A look back at Sri Lanka’s ODI performances in 2009

World Cup 2011: Sri Lanka not there yet

Sri Lanka cricket team under Kumar Sangakkara will soon focus on the World Cup 2011 to be played in the subcontinent. However, if the team’s ODI performance in 2009 is taken as a yardstick, Sangakkara and his charges need to improve their all-round game by leaps and bounds to be a serious title contender at the world showpiece event.
In the year just ended Sri Lanka played 27 ODIs won 12 and lost 14 with one ending in no result.
The highs were clinching a 2-1 series win against Pakistan in Pakistan in January and beating the same opponent 3-2 back in Sri Lanka in July-August. And in September the island nation started its campaign in the Champions Trophy in South Africa with a good 55-run win against the hosts in Centurion.
On the flip side Sri Lanka went down to lowly Bangladesh by five-wickets in a tri-nation tournament (also involving Zimbabwe) in Dhaka in January, before struggling to beat them in the final. Chasing a target of 153 runs Sri Lanka slumped to 114-8 before Muralitharan (33n.o in 16 balls, 4x4, 2x6) and Maharoof (38n.o) pulled them home.
However, the biggest tormentor of Sri Lanka in the past 12 months was India. Sri Lanka’s win-loss record against MS Dhoni’s team is 3-8 in 12 meetings with the final encounter in Delhi being abandoned because of poor wicket. The Indian dominance also dealt a severe blow to Sri Lanka’s good record at home - in January-February Sri Lanka lost to India 1-4, and again in September lost a tri-nation tournament involving India and New Zealand.
The win over the Proteas was the only success Sri Lanka enjoyed in the Champions Trophy as they suffered in the hands of England and New Zealand and headed home having failed to enter the second round of the tournament.
The seventh position the teams enjoys in the ICC ODI table in the company of the West Indies and Bangladesh bears witness to the poor quality cricket the team has played in the past year.
Poor form of key players - Sanath Jayasuriya and Mahela Jayawardena in batting and Ajantha Mendis and Lasith Malinga in bowling - coupled with flagging fielding standards caused much of the team’s embarrassment. And injuries to bowlers like Muralitharan, Thilan Thushara and Dilhara Fernando and allrounder Angelo Mathews towards the end of the year too was a decisive factor.
The biggest positive factor, though, was emergence of Tillakaratne Dilshan as an opening batsman. By a long shot he was the best batsman last year hitting exactly 1000 runs with an average of 55.55. He clobbered four centuries and two fifties.
Bowling honours went to Nuwan Kulasekera which propelled him to the ICC number one ranking. But he like most of his colleagues failed to maintain that top form throughout the year.
- (DS)