The prospect of elevating Thisara Perera up the order - Part 1 - Opinion
India, in their clash against England at the Premadasa on Sunday night, experimented with having Irfan Pathan open the batting. The move backfired miserably for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MS-Dhoni-c2028 however, where Pathan’s off stump was seen cart wheeling out of the ground. The delivery
he got was a peach from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Piyush-c82317 Chawla had more to do with testing their bench strength and resting
some of their key players in a dead rubber. Yet at the same time, Pathan’s reputation as a pinch hitter was put to rest by an English bowler who continues to impress and oozes potency.
The idea of having a pinch hitter up the order has its pros and cons for teams in this year’s http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013, who
combine technique with flare, are bound to do quite well as compared to compulsive bashers. Therefore, having someone who could belt the ball up front might not be the right idea, as the bowlers are bound to have the better of the batsmen for at least the
first five overs of the game. On the other hand, the T20 format also invites extravagant stroke play from the batsmen, especially with field restrictions in place for the first six overs. Thus, having a pinch hitter that could tee off from the word go, might
serve the objective of posting a gigantic total for a team that aims to pound the opposition into submission. Yet the odds of pinch hitters playing a dynamic innings are few and far in between, as the Pathan dismissal demonstrated how technically frail batsmen
tend to get out cheaply early on, regardless of their explosive nature. For a team like Sri Lanka, that heavily relies on a few explosive players to fire however, employing someone like Thisara Perera up the order might come in handy, in light of different
situations that the team might face.
Perera is definitely not apt for opening the batting for his country, but has gained notoriety for annihilating attacks all around the globe by batting lower down the order. He did it in the fifty over format, against some of the most formidable bowling
attacks in the world, where his baseball style bat lift and thunderous hitting sent cricket balls sailing into the crowd. As a T20 player, he is also a fantastic bowler, where he can be entrusted to lead the attack, and take some breathtaking catches with
his bucket like hands in almost any position. Yet his batting is something that Sri Lanka could truly utilize in the upcoming encounters against the big guns, where the need for a thunderous hitter at the top could come from time to time.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/BB-McCullum-c1129, is one of the most explosive batsmen in T20 cricket's history. Dilshan is also prone to fishing outside the off stump and playing a reckless
shot or two which leads to his demise. If Dilshan falls early, then the mature head of Sangakkara is what Sri Lanka need to resurrect the innings. Yet, if Jayawardene is a captain known for innovation, having someone like Perera come in at number three or
four, could be a canny decision. Dilshan’s fireworks, which help keep the run-rate afloat, could be complemented by Perera’s dynamism, which would mean that Sri Lanka’s detonation job could pretty much be unaffected.
Continued in Part 2...
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