5 promising signs for Sri Lanka despite a miserable series against India

It’s been a really tough period for Sri Lankan cricket recently. Angelo Mathews stepped down as the captain from all forms of the game after they lost to Zimbabwe 2-3.

And to add to their on-field miseries, India thrashed them 0-9 across all formats. Two things that have never happened in Sri Lanka’s cricketing history.

The team has been receiving a lot of flak from former players, who were fed up with the incompetence of the side. It also led to all members of the selection committee resigning, post their recent defeats.

Well, in such hard times for the team, it’s really hard to remain positive and look forward to better performances. However, at this point in time, things can hardly get any worse.

Here are 5 promising signs for Sri Lanka that they can carry forward:

#5 Return of their injured fast bowlers could strengthen their team

One shouldn’t forget that Sri Lanka were without some of their regular players, at least in the shorter formats of the game. The likes of Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal and Asela Gunaratne who are regular fixtures in their team were injured for part of or most of the tour.

Nuwan Pradeep was impressive when he nipped out six wickets on a placid, flat deck. So for Sri Lanka not to have him or Lakmal was a setback of sorts. They were the bowling spearheads when Malinga stepped aside from the test team and was missing in action for close to a year.

Suranga Lakmal generates good pace and bounce and could have troubled the Indian batsmen.

Lahiru Kumara was touted to be the bowler who could surprise the Indians with his pace, but he was well below par. He was providing a boundary ball every over, thus releasing pressure easily.

Kumara and Chameera should be groomed as not too many bowlers going around can cross the 140 kms/hr consistently.

With Lakmal and Pradeep returning and with Kumara and Chameera in the mix, Sri Lanka can look forward to some competitive fast bowling, as the current test team’s fast bowlers didn’t pose much of a threat for the Indian batsmen.

#4 Dependence on Rangana Herath and Lasith Malinga has come down

Lasith Malinga

It’s a no-brainer that Rangana Herath and Lasith Malinga are what Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas were for Sri Lanka when they were playing. Such is the dependence on Herath in tests and Malinga in ODIs and T20s to get wickets.

Injuries have made the Sri Lankan management think of alternatives. And that’s how we got to see Akila Dananjaya and Malinda Pushpakumara come through.

Pushpakumara was effective, stuck to his strengths and was a decent enough replacement for the injured Rangana Herath. At some point, Sri Lanka will have to think about other options apart from Herath in tests.

Pushpakumara has a long way to go in order to replace Herath but he is a good alternative to have. Even in the case of Malinga, where he was far from his best, it was the likes of Akila Dananajaya and Milinda Siliwardana who took most of the wickets in the ODI series.

And they would be hopeful that the likes of Chameera, Kumara and Lakmal can improve their game by a notch, get more consistent and the void created by Malinga’s lack of form or probable retirement down the line will not be felt that much.

Sri Lanka need to back their pace bowling options and rotate them frequently. This series gave us a glimpse that when they were thrown in the deep end, they found alternatives who could get wickets and that they weren’t completely dependent on Herath in the tests or Malinga in the ODIs to create an impact.

#3 The batsmen showed glimpses of brilliance

Kusal Mendis

On a whole, the Sri Lankan batting was very disappointing in all formats. They capitulated to the spinners in the test matches. Throughout the ODI series and the one-off T20, they lost a flurry of wickets, completely causing a break in momentum.

Amidst all this, they could cherish the hundreds scored by Kusal Mendis and Dimuth Karunaratne in tests and the overall consistency and courage shown by Niroshan Dickwella.

The pillars around which their batting revolved around, Angelo Mathews, Upul Tharanga and Dinesh Chandimal, were abysmal barring a gritty fifty from Mathews in the fourth ODI. It was a complete let down by Sri Lanka’s strongest batsmen.

Kusal Mendis showed signs of why he’s rated highly and Karunaratne showed some fight and together they pushed the Indian bowlers a lot, which is a good sign.

In the ODI where Mathews and Tharanga didn’t show up, Lahiru Thirimanne showed that he has still got it in him. His impressive showing in the ODIs gives the team some positivity heading into their upcoming tours.

Asela Gunaratne, their all-rounder who has been a surprise wicket-taker along with scoring some quick runs down the order, was missing in action due to an injury. As his replacement, Milinda Siriwardana proved to be a good bowling option and added some valuable runs as well.

#2 Niroshan Dickwella- The man for all formats

Niroshan Dickwella

A very impressive, dynamic batsman who is always on the lookout for runs, Niroshan Dickwella has established himself as the number one wicket-keeper for Sri Lanka in all formats.

He has played some good knocks, and better shot selection could have helped his cause even more as he was well set in most of his knocks but he gave it away too soon.

Behind the stumps, he has been agile, sharp and hasn’t missed too many opportunities. A huge bright spot for Sri Lanka amidst their ongoing ordeal in recent times.

It’s very nice to see how Dickwella has taken the responsibility of wicket-keeping across all formats and so far he has been successful at that. Sri Lanka need to take good care of him, make sure he’s not overburdened.

The last thing this Sri Lankan team needs at this current juncture is to lose Dickwella for a prolonged period of time.

#1 Akila Dananjaya- The next Ajantha Mendis?

Akila Dananjaya

Indians will be aware of how the mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis made his debut against and completely dominated them and other teams for a brief period. After a while, teams could read him, leading to his exclusion from the national team.

But in the second ODI, India -- known to be good players of spin -- yielded to the spin of a young, wiry spinner, Akila Dananjaya. He bamboozled the likes of Kohli, Rahul, and Jadhav on his way to a six wicket haul which if not for MS Dhoni and Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s partnership, India would have lost the game.

Although the Indian batsmen were able to play him relatively easier in the remainder of the ODI series, still he was very effective, bowling tight spells and getting wickets regularly.

Have Sri Lanka found another Mendis? Well, only time will tell if Dananjaya’s good run will last longer, but one thing is certain -- he was the most promising thing for Sri Lanka.