Pakistan Miss a Trick or Two

Today’s match against Sri Lanka almost went Pakistan’s way. They got early wickets. They got wickets frequently. They bowled out Sri Lanka on the first day. Unfortunately, they could have done much better, with Sri Lanka managing 100 off the last four wickets, and then both the Pakistani openers back within 7 overs. Maybe they should have let Sri Lankans bat another 7 overs or so to start afresh the next day.

Sri Lanka, to their frustration of their opponents, have been displaying a habit of their lesser batsmen and bowlers turning out to be heroes when their main stars (Sangakkara, Murali) fail. Today was no exception. This is good for Sri Lanka in the long run and is similar to Australia in the sense that opponents wait for retirements and injuries, but the replacements are even tougher to beat.

Of course, this could also be like the West Indies. I remember Jimmy Adams making a ton of runs when visiting India, thus preventing us from winning a series against them. But Adams never had a great career and India just happened to be a place where he clicked. I suspect Paranavitana and Thushara are also the same material who may make it difficult for Pakistan, but never fulfilling their promise in the long run.

This blog will also keep an eye on Dilshan’s fortunes during this series. Remember that we have always classified Dilshan as the ultimate maker of “convenient innings”, i.e., he just does enough to remain in the team, usually with big scores against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh and sometimes with big scores in the last Test of a series. But this year has been good for Dilshan with his form in the World Twenty20. We will see if this is his breakout year, or if it is more of the same. With a 28 in the first innings, not a good start.