Sri Lanka fans desperately hold onto the occasional moments of magic, spread across months, but there were hardly any bright sparks in the 2023 World Cup.
Sri Lanka look forward to a gloomy immediate future ahead following their suspension, with question marks over them hosting the 2024 Under-19 World Cup that is scheduled for January. As the ICC tries to figure out the terms of the suspension, Sri Lanka Cricket will be left waiting for the prize money from the World Cup as well, owed to them for winning two games in the competition.
At the World Cup, they won consecutive games against the Netherlands and England, but their losing streak ended at five. The victory over England suggested that it wasn’t all doom and gloom, but the defending champions also weren’t as impressive as usual, with him winning just one game.
Sri Lanka’s suffering started from above. Pathum Nissanka is one of the most consistent batsmen with an average of 41.50 and 332 runs, but his scoring ability is not that great, so for Sri Lanka to get off to a strong start, Kusal Perera will have to score from the opposition team. I needed to. In the absence of Dasun Shanaka, Perera was the team’s only batsman, but he struggled, scoring 149 runs in seven matches.
Only once during the game did the opening stand score 25 or more points, giving the opposing team a small lead.
A lot of credit has also been given to Kusal Mendis, who was Sri Lanka’s second highest ODI run-scorer from 2022 till the start of the World Cup. He started with a quick 76 and scored a knock including eight sixes against South Africa and 122 against Pakistan, but an injury to Shanaka meant he was given managerial duties for the first time and his season took a turn for the better. . After that, he was unable to break his 40 points, averaging 13.71 points in his last seven games. This also shines a light on the lack of captaincy options going forward.
Thadira Samarawickrama and Chalice Asaranka cemented their place and were arguably their biggest assets, but the two rarely came together. Often, only one of the two was responsible for fending off an innings, and the absence of a finisher had a negative impact, with Wanindu Hasaranga and Shanaka both absent. Sri Lanka scored just 83.43 runs in the last 10 overs, the worst of any team. In contrast, the top four all have strike rates above 130 at the death, highlighting the importance of the big end of the innings.
A lack of batting depth forced Sri Lanka to name Angelo Matthews as an injury replacement at half-time, but he rewarded his faith with a deadly bowling game against England while And his helmet made headlines for the rest of the game. p> p>
Overall, Sri Lanka averaged 25.89 points per bat at the World Cup, the fourth worst of all teams behind Bangladesh, England and Netherlands. They hit just 6 for 45 in nine games and struggled to compete in conditions suitable for hitting due to bat errors. Sri Lanka took the lead in the fifth innings and hit 300 in the first innings, but still lost to Pakistan. But apart from that match was a lack of partnership (he only had a 400+ stand in the contest) and an inability to build on the foundations laid. The top batters hurt them.
Bowling was expected to be Sri Lanka’s greatest strength, but the team was at a disadvantage from the beginning, with Hasaranga withdrawing before the tournament. Because of this, they stumbled in the middle overs. Dilshan Madhushanka continued to pick up early wickets, taking nine wickets in the first powerplay, the second-most among all bowlers, but there was little support. He took his 21 wickets, but no other bowler managed more than his 8 wickets. Matthews and Rahil Kumara each got a shot in his one game, but Madhushanka was on his own when it came to repeating the same task over and over again.
The biggest drawback was also the form of the spinners, with the slow bowlers picking up just 11 scalps, the lowest of any team. They averaged 78.85, conceding 6.07 runs per over, and even if they were rattled early on, their lack of breakthrough allowed both teams to forge a partnership. Mahesh Tekshana missed out on his experienced partner Hasaranga, but expectations from Danis Wellerage turned out to be too high. Overall, Sri Lanka were the most expensive team in the tournament, scoring his 6.52 runs per over.
Coupled with a 61% capture efficiency at the beginning of the month, it was a bland show overall. They were never expected to reach the semi-finals, but the lack of fight that resulted in them not being able to take part in the 2025 Champions Trophy was often a bigger concern.
There are still positives to take from the team as they have a lot of exciting young players and a solid core that could be the face of Sri Lanka for at least the next decade. Hasaranga was a huge failure, but heading home after a dismal Men’s ODI World Cup always had consequences. When the government became involved and its dismal performance made headlines in Congress, the ICC responded to suspicions of political interference and banned the practice for the time being.
Sri Lankan cricket already existed in 2014, but at least back then fans could look forward to a golden generation of cricketers who were still living their glory days. I wish I had more support this time.
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