What happened to our team in the Test series?

Bro.Nimal Gurusinghe FSC

I am sure most of our Sri Lanka cricket fans are not satisfied with the way our lads performed during the Test series. It is very difficult to say when our players could win a Test match against India in their country.

As we all know our national heroes left with a lot of hopes and expectations. But when it came to reality it was only a pipe dream. The way things are happening I have my doubts whether we will ever win a Test match in India.

When we analyse the performance of the first Test we managed to take four Indian wickets just for 32 runs. But that joy was short lived.

Dravid, Yuvraj and Dhoni batted very solidly and put over 400 runs on the board. Then our Sri Lanka batsmen showed their true colours and scored over 700 runs. When the Indians used the pitch for their 2nd innings they were under pressure.

But their batsmen rose to the occasion and played like professionals and drew the match very honourably. It was a treat to watch them batting. Their batsmen knew exactly what their team wanted and played accordingly.

Then came the Second Test. The Indian captain did not hesitate to bat first when he won the toss. Their top order batsmen had no mercy on our bowling and massacred them. they were able to put up over 600 runs on the board. Once the first batting side scores over 600 runs it is extremely difficult for the second batting side to win. But you could bat in a sensible way and put up a substantial total.

If our batsmen put their heart and soul and batted with determination and courage we could have drawn that match with our heads held high.

But our batsmen allowed the Indian bowlers to dictate terms to them. We lost the match very badly. It is a shame for our cricket. When two sides play, one side has to lose. But your defeat should be honourable and with a fight. What happened was our cricketers gifted the match to them.

Then when we came to the third and final Test, it was very important for both countries. Sri Lanka had to win to level the series. India if they won or drew the match the series was theirs. Sri Lanka won the most important toss and rightly elected to bat.

After a very solid start by our openers our players did not build up a match winning total. When India came to bat they treated our bowlers like ordinary under 19 bowlers and put up a massive total of 726 runs. When India had a 333 run lead and Sri Lanka had to bat two full days to save the match. But except for skipper Sangakkara all the others surrendered against their attack and lost the match by innings.

My comments are as follows on this tour. Can a team lose two consecutive matches by innings? It shows our difficulty in winning matches outside Sri Lanka. Our batsmen have no power of concentration to bat for a long period. T. Dilshan twice got centuries. But after getting 100 runs he had no ability to covert it to a double hundred.

Our bowlers do not know to adjust to the pitch and the situation. If we cannot win a Test match in India how can we win in Australia or South Africa?

If these areas are not addressed we cannot reach the top in Test cricket. Our cricket Interim Committee has to think seriously and remedy the situation. If not our team will have to face more problems in the near future.

My conclusion is that we have the talent but do not have the skill to rise to the occasion and play.