Inconsistent Sri Lanka take on confident India

 Maheesh Theekshana dives and injures himself during the game against Pakistan on Thursday

• Asia Cup final at R. Premadasa Stadium tomorrow

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Well, Sri Lanka made it to another Asia Cup final beating Pakistan in a crucial Super4 game at the R. Premadasa Cricket Stadium on Thursday. But it is not a win that Sri Lanka can be proud of or elate on.

The manner in which the middle and late order batsmen threw away their wickets is something that should be a worrying factor ahead of Sunday’s final against India.

This is not the first time it has happened in this tournament, and may not be the last unless Sri Lanka pull up their socks and play a game of cricket that they are renowned for.

The way Sadeera Samarawickrama and Dhananjaya de Silva got out shows that they have not learnt a lesson from the game against India. The dismissals of the two batsmen were identical in both games – Samarawickrama stepping out to drive and getting stumped and De Silva lofting the ball to long-off’s hands when there was no necessity for a shot of that nature at the time when Sri Lanka were moving smoothly towards reaching their target of 242.

These rather irrational dismissals and the appalling batting form of the Captain Dasun Shanaka does not make the Sri Lankan middle and lower order batting look stable. If he was not the Captain, Shanaka on his current form would not have a place in the eleven. He is also lucky that the team is winning on the back of the rest of the team. Thus, the national selectors don’t want to tamper with a settled side especially with the World Cup round the corner.

It was a pity that Kusal Perera who got the Sri Lanka innings off to a flying start had to lose his wicket through a run out. Had he stayed a little bit longer, who knows, Sri Lanka may not even have needed their dodgy late order to contribute to the total. A game that Sri Lanka should have won without casting any doubts about the result, they made it panicky and tenser for themselves by the irrational approach of some of their batsmen.

Sri Lanka should be thankful that they have a level-headed player like Charith Asalanka who amidst the chaos that was taking place kept a cool head to take his team to victory and into the final.

To Pakistan’s credit it must be said that they put up a marvellous effort on their part, to try and turn the game around when at one stage during the Kusal Mendis-Samarawickrama 100-run liaison, Sri Lanka seemed to have the match in the bag. The dismissal of Mendis sparked off a totally unnecessary collapse which may have cost Sri Lanka the match and even a place in the final.

Pakistan came back strongly with their only available lethal weapon Shahin Shah Afridi whose two wickets in two balls must have sent shivers down the Sri Lankan dug out and dressing room. But without the support of Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf (both injured), Pakistan’s bowling resources were depleted. Pakistan had to look up to debutant Zaman Khan and Mohammad Wasim who’s combined nine overs cost 64 runs without a wicket.

Sri Lanka will be without Maheesh Theekshana for the final after straining his right hamstring during the game against Pakistan.

The update on Theekshana from Sri Lanka Cricket is: “The player will undergo a scan to fully assess his condition. Theekshana sustained the injury while he was fielding during the game between Sri Lanka and Pakistan.”

Theekshana’s replacement could be either a spinner or a seamer depending on the surface Sri Lanka gets for the final.

The way India is playing they will start favourites to regain the Asia Cup which they last laid hands on in 2018 when they beat Bangladesh in the final played at Dubai. India’s bench strength is so strong that skipper Rohit Sharma said that it was a good headache to have.

“We have said earlier that problems like these are good, that boys are fighting for spots,” Sharma said. “We will have to see who is in form and who the opposition to face is. All this will be calculated and the best XI will be picked.”

Sri Lanka, who are the defending champions, have a knack of spoiling the show when it comes to a final against India. On two previous occasions of the three times they have beaten India in the final (2004 and 2008), Sri Lanka has lost to India in the Super4 stage and then gone on to turn tables on their opponents and won the final. Can they repeat that feat again?