South Africa vs Sri Lanka 2019: 5 takeaways from the ODI series

#5. Sri Lanka are lacking an X-factor in their bowling department

Lasith Malinga no longer seems the great bowler he used to be in ODIs

One of the reasons for Sri Lanka’s good record in ICC events over the years has been the presence of unorthodox bowlers in their line-up.

In 2007 World Cup, Malinga was taking the world by storm while four years later, the combination of him and Ajantha Mendis proved highly effective. On top of that, the likes of Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan – bowlers of great quality – made the attack stronger.

But this time around, the Lankan bowling looks plain and, more importantly, insipid. Malinga, the most prominent member of the bowling group, looks a shadow of his former self. It is likely that having played cricket for a long time, he is no longer the unusual sight which he used to be.

This veteran of three World Cups isn’t using his famed yorkers these days, probably because they have become too common. The action has also lost its novelty. Malinga is now largely a line and length bowler with no special weapons.

Akila Danajaya is a promising spinner but as the world is teeming with ‘mystery’ tweakers, he can’t be expected to bamboozle the batsmen as Mendis did around a decade ago.

The other bowlers too haven’t shown anything to suggest that opposition batsmen would lose their sleep over them. They may be good but good is not good enough in big events like the World Cup.

In short, Sri Lanka is seriously lacking an X-factor in their bowling department. So, they are going into the big event with one of the weakest attacks around. Things don’t bode well for them.