Pleasing new brigade

Opting for young blood has already brought about a new look in the Sri Lanka cricket team. The experimentation, which since the entry of Angelo Mathews and some others commenced some months back, has evidently found a shot in the arm for young talent. This is mostly so with the advent of Thissara Perera, who since that bolstering 31-run knock in an ODI game during the Indian sojourn, took that form a step further with a match winning unbeaten knock of 36 against India. This time around it was in the second match of the ongoing Tri Nation Tournament being staged in Bangladesh.
It was a pleasing sight to see Sri Lanka pulling off two wins in consecutive days on Bangladeshi soil to mark its name on the points table first and stay in front. And in that buoyancy the significant factor to smile about must be the contribution of new faces in the side which goes to justify that youthful exuberance is indeed the essence of cricket; particularly in the pulsating one-day game. The high point of this newness was seeing Thissara Perera, another under-19 find, making his allround ability count filling in for the injury sidelined Angelo Mathews. Perera, who joined the match winner Thilan Samaraweera in when Sri Lanka was some 12 runs behind the required run rate placed at 217 for 5 wickets chasing a target of 283, produced the balmy type of innings smacking of total composure in a situation to take Sri Lanka home striking some lusty blows. This was in the wake of his two wickets for 27 when India batted which counted so much in restricting the high riding Indians. What is more, having being brought as late as the seventh bowler after nonentities with the ball like Samaraweera and Thilina Kandamby, Perera made it count.
Both matches were conspicuously negotiated successfully without two star players. The in-form opening batsman Tillekeratne Dilshan in the opening game against Bangladesh and Mahela Jayawardene who after having being left out of the tour due to injury strangely being recalled along with two other players after three players on tour were sidelined by injury.
Coming to the more serious match against India, victory with it must certainly have done the Sri Lankan camp a whole lot of good in the wake of the dismal performance in the badly lost recent ODI tour of India. Importantly, the Sri Lankan bowlers were able to contain Dhoni’s side to 279 for 5 wickets to give their batsmen an achievable target after the Indian batsmen had at one time seemed to be heading for 300-plus. Once again, the bowling department was ably spearheaded by left armer Chanaka Welagedera with some remarkable swing bowling. It was a continuation of the good form displayed by Welagedera during the gruelling over one month long Indian tour in typically searing conditions where he was the loner among the wickets in a lost cause.
Significantly, in the absence of old timer Muttiah Muralidaran and Ajantha Mendis, the spin department shouldered by Suraj Randiv and Muthumudaige Pushpakumara looked tidier with the former in particular being quite economical claiming 2 for 51 versus the Bangladeshis and conceding only 38 runs in his ten overs against the Indians though going wicketless.
Coming to Samaraweera, it was a typically sheet anchor type of innings that progressively gathered steam having taken guard in the pivotal number four slot in the absence of Jayawardene. So much so that the right hander breathed the type of consolidating effect to the Lankan innings in staying to the end in ensuring all was well, finally combining with Thissara Perera to give the neat finishing touches for a handsome 5-wicket triumph.
Still more encouragingly, in the absence of the injured Dilshan newboy Lahiru Thirimanne on his debut batting in the unaccustomed role of an opener stayed with Upul Tharanga to give a pleasing start. But more than that Tirimanne’s 22-run knock spanning over one hour signified that the left hander of whom much is being spoken of as a future Sri Lanka torch bearer, underlined that he had the stamina to make the mark.
If the newcomers have raised their hands as goodies for the future, the combination of experience in the form of Dilshan and skipper Kumar Sangakkara, who made half centuries in both games, was indeed a healthy sign in so much as getting the right blend looking at the 2011 World Cup.
Let’s hope the national selectors and the captain would theme in the direction they have now opted for discarding what has been a stumbling block.