Australia v Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka performs below to its weight in ODI series – Analysis
Sri Lanka’s misery in the 50-ver cricket continues, as the team suffered an embarrassing 2-3 defeat at the hands of Australia in the five-match One Day International (ODI) series. It was Sri Lana’s second consecutive ODI series loss, as they were hammered
by the Poms during the recent tour to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013.
While the Australian side is undergoing rebuilding process, the series was extremely important for the Kangaroos and especially for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MJ-Clarke-c1978 who was leading the crew in his first major challenge. Yet, the competition was equally crucial for the islanders,
as they are also seeking a right team combination under the command of the newly-appointed captain, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/TM-Dilshan-c2691.
As the home side thrashed http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 in a couple of Twenty20 Internationals before the start of the series, the islanders stepped into the series as clear favourites. Yet, the beginning was not a good one for them, losing the opening two matches poorly.
Regaining some pride and respect, the troop performed fairly better in the third ODI and notched a comprehensive 78-run-victroy, courtesy to a fabulous ton by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/WU-Tharanga-c2802. However, the side once again lost its tempo and displayed an ordinary show in the
fourth game, suffering a humiliating five-wicket defeat.
One of the few positives which the home side can take out from the series was that the Lankan http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Lions-c808 finished the affair on a high. Restricting the Aussies to 211 and subsequently achieving the target without much difficulty, the islanders gave some pleasure
to their fans, crushing the opposition by four wickets in the final ODI, played at R Premadasa Stadium on Monday, August 22, 2011.
The Veteran http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758’s highest run-getter – 180 in five matches.
Despite the fact that Dilshan and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KC-Sangakkara-c1779 failed to produce fine performances consistently, they displayed somewhat a reasonable show with the bat, hitting a half-century each in the series. Another matter of joy for the Lankan side was the great
return of Upul Thranga who joined the side after a three-month-long ban. The team was lacking a specialist opener who can share the work with Dilshan and Tharaga’s superb comeback gave them some comfort.
In the bowling department, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SL-Malinga-c2540 regained his lost momentum and unleashed a fantastic show of skills. Coming back from an injury, the Lankan speed-star grabbed 11 wickets in the series including a hat-trick in the last ODI.
Although, there were a few individual performances which can be acknowledged as positives for the home side, it is an established fact that they failed to produce anything near to consistent.
In the batting department, the team seemed to be depending too much on the class of Sangakkara and Jayawardene. Meanwhile, the openers could not provide their side good starts throughout the series. Toss also played a key role in the series, as four out
of five matches were won by the side batting second.
A convincing series triumph will definitely help Aussies enter the Test series with a great amount of confidence under their belt but the home side is also poised after sealing an emphatic win in the final contest. Since the two teams are young and talented,
it will be an exciting Test series ahead.
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