India tour of Sri Lanka, 2008

Openers hold the key for India

August 17, 2008

After India's disappointing defeat in the Test series, the onus is on their one-day team to ensure they grab a slice of the pie before the tour of Sri Lanka ends. The signs are that it will not be easy, as they will be up against the spin duo of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis, bowlers who have completely dominated India over the last couple of months. Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag were the most successful batsmen in the Tests, and they hold the key to ensuring that Mahendra Singh Dhoni wins his first ODIs series as captain in Sri Lanka.

After the high of the Commonwealth Bank Series title in Australia, India were not at their best in the Kitply Cup and Asia Cup, a fact Dhoni has readily admitted. In the finals of both tournaments, India's main men didn't step up when the pressure was on. They lost the Kitply Cup final by 25 runs and the Asia Cup final by 100 runs. The pressure was created by the bowlers conceding over 300, and the batsmen failed to handle a stiff asking rate in a big match.

The bowling has been a worry for India in the past, which is probably why Dhoni indicated India were looking at playing five bowlers in the first ODI in Dambulla. The ground also favours spin, which means India will play both Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha. If Sanath Jayasuriya gets off to a start, these two spinners will have a huge role to play: the Asia Cup final showed that restricting Jayasuriya in the early overs was possible, but once he got his eye in he was unstoppable. With Harbhajan not having played one-day cricket since March 2008 and Ojha just three matches old, India might still need the services of Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag despite playing five specialist bowlers.

Like the last two tournaments India's batting is reliant on a few batsmen with limited experience. Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma have played 68 ODIs between them, and they have been the main candidates to bat at No. 3. Part of Dhoni's method of finding stability has been to experiment at the No. 3 and No. 6 slots: India have used Raina, Sharma and Yuvraj Singh at one-down in the last two tournaments, but Raina has scored a couple of fifties at that slot and, barring a major loss of form, will be batting at that position in this series.

India missed the big names in the Asia Cup, but Dhoni is a firm believer in experimenting to find the right combination. "If you have players with more then 250 ODIs to their credit I don't think that makes a lot of difference," he said. "After 100 ODIs you have a sense of what's required. Its not like we will really miss some of the players but it will show up in how the guys coming up perform and adapt to the conditions."

India can take confidence from the win in the warm-up match against a Sri Lankan XI side comprising ten international players, but this is a whole new ball game. In the Test series, Mendis averaged 22.80 against India's four famed middle-order batsmen, with ten wickets, while Muralitharan conceded only 26.25 for each of his eight wickets against them. None of those players are in the ODI squad, but there is nothing to suggest that their replacements will find it any easier.

The performances of India's openers, therefore, take on added importance because they played Mendis well in the Tests. Gambhir was the most consistent batsman in the Tests, blending exceptional footwork with positive strokeplay. Sehwag handled Mendis extremely well in Galle, even hitting him out of the attack at one stage.

"In any form of cricket the start is very important but that doesn't mean all the pressure is on the openers to give you a good start," said Dhoni. "Sehwag is the sort who takes a bit of risk at times. Whenever he gets us that start we have a fair chance of winning. He's in very good nick, so is Gambhir. Both played well in the Tests so they have some added responsibility on them."

Added responsibility or not, India have reason to worry about how their batsmen will handle Mendis, who ran rings around them in the Asia Cup final. Dhoni chose not to admit it, but Sri Lanka have a distinct psychological hold over India through Mendis.

© Cricinfo

Middle order needs to fire for SL

August 17, 2008

In the months after the World Cup, Sri Lankan cricket went through a transition of sorts, as experienced cricketers like Marvan Atapattu and Russell Arnold retired and younger talent was brought in. All throughout Mahela Jayawardene called for the need to give the newer players more time and for the seniors to take up more responsibility.

Now as the World Cup finalists they currently sit at No. 7 in the ICC ratings for one-day international sides, having won two out of six series. Immediately after the World Cup, Sri Lanka lost to Pakistan 2-1 in Abu Dhabi. A 3-0 whitewash of Bangladesh was followed by a rare home loss, and that to England, hardly the best ODI side in the game. After a poor CB Series in Australia Sri Lanka were beaten 2-0 by West Indies, ranked eighth in the world. It really couldn't get much worse than that.

The most consistent problem was a deficiency in the batting department, which failed to function as a cohesive unit. Sanath Jayasuriya blew hot and cold, Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara sparkled intermittently, and a lack of fire power in the middle and lower order hurt Sri Lanka. The middle order revolved around a mix of bits-and-pieces cricketers and one-day specialists, and no one stood out. One or two batsmen performed in each game, but that is rarely enough.

In the last year Tillakaratne Dilshan averaged 29.76; Chamara Silva 24.42; Chamara Kapugedera 33.07; Maharoof, restricted to seven games due to injury, averaged 11.25. Chaminda Vaas failed to chip in with runs and the most successful lower-order batsman was Kulasekara, who averaged 26.75. In one-day cricket you need runs on the board. Sri Lanka failed to always put those up.

Like all sides searching for a settled team, they also experimented. Upul Tharanga and Mahela Udawatte opened the batting at times, with mixed success. In Pakistan Sri Lanka bumped Sangakkara up to open the innings because it was felt they needed another bowler. Kapugedera was shuffled around and injury to Maharoof only compounded their woes.

Sri Lanka failed to bat well consistently against England at home and in Australia, where they only won two games. The 3-1 scoreline against England should have been the wake-up call to spur them into a period of intense development and progress as a team, but the CB Series was equally disappointing. Their highest total was 238 and the batsmen averaged just 22.44 runs per wicket - that doesn't win you games. Sri Lanka failed to get big knocks from Sanath Jayasuriya and Sangakkara, like they played in last two games of the Asia Cup, and that has a huge effect on their performance.

In the few games of the CB Series that two of the top three got starts, the rest were unable to work a way out when the opposition tightened its line. In a sense the senior Sri Lankan batsmen ignored the very lesson they had been stressing to their younger team-mates, of staying out in the middle as long as possible.

Jayawardene admitted a few personnel changes also attributed to this dip in form, but he gave no excuses. "We did not consistently lift our standards since the World Cup," he said. "We certainly are not there but we're maintaining it. We turned it around a bit in the Asia Cup, where we were consistent with the bat, ball and on the field. That's the toughest thing for international sides."

In a sense the Asia Cup marked a revival. Sri Lanka batted consistently well, but there was one massive factor - Ajantha Mendis. His success, come in such a short period, gives them the option - momentarily - of scrutinising their batting combination.

Jayasuriya's return, after a terrific Indian Premier League and his Asia Cup final century, makes a massive difference to Sri Lanka, as he is the only real power player they have. A well-rested Jayasuriya can offer dimension to Sri Lanka's unit, but the fact is that plenty of responsibility falls on Jayawardene and Sangakkara. The middle order needs to come good.

Sri Lanka have been able to fall back on a bowling unit which picked up a lot of wickets recently, but Jayawardene wants to move on from what happened in Australia. He recognised Mendis as a trump card, an attacking option, but called on others to contribute. Sri Lanka need to re-learn a lesson taught to them before the World Cup - when you cruise, you often cruise downwards.

© Cricinfo

Sri Lanka v India, 1st ODI, Dambulla

Problems and opportunities for both teams

August 17, 2008

On the eve of the five-match bilateral series, Sri Lanka and India both have problems to solve. The home team have had a patchy record in ODIs recently, which is reflected in the ICC ranking - they are seventh, compared to India's fourth. Their Asia Cup triumph was a return to winning ways after a home series defeat to England, followed by a poor CB Series, and then another series defeat to West Indies earlier this year.

However, Sri Lanka go into the five-match series a confident unit, having beaten India in the Asia Cup and the three-Test series before this. Mahela Jayawardene has stressed on how Sri Lanka need to improve on all areas of their game, and this is as good a time as any for them to put that theory into practice.

They could start with greater consistency and commitment from their batsmen, who would want to improve on their most recent performances in Dambulla, against England last year. In a span of four days, they were bowled out for 169 and 164, losing both matches and eventually the series as well. The batting has been the main reason for Sri Lanka's below-par results recently, but for inspiration, they need look no further than the talismanic Sanath Jayasuriya and the destruction he wrought with his match-winning hundred in the Asia Cup final. Jayasuriya brings 526 games of experience to this side, and his explosive ability could well decide matches.

Sri Lanka's biggest assets are their two matchwinning spinners. Much of this series' storyline depends on how India cope with Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis, who is set to play his first ODI at home. India failed to find the answers in the Asia Cup final, and are up against a lethal pair that played havoc with a famed Test line-up, sharing 47 wickets between them in three matches.

For India, the main puzzle is how to handle Mendis. They had no idea about how to do that in the Asia Cup final last month, or in the Tests. There is little to suggest this series will be any easier, given that India's batting order for this series is the same as in Pakistan.

Part of Dhoni's method since taking over the captaincy has been to experiment with his batting line-up. Himself a regular floater, he has tried out different options at Nos. 3 and 6, not always with success. This bilateral series offers him another shot at finding solidity before a busy season ahead. Dhoni believes Sri Lanka is the toughest country to bat in, but is confident India will do better than they did in their last two series, especially when it comes to "crucial" matches. This has been identified as India's core ODI team for the future. It could be their toughest test.

Overall, India have been doing consistently better than Sri Lanka. After an abysmal first-round exit from last year's World Cup, they won the inaugural ICC World Twenty20, beat Australia in the best-of-three CB Series finals, and made the finals of the Kitply and Asia Cups. From the outset, India will start the series hoping to avenge a 100-run defeat to Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final last month. "We are not doing too badly, it's just we are losing the key games," Dhoni said. "We shouldn't be too high or too low in confidence. We'll try to keep a positive frame of mind."

Apart from team skill, individual decisions are going to dictate this series. Jayawardene is a proven exponent of how to use the Powerplays and his experience of playing in Sri Lankan conditions, where the ball softens on slow and low pitches, could prove decisive. Dhoni relies a lot on instinct. His decision to play five bowlers at Hobart last year, keeping in mind ground conditions, worked a charm. Munaf Patel replaced an erratic Sreesanth and Praveen Kumar came in for Virender Sehwag. It didn't matter for Dhoni that Praveen had gone wicketless in a tight chase in Adelaide under lights; he entrusted Praveen with the new ball and it worked wonders.

Such calls are going to be crucial in Sri Lanka, a place Dhoni has readily admitted is tough to bat in. The first two matches - in three days - are in Dambulla, a notoriously spin-friendly track. Dhoni is inclined to use five bowlers for the two matches in Dambulla, two of them being spinners. The last three matches are day-night affairs at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, another venue where scoring runs is difficult.

An intriguing contest is in store, which will be a test of both skill and nerve.

© Cricinfo

Originally Posted by Safin

SriLanka beat us by 8 wickets in the first game.
This is what happens when you put in a 24year old average side into play. Everyone was looking at 300 score and in the end could only make 147, which too they should thank the tailenders for.