Whisper it, but Jayawardena knew what he was doing - Opinion
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758’s approach in aiming to overhaul the target posted by Pakistan in the third Test has raised many eyebrows. The approach towards getting to 270 runs has been criticized by many Sri Lankan fans. Yet what is often sidelined when embarking on a castigation
rampage, is that things could have drastically changed for Sri Lanka had they gone for the target, regardless of whether it would be achievable or not.
Jayewardene’s message from the Pallekele balcony to play it slow made sense in many ways. For the fans, a 2-1 score line looks much better than a 1-0 result. Yet given the manner in which the Pallekele wicket had behaved over the course of the test match,
a defensive approach could be the call of the day. Sri Lanka started off well, but what looked like a seamers paradise, quickly became a dust bowl on the last day of the Test match.
Considering the amount of turn Saeed Ajmal was generating and his ability to beat the bat on many occasions, Pakistan could have proven a mighty dangerous outfit which was sniffing blood. Perhaps, Misbah Ul Haq’s decisions to declare when the target was
270 aimed at unsettling Sri Lanka and possibly bowl them over. With seamers such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Hafeez-c76898 and Saeed Ajmal, had the
ability to wreak havoc on chasing prospects that could have denied Sri Lanka a victory or even a chance to draw the game.
It seems as if Jayawardena had been watching the highlights of the recent encounter in the Emirates between http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 and Pakistan, where on a difficult wicket, Misbah’s men declared when the target was just 145. England not only succumbed to defeat while
chasing, but were completely outplayed, as Pakistan galloped to a thumping 72-run victory. The problem for England was that they capitulated to 72 all out by attempting rash shots. That approach in itself, combined with some fine bowling, lead to their defeat
in the end.
It can be argued that for Sri Lanka the series was always in the bag, so why not go for the kill? Letting the cat out of the bag however, was not the call of the day. Saeed Ajmal’s ability to turn the ball on glass made him even more formidable on a crippled
surface which could have baffled even the best of Sri Lanka’s batsman. Technicians such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Saeed-Ajmal-c87859 on numerous occasions, where his doosra, which turns a mile hard, has always been difficult to gauge. In light of this,
playing with a straighter bat with more assurance made far more sense.
Pakistan was also having a purple patch prior to this series, which meant that Sri Lanka had to be more defiant. Straying away from the line of the ball and batting out time made sense, given that the result depended on the strokes which were to be played
and the deliveries which were bowled.
Time could have run out if Sri Lanka was to unleash sensational stroke play to guarantee a win. With the hills and unpredictable weather of Kandy making all three results a possibility, Sri Lanka would have most probably never have settled for a 1-1 draw.
It was more about settling scores, where a 1-0 loss to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 in the Emirates was continuing to haunt them.
One can whisper it but Jayawardena knew what he was doing.
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