Sri Lanka’s over dependence on Mayya, Dilly and Sanga

Setting – You are playing for Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup at one of your home grounds. You are one of the middle order batsmen. Pick any one of these – Mathews, Perera, Mendis or Thirimanne. You are walking down to the ground in 12th or 13th over after the fall of a wicket. You glance over the hundreds of spectators seated across the stadium, and all the emotional Lankan faces are in awe of some stellar performances they saw moments ago. You then take a glimpse of scoreboard, you know that ‘the trio’ has done what was needed to be done, you just have to complete your task of smashing the balls here and there over the boundary, and soon victory will be yours. You then gaze into opponent players’ eyes, which are filled with despair and hope, because of what transpired in the past 10 overs, and fear of what may happen in future. And the same story is repeated match after match.

Ok, I might be exaggerating but that’s what I feel every single Sri-Lankan middle-order batsman goes through when he comes out to bat, indicative of the faith and reliance on those three guys. The destructive triad comprising of Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara brought in something very special with them this World Cup. Something which made their team go all the way to the T20 final. Something which made the complete middle order to rely on this triad in every match. Also something which might be a possible reason for Sri Lanka’s loss to West Indies in final. Whatever it was, it made a huge impact on Sri Lanka’s overall game and strategies.

Mahela Jayawardene - Mayya

It is the fourth loss for Sri Lanka in a limited over tournament’s final and Jayawardene captained the team in two of them. Jayawardene’s game is as delicate as it is a delight to have him on field. 33, 42, 42, 65*, 44 – runs scored by him in last 5 T20s, speaking volumes of his batting and also about the important role he played as an opener. Cuts and dabs he plays behind the stumps, against off spinners and pacers are unforgettable. When his blade makes a late contact with ball, the result is astonishing and overwhelming. Jayawardene has a never ending hunger for runs, which makes him all the more proficient game after game. Like MS Dhoni, he keeps his calm on the field, interacting with bowlers after every over,also seeking advice from senior cricketers which makes him an unprecedented captain. But recently just after the World Cup final loss, he stepped down as the Sri Lankan T20 captain, and the irony is hours after that he was named the captain of ICC World T20 team.

Tillakaratne Dilshan - Dilly

T Dilshan, creator of the famous innovative shot ‘Dilscoop’ named after him. Dilshan has been a constant asset to Sri Lankan team in all formats of game, since his introduction to International cricket. Like Sehwag, Dilshan goes for the kill from the very first ball making him one of the most exciting and delightful batsman in cricket today. He also takes his role as an opener very seriously and always gives Sri Lanka the much needed start with Jayawardene. In 2011 he was named Sri Lanka’s captain, after the resignation of Kumar Sangakkara, but his reign lasted less than a year. Then on-wards he concentrated only on improving his game and gave the captaincy crown to Mahela Jayawardene. In T20 World Cup, he played an unforgettable knock of 76 against New Zealand, to silent the critics and mark his hold of the game in the shortest format. But this World Cup was not exactly what Dilshan had hoped for, two ducks and only a single half century made this tournament a not-so memorable one for him.

Kumar Sangakarra - Sanga

Honoured with ICC Cricketer of the Award and ICC Test Cricketer Award few weeks back, Sangakarra had pretty high expectations to live up to. But did he live up-to them? I say he was near, but could have performed better. Coming one down, he had the responsibility of strengthening the innings on his shoulders. He also had an important role behind the wickets, which he is playing with complete dedication for the past many years. He has been less relentless in the T20 arena, often throwing his wicket away when well set and thus disappointing the team members and his fans. 22, 39, 44 – scores speak for themselves. He’s a tough-talking, sharp-thinking, ball-bashing man with a plan; plan which is often not implemented appropriately consuming away his early wicket. But all in all, he is legend who has played numerable memorable knocks and done some never-seen-before magical stuff behind the wickets.

But don’t you think Sri Lanka’s over reliance on this trio made them reach the final and also made them lose the final to West Indies? Give it a thought.

Trio comes back again together on 30^th October, when Sri Lanka plays a T20 against New Zealand with a new captain. Till then, let’s hope for the best for Sri Lankan cricket.