Sri Lanka failed to live upto expectations in Abu Dhabi

Bernard Perera

CRICKET: Sri Lanka cricketers finished their tour of Abu Dhabi winning only the final game out of three games played for the Warid Trophy against Pakistan on Tuesday. Sri Lanka could have done very much better if they got their act together from the second game. For their ability they should grab this opportunity prove the worthiness.

The first game which was played last Friday was of real interest for both teams as they came with two different aspirations. Sri Lanka was looking to maintain their World Cup superiority while Pakistanis were trying to make amends for the debacle at the World Cup with their early exit from it.

On the other hand Sri Lanka was out to maintain their reputation that they achieved by becoming runners up to mighty Australians at the World Cup. Has Sri Lanka tried to made an effort to be in the same ranking is a debatable question. Our performances in Abu Dhabi was not up to expectations. That has to be accepted by all cricket loving fans.

One might argue that it was not a fully balanced team which was the caused of the defeat.

The team that took part in Abu Dhabi was labelled as a Sri Lankan team and should Maintain the high standards expected from them at all levels. But the cricketers could not live upto expectations. A few of them performed well to prove their class with the bat and ball which was not sufficient to bring victory for the Lankans.

Mahela Jayawardene admitted the fact that his team failed in all departments of the game in the first match and said that they will come back for the next game strongly to win it. But sad to say The Lankans faced the same fate in the second one too. Why did they fail to rectify their mistakes is a question that needs an answer.

The most interesting thing was that the players who lost the game the previous day, should have attended the practice session the following day if they wanted to correct their mistakes. Sad to say that not even half of the side was seen at the ground the following day. The most senior player attended the practice session the following day along with a few juniors.

On the match day it was a different side that took the field. The skipper who said that the debutant who did an excellent job to be the most economical bowler in the previous match too was left out with a few more seniors paving the way for another heavy defeat. Will the dropping of this bowler do any good?.

He should have given an another opportunity to get himself used to tougher conditions and also to come back to his rhythm.

The tactic would have been to win the second game and to level the series. This we could have achieved if the mistakes admitted by the skipper were corrected.

The skipper at the last press briefing added that the Sri Lankan coach Tom Moody did a fine job in finding a talented lot of young cricketers for Sri Lanka. He worked hard to groom a side that was able to reach a World Cup final after a lapse of eleven years. It is a our bounden duty to thank him as he will be leaving us after this tour due to personal reasons.

Mahela Later added that "we can not give excuses for the loss here. We have come here as the Sri Lanka team.

We are representing our country. It is a fact few of the senior players are not here but that is not an excuse for the defeat. Every one should take great care in playing as they are playing for the country and not for personal prestige. It is true that when you perform well you too are benefited to an extent, especially the younger players.

True the Pakistan cricketers are on a mission in building a foundation for them to come back. This they achieved in great style under the captaincy of Shoaib Malik. Pakistanis minus a permanent coach made a good start with Malik also proving that he is matured enough to continue with responsibility given to him.

The Pakistan team is also a team packed with a mixture of seniors and juniors.