Win or lose the current Test against Pakistan, Sri Lankans have a lot to think about for future series.
- What will be their spin attack when Murali comes back? Will it be Herath or Mendis? The Lankans left out the out-of-form Mendis, but Herath has gone missing in this Test with 0/76 and 2/113 so far. Herath’s overall Test record is a miserable 48 wickets in 17 Tests at 37.04 and if you leave out his performances in the first two Tests of this series, it would be much worse. Mendis, of course, has been horrible with his 6 wickets against Pakistan coming at an average of 65.83. From the mystery spinner to the missing spinner, it is quite a drop for him.
- Sri Lanka did not cross 300 in any of their innings in this series. The batsmen were shielded by the bowlers who saved them each time Pakistan threatened to win a Test. As usual, Sangakkara and Jayawardene have been among the top run-makers. Sri Lanka cannot continue to keep relying on just two batsmen to produce the goods against the stronger Test teams.
- It was a nice gesture to give Vaas a final match, but it will probably cost them the Test and an opportunity to make a strong statement by a 3-0 series victory. The Sri Lanka selectors have to be tougher than that. What if the series had been at 1-1? I know this is not going to happen, but at some point in the past, they should have had a talk with Vaas and told him he was no longer going to play a part in international Test cricket.
- Sri Lanka should not fool themselves with the final outcome of this series. They were outplayed several times during the Tests and they just about managed to escape when Pakistan let go of its advantage. Against a stronger team like Australia or South Africa, that would be fatal. Worse, they were outplayed at home. I know they have always struggled against Pakistan at home, but they have to worry if it is going to be an ongoing trend.
- It is not clear whether the better performances by some Sri Lankan players is an indication of their so-far hidden talent or is a flash in the pan. We already talked about Herath. Now consider Kulaskera with 16 wickets in 3 Tests in this series. Before it, he had only taken 5 wickets in 6 Tests. Thushara 12 wickets in this series after spending 4 years in the wilderness. Paranavitana has done nothing in his career except for those two knocks in the Galle Test. If they can replicate some of their good performances in this series in the future, Sri Lanka will do well. But otherwise, Sri Lanka will continue to have passengers that will break them against the tougher Test nations.
