Dushmantha Chameera has transformed himself to be the spearhead of the Sri Lankan bowling attack

Charith Asalanka

Bhanuka Rajapaksa

Pathum Nissanka

Rajapaksa, Nissanka doubtful for rest of series, Asalanka to undergo fitness test

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Sri Lanka’s batting problems continue to persist in the ongoing three-match T20I series against India where they are struggling to get their line-up in proper order with injuries to three of their top order batters – Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Pathum Nissanka and Charith Asalanka – only compounding their task.

Rajapaksa has a hairline fracture on his right index finger and Nissanka a swollen right forearm – the damage being done to both batsmen by fast bowler Lahiru Kumara during practice. Rajapaksa and Nissanka were left out of the first T20I on Sunday which Sri Lanka lost by 38 runs, and they are unlikely to take further part in the series, which leaves Sri Lanka with only one other specialist batsman in their squad of 23 – Sadeera Samarawickrama.

Asalanka who top scored for Sri Lanka with an exquisite 44 off 26 balls on Sunday is struggling to be fit for today’s second T20I at the R. Premadasa Stadium with a hamstring injury on his left leg. Although the injury is not thought to be serious, he will have to undergo a fitness test before the start of the match to assess his fitness.  

Sri Lanka had already been hit before the commencement of the white ball series against India with Kusal Perera being ruled out with a shoulder injury. They lost the 3-match ODI series to India 2-1.

On Sunday, chasing a target of 165 in the first T20I, Sri Lanka collapsed from 111/4 to 126 all out. They lost their last six wickets for 15 runs off 19 balls.

“It was a big loss not having a player like Bhanuka. He is a hard hitter of the ball and he can hit a six anytime. If we had him, we could have maintained a good run rate,” said fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera, who with leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, kept the strong Indian batting down to a total of 164/5, sharing four wickets between them.

“165 was a chaseable score; we lost because there was no contribution from the middle order. We couldn’t get the boundaries or the singles. With injuries to Bhanuka and Pathum Nissanka we don’t have too many batsmen in our squad. Because of the bubble we cannot bring anyone from outside so we will have to manage with what we have,” Chameera said.

If Asalanka is declared fit, Sri Lanka is likely to go with an unchanged side, which means that their no. 5 batsman Ashen Bandara, if afforded another opportunity, must do better than the nine runs he scored consuming a valuable 19 balls.

“India has players with IPL experience. We have not come up to that level yet, but I think we can still win because from the bowling side we have shown a lot of improvement from the 3 ODIs and today (Sunday). The ODI’s we learnt from our mistakes with each game and finally we won. Here also, we must try to rectify our mistakes and try and see how we can improve our batting in the middle overs,” said Chameera, who has, in the last few months, transformed himself into the spearhead of the Lankan bowling attack.

In the past three ODI series played since May against Bangladesh, England and India, Chameera has taken 14 wickets (avg. 25.5) from nine matches, and at present is enjoying the best days of his injury-plagued career.

“In the past few years, I had a lot of injuries. Now I have recovered from them and I am able to play continuously without a break. I trained hard and also worked on my fitness side. I got a lot of help from the trainer Dilshan (Fonseka) who helped me work on my fitness. The experience of Chaminda Vaas (fast-bowling coach) was also important. I’ve learnt a lot from him, especially how to bowl in English conditions,” said Chameera.

Questioned about the workload he was carrying and playing without a break, Chameera replied: “I don’t have any problems with my workload at the moment. After the next two T20Is against India, we are getting a break, so I don’t think there would be a problem.”

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