SOUTH AFRICA SERIES

HAS SRI LANKA TURNED THE CORNER?

Roshan Abeysinghe looks forward to the forthcoming South Africa series

Was the Indian T20 series victory a fluke? Has Sri Lanka turned the corner? Was the Indian side good enough? These are common topics whenever cricket is being debated. Surely, the points have merit and can’t be dismissed or taken lightly.

But though such arguments may hold water, both teams weren’t fielding their best available players – for various reasons. Discipline, injury and personal issues were the reasons cited by Sri Lanka.

Besides, one has to acknowledge that winning against India is quite an achievement since they’re the team to beat. With vast resources at their disposal, India is the most sought after team – one that fans from around the world love to hate.

If Sri Lanka has a point to prove, it will be when South Africa arrives for a white ball series shortly.

Sri Lanka need to prove that the base they stood on during the Indian series is solid and stable, and isn’t at risk of wilting under pressure. To begin with, South African cricket too is crisis riddled and the team is looking to regroup and rebuild.

The Proteas will have the best available squad for the T20 series and while beating them won’t be easy, it will lend credence to the promising reputation of our team.

I wouldn’t want to call Sri Lanka the favourites going into the series despite playing at home and doing so on pitches that are completely different to those of the visitors. South Africa are more experienced and have a few players who are genuinely world class. Kagiso Rabada and Tabraiz Shamsi are two players in this category and the batting lineup isn’t entirely brittle either.

For Sri Lanka, the biggest plus going into the series is the team’s newfound confidence and belief that they can win regularly rather than only the odd game. Such a mindset is a massive bonus for a team that has been struggling to pick itself up after faring badly.

Sri Lanka’s defeat in England, which was a humiliation after their 2-1 loss to Bangladesh, did dent the pride and confidence of the team, which is why the T20 series victory against India despite not having players such as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli was massive.

Therefore, the white ball series against South Africa is going to be huge; it will confirm Sri Lanka’s status (i.e. whether it is moving up or stagnating) and that will be critical, going into a qualifying round of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

One area that Sri Lanka have managed to improve is their fitness and fielding. It was a pleasure to watch Avishka Fernando field; besides his agility in the 30 yard circle, Fernando’s catching showed great reflexes, which is a result of proper physical conditioning.

The return of Bhanuka Rajapaksa too was beneficial and he justified his position in the manner in which he batted.

Another plus point was how previously little-known Charith Asalanka has shown maturity on the field. Though the bowling wasn’t exceptional, it was decent as they did their job with admirable efficiency.

But Sri Lanka need to seriously improve in the batting department, which continues to be woeful and inadequate. There were times when  it was embarrassing too; but if Kusal Janith Perera recovers quickly, the batting lineup will receive a much needed boost though the rest of the unit also needs to stand up and be counted.

Overall, Sri Lanka aren’t the favourites against the South Africans though they have more to gain of the two nations.