JOIN USUpul Tharanga epitomised Sri Lanka’s ineptness during their 3-0 whitewash in the Test series at the hands of India. The left-handed opener had a horrendous time with the bat, managing scores of 64, 10, 0, 2, 5 and 7. So disoriented was he with his displays that he even reviewed a caught-behind decision in the final Test after clearly nicking it while playing away from the body!
It’s this man who will lead Sri Lanka in the five-match ODI series as the hosts seek to redeem themselves and restore public faith. Unlike in Tests, Tharanga hopes to be more competitive with the bat as would Sri Lanka as a team. The immediate past contest between the two sides – at the Champions Trophy when Sri Lanka chased down 300-plus total to win the match – holds some hope and promises keener contests than what one got to witness in Tests.
The change in format certainly provides a more level-playing field to Lanka but the thrashing they have received in the Tests could well play on their minds. Manish Pandey alluded to that. “It’s a completely different format but I think what advantage we have is that we’ve whitewashed them in the Test series and they might be a little down (in terms of confidence). But I think this is what we have to focus on, keep playing our cricket well and do our basics right. If we do that we’ll probably have a good one-day series too.”
Unlike in the Tests where their batsmen were found wanting in technique and temperament, they will have a better chance of excelling in one-dayers. Starting with Tharanga, a veteran of 201 ODIs with 14 hundreds to boost, Lanka have some exciting 50-over batsmen. Kusal Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella showed it in abundance during Tests with their fearless approach while Angelo Mathews and Chamara Kapugedera remain constant threats. Thisara Perera lends balance with his all-round skills while it remains to be seen how effective Lasith Malinga can be against Indian batsmen.
“They beat us quite comfortably (in the Champions Trophy),” said Rohit Sharma, the Indian vice-captain, when asked to assess the Lankan ODI side. “We posted a very good score. 320 was never going to be easy especially in those conditions but they came out and batted fearlessly and took the game away from us. So you know in one-day cricket they are a very good team.”
While one would hope Lanka bring their best to the table, a glance at the previous bilateral series shows lopsided results in favour of India. While Sri Lanka are yet to win an ODI series in India, the last three rubbers between the two sides in the island nation have seen India emerge victorious with MS Dhoni helming 3-2 (2008), 4-1 (2009) and 4-1 (2012) triumphs. As Virat Kohli leads India for the first time in an ODI series in Sri Lanka, the script appears to remain the same.