Sri Lanka undone by inability to close out games under pressure

Wanindu Hasaranga, whose half-century raised Sri Lanka’s hopes of winning, watches anxiously from the dugout

• Three-match series on the line; second ODI tomorrow
  
  

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

In a three-match series of any format, winning the first contest is imperative, otherwise it puts the losing team in a position of a must-win situation going into the second.

That is what Sri Lanka is experiencing at the moment going into the second ODI against Pakistan at Rawalpindi tomorrow, where they need to win to keep the series alive.

Sri Lanka came as close as six runs to pull off a win, chasing a tall order of 300. But, for some poor decisions made on the field, they squandered their chances of winning. Most notable was burning their reviews as early as the 11th over in a 50-over contest. 

To say the least, both lbw reviews Sri Lanka took were poor – Asitha Fernando against Saim Ayub in the third over and Janith Liyanage against Fakhar Zaman in the 11th over. On both occasions, the ball was pitching outside the leg stump. Little did Sri Lanka know that these reviews they burnt would come back to haunt them.

It eventually happened in the 24th over, with Pakistan struggling at 95-4 and Wanindu Hasaranga on a roll. A ball from Hasaranga trapped Hussain Talat (0) in front of the wicket, and Sri Lanka were convinced he was out, but umpire Asif Yaqoob got it terribly wrong and ruled not out. 

Talat went on to forge a match-winning partnership of 138 with his Captain Salman Agha that enabled Pakistan to recover and post a challenging total of 299-5. With no reviews left, Sri Lanka were left to learn a painful lesson. It was a lesson that came at the cost of the game.

Then, in the chase, Sri Lanka threw away a great start of 85 given by Pathum Nissanka and debutant Kamil Mishara, and allowed Pakistan into the game when Haris Rauf in a sensational spell sent back Mishara, Kusal Mendis, and Nissanka within the space of 11 balls as Sri Lanka slumped to 90-3. They recovered somewhat and by the end of the 30th over, they needed 121 runs off 120 balls with six wickets in hand. 

In that context, most teams would have backed themselves to win comfortably. Even as late as the 47th over, Sri Lanka were still marginally ahead of Pakistan in comparison. And yet, they couldn’t finish it off. It was Sri Lanka’s game to lose. They held the advantage at key moments when bowling and batting, but couldn’t seize control when it mattered most.

When there was an opportunity to shut the door on Pakistan, a stroke of rashness on the part of Captain Charith Asalanka, who had been batting beautifully with Janith Liyanage, allowed the opposition to come back into the game once again. 

Asalanka went for a big slog against spinner Mohammad Nawaz and was beaten and stumped. It was a stroke that was totally unnecessary at that stage of the game. Sri Lanka lost Liyanage and Kamindu Mendis in quick succession to be 210-7. 

Hasaranga, who has never fulfilled his talents as a batsman, came to the fore. All he needed was someone to stay with him and he would have taken his team across the line. But Dushmantha Chameera, instead of doing that, tried to go big on Faheem Ashraf and presented a simple return catch. It was poor thinking on his part and his dismissal was just a reminder underlying Sri Lanka’s approach to this game. 

Sri Lanka didn’t have luck on their side either. Hasaranga’s attempt to clear the boundary off a Naseem Shah full toss ended up in the hands of Babar Azam at long-on. On any other day, it would have gone for a six.

With 21 needed off the final over, Maheesh Theekshana did his best to get his team over the line, but the effort proved too much for a no. 10, and Sri Lanka fell short by 7. 

It was a case of another game that should have been won but wasn’t. Moments of brilliance, undone by an inability to close out games under pressure. Almost good, yet not good enough. A reason to hope and be frustrated at the same time. That is Sri Lanka cricket in a nutshell.