Sri Lanka’s World Cup campaign back on track
Rex Clementine
in Bangalore
Sri Lanka put on their best performance so far in the 2023 World Cup in Bangalore yesterday overcoming England by eight wickets and more than 24 overs to spare and in the process may have hit the knockout punch for the defending champions.
After disappointing performances in their first three games, Kusal Mendis’ side collected their first points on Saturday beating Netherlands but yesterday’s effort against England was a clinical performance.
Former captain Angelo Mathews had a dream comeback. He may have been drafted into the side for his batting, but it was with the ball that he made an impact breaking the first wicket stand worth 45 runs having Dawid Malan caught behind.
Soon afterwards, he effected the run out of Joe Root and later picked up the wicket of Moeen Ali proving yet again what an effective player he can be in white ball cricket. Giving Mathews the cold shoulder from the one-day format for two years was a no brainer and ignoring him for the sport’s showpiece event made no sense.
Sri Lanka is not a nation where prodigious young talents are coming through at the drop of a hat and the selectors need to make most of the available resources. A balanced side with more experience would have been far more helpful during Sri Lanka’s campaign.
The present selection panel has had an extended run of three years and there has been no checks and balances to stop their blunders and as a result the team has suffered humiliating blows, particularly in white ball cricket.
Despite the win yesterday and moving up the points table, Sri Lanka might still struggle to make it to the semi-finals and at the end of this campaign there should be an inquiry and those who dragged us to this mess should be held responsible and stripped of their positions.
As for the legends who have been keen to have friends in key decision making roles than those with merits, their input on the game should be taken with a pinch of salt from hereon. The national cricket team is not a place to settle old scores or promote your club loyalties.
These legends were a problem when they were players and post retirement as coaches they are also the reason for our downfall and why the national team has become the laughing stock at the world stage.
After Mathews had done the early damage, Lahiru Kumara bowled with fire to finish with three wickets and England could not stop the slide. He was named Man of the Match.
Kasun Rajitha too had a good game bowling impeccable lines and finished with two wickets. Kusal Mendis’ captaincy was outstanding and if anyone had doubts about his leadership qualities prior to the tournament all those have now been put to rest.
Sri Lanka lost Kusal Perera and Mendis early during the run chase slumping to 23 for two but Sadeera Samarawickrama and Pathum Nissanka batted so well to take the game away from England. They added an unbeaten 137 runs for the third wicket off just 122 balls. Both batters completed half-centuries and Sadeera continued his impressive run with a 54 ball 65.
The win enabled Sri Lanka to maintain their unbeaten run in World Cups against England since 1999. In those 24 years Sri Lanka have won all five World Cup games against England.
