importantly, he understands his players. That’s where Dhananjaya de Silva faltered in the Test series – waiting for things to happen rather than making them happen. Cricket, much like life, favours the brave, and Asalanka seems to know that instinctively.
If Sri Lanka hands him the full-time captaincy across formats, it could be the start of something special. Just look at what he did for SSC last week. The country’s premier cricket club is staring at relegation, a fate unthinkable in years gone by. For all of MJ’s tactical brilliance during his playing days, his tenures post-retirement – whether with the national team or SSC – have been, to put it mildly, disastrous.
But Asalanka wasn’t about to let SSC go down without a fight. In their last First-Class game, he scored a century and then, with his part-time off-spin, picked up a staggering ten-wicket match haul – sending down more than 50 overs in the process! This isn’t Muralitharan we’re talking about. This is a batter who bowls a bit of off-spin, yet he put his body on the line for his club. If he brings that same passion to the national team, Sri Lanka could be in for a revival.
And let’s talk about his batting on Wednesday – it was unreal. After yet another batting collapse, Sri Lanka looked down and out, but Asalanka orchestrated a rescue act that was a joy to watch. The way he farmed the strike with Eshan Malinga at the other end, ensuring the innings went deep, was pure cricketing intelligence. Then came the calculated risks – targeting the right bowlers at the right moments. He couldn’t have executed it better.
The mood in Sri Lanka after the Test series drubbing was gloomy, but Asalanka has given fans a reason to believe again. If he leads Sri Lanka to a series win, the selectors should waste no time in handing him the captaincy across all formats heading into the next World Test Championship cycle.
Sri Lanka need a leader who can take the game by the scruff of the neck, someone who doesn’t just react to the opposition but forces them to react to him. Charith Asalanka might just be that man.
From their last completed game against Australia, Zimbabwe ought to bring Richard Ngarava back into the XI, with the left-arm seamer rested for that outing as a precautionary measure. Leggie Graeme Cremer could miss out, although the possibility of resting Blessing Muzarabani cannot be ruled out either, should Zimbabwe want an additional spinner.
[Cricbuzz]
Regular skipper Wayne Madsen has missed the last two games due to an injury in the opening fixture and remains a doubtful starter for their last group game as well.
[Cricbuzz]
Sahibzada Farhan settled his side’s nerves with a blazing unbeaten hundred, as Namibia were outgunned by 102 runs in Colombo to end any doubts about Pakistan’s progression to the T20 World Cup Super Eight. With 11 fours and four sixes, Farhan produced a perfect burst of acceleration against a toiling attack. His second fifty of his 57-ball century came from just 20 balls. And his eventual 100 not out from 58 balls would be more runs than Namibia managed (97) before being bowled out.
Needing a victory (or, at the very least, a washout) to keep the hopefuls of USA at bay, Pakistan produced the most comprehensive win of their campaign. It was sealed by their four-man spin cohort. Mohammad Nawaz led a mid-innings squeeze with 1 for 22 in his four overs, before Shadab Khan and Usman Tariq dovetailed for each of Namibia’s last seven wickets.
Shadab was the main character of their victory surge. He had earlier been pushed up to No. 5, ahead of Babar Azam, to help Farhan thrash 78 runs from the final six overs of their innings. He then followed up with 3 for 19, the last of them coming via a superb diving catch at square leg from Saim Ayub, off Zane Green, which spoke of Pakistan’s mounting confidence.
Shadab himself was also in the act with a smart catch at midwicket, to claim the first breakthrough of Tariq’s late entrance. Though he didn’t bowl until the 12th over, Tariq’s extraordinary repertoire of carrom balls and delayed-release leggies proved unfathomable to Namibia’s lower-order. Ruben Trumpelmann and Bernard Scholtz were both bowled through the gate by perfect googlies, before Willem Myburgh snicked off to a legbreak, to cap Tariq’s career-best figures of 4 for 16.
It wasn’t the perfect performance from Pakistan. In particular, their batting powerplay was a microcosm of their campaign: rarely convincing, yet still doing the needful in spite of some ugly moments. Ayub’s 14 from 12 balls comprised two leading edges and a flying nick for four past the keeper; Farhan’s first boundary came via a misfield in the covers, and his second to a similarly wild hack through deep third off Jack Brassell, moments after he had flung his bat through square leg while mistiming a cut through point.
But, by degrees, Pakistan settled into their work, emboldened by every over in which their under-performing middle-order was spared early exposure. Namibia rang in the changes, rotating through six options in their first eight overs. But it was their two bowlers serving up back-to-back overs who inadvertently released the mounting pressure.
Farhan found his range with back-to-back fours off Ruben Trumpelmann, including an unrepentant slog through midwicket, then took his new-found poise out on Willem Myburgh. The legspinner’s first over had gone for just five; his second realized three vast sixes, with Farhan contributing back-to-back slog-sweeps. Though he ended the same over in a heap, after jarring his knee during a drive, the shackles were officially off.
Farhan nudged the first ball of the 12th over through midwicket to bring up a 37-ball half-century. Twenty balls later, he did likewise to Gerhard Erasmus, to cavort through to his maiden T20I hundred. His was also the third of this year’s tournament, a new record.
In between whiles, his acceleration was violent and unrelenting, though it did not begin in earnest until the 15th over, when Trumpelmann’s slower balls were collared for back-to-back fours down the ground. That sounded the bugle charge. JJ Smit’s left-arm spin was then smoked for 17 runs, including two more fours and a baseball slug for six; and Brassell’s last was sent for 20, with Farhan marching into the 90s as he hoisted a slower ball over fine leg for his fourth six.
Salman Agha played a vital part in Pakistan’s uptick. His 38 from 23 balls included three fours and two sixes, as he helped propel his team to 107 for 1 after 12. He was livid with himself when he holed out to mid-off with his job far from done, and Khawaja Nafay’s five-ball stay meant Pakistan were soon in familiar danger at 118 for 3 in the 14th. But in came Shadab, with licence to swing his bat. He was only too eager to deliver.
Namibia needed ten an over from the outset, and they did give it a go in the powerplay. Faheem Ashraf was an unlikely candidate bowling the first over, with Shaheen Afridi paying the price for some leaky displays so far in the tournament – and consequently dropped. Ashraf’s introduction looked doubly sketchy when Louren Steenkamp picked his third-ball slower ball to pump him over the sightscreen.
Pakistan’s frailties were all too apparent in the same over. Nawaz dropped a sitter at deep midwicket off Jan Frylinck. Soon, at 32 for 0 after four, Namibia were putting up a decent challenge.Salman Mirza, however, switched ends to bowl Frylinck through the gate for 9, and when Jan Loftie-Eaton ruined his strong start by attempting a non-existent run to Agha at mid-off, the downturn was swift and decisive. Nawaz made amends for his catching by luring Steenkamp into a top-edged swipe for 23, and four balls later, Shadab snicked off the captain, Erasmus, with a big legbreak in his first over. The end would follow swiftly.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 199 for 3 in 20 overs (Sahibzadz Farhan 100*, Saim Ayub 14, Salman Agha 38, Shadab Khan 36*; Gerhard Erasmus 1-25, Jack Brassell 2-38) beat Namibia 97 in 17.3 overs (Louren Steenkamp 23, Alexander Busing Volschenk 20; Salman Mirza 1-11,Mohammad Nawaz 1-22, Usman Tariq 4-16, Shadab Khan 3-19) by 102 runs
[Cricinfo]
Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe seek momentum sustenance ahead of stiffer challenges
West Indies aim to keep up rhythm as Italy look to end on a high
Pakistan into Super Eight after Farhan ton sinks Namibia
Muscular South Africa stroll into Super Eight with all-win record
Pakistan bat first, drop Shaheen Afridi in must-win encounter against Namibia
New Bangladesh sports minister wants to fast track cases against Shakib and Mortaza
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
Life style4 days agoMarriot new GM Suranga
-
Business3 days agoMinistry of Brands to launch Sri Lanka’s first off-price retail destination
-
Features4 days agoMonks’ march, in America and Sri Lanka
-
Opinion7 days agoWill computers ever be intelligent?
-
Features4 days agoThe Rise of Takaichi
-
Features4 days agoWetlands of Sri Lanka:
-
News4 days agoThailand to recruit 10,000 Lankans under new labour pact
-
News4 days agoMassive Sangha confab to address alleged injustices against monks