5 things we learned from Sri Lanka-South Africa ODI series

Batting woes for Lanka

India v Sri Lanka - ICC Champions Trophy

While the Sri Lankan batting order in Test matches is beginning to stabilize, in ODI cricket, it remains unstable. The absence of Dinesh Chandimal was felt throughout the series and lack of runs from Kusal Mendis and Upul Tharanga also affected their performance.

Kusal Perera showed some form in the series which is good news but the problem of him not going on to get a big score remains. The biggest positive for Sri Lanka was the knock from Angelo Mathews in the last ODI. He, along with Chandimal, are the lynchpins of the batting line-up and have to guide the youngsters going forward.

Tharanga, who is older to both, also disappointed in this series. Being the senior man in the line up, more is expected of him. Going by this series, there are a lot of holes to be filled up in the batting line-up for Sri Lanka to become.