Sports
Charith Asalanka – SL’s one-of-a-kind rescue package
Charith Asalanka, midway through a follow-through of a big shot, is gritting his teeth while his bat is twisted around to face the bowler, above his head. If a seasoned cricket-watcher saw a still of this moment, they might guess that something has gone very wrong for Asalanka.
It hasn’t. Asalanka is just fine. He has just shoveled an offcutter from Shaheen Shah Afridi in the air, past mid-off for four. Not hit a four, mind. Shoveled one.
Sri Lanka’s No. 5 batter is many things. A former Under-19 captain, an occasional bowler who can be effective on turning decks (as India found out), and a reliable outfielder. But he is not a pretty cricketer. Even just within this batting group, he has none of Dhananjaya de Silva’s effortless cool, little of Kusal Mendis or Sadeera Samarawickrama’s fluency, doesn’t have the fast hands of Kusal Perera, or the efficiency of Pathum Nissanka.
We do not aesthetic-shame batters here. So we will not call Asalanka’s cricket ugly. We will instead dwell on his many qualities. No other Sri Lanka middle-order batter can find boundaries so consistently in the first 15 balls of their innings as Asalanka. In this match, he thunked Iftikhar Ahmed over the deep midwicket rope (a go-to area, early in his innings) seventh ball.
And this four, off Afridi’s offcutter, is only the second boundary Asalanka has struck in this innings, but is off his 34th ball, and takes his score to 31. This tells you the other thing you need to know about him – the man knows how to work the gaps through the middle overs. He runs his singles urgently, calls his twos early, and even in tense situations such as this, tends to have clear communication with his partners. If you’re pretty fast, pretty skilful, and pretty conscientious, do you need to bother being pretty?
On a night and early morning (this match finished after 1 am) in which the Khettarama crowd was revelling in their baila breaks, dancing at every opportunity, the papare coming out of the northern stand, the crowd did not have any particular love for Asalanka. They roared for every run off his bat, and moved their hips for every boundary, but they would have done this for any Sri Lanka batter.
Earlier in the evening, when Mendis was making his way through his vital 91, many had had his name on their lips. Later, when Sadeera Samarawickrama was hit in the helmet by an Afridi slower ball and was visibly shaken, needing the physio’s attention, the crowd began to chant, “Sadeera, Sadeera,” willing the batter to recover even while he was undergoing a concussion test. Two nights ago, Khettarama was creaming for Dunith Wellalage, who was spectacular that evening.
Asalanka, may not have ready chants just yet. What he does have is a body of work. Since the start of 2021, no batter on the planet has as many as his 1248 runs at No. 5. This is with an average of 46.22, and a strike rate of 90, if you’re wondering. And this is despite his having only made his ODI debut in late June of 2021. He is almost 300 runs clear of the next-most prolific No. 5 – no less than Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza.
There is enough here to seed the thought that there is no one better in this specialised position than Asalanka. He has a decent top order to protect him now, but generally a poor lower middle order with whom to forge partnerships, as was the case against Pakistan.
But there is no shortage of love for him from his team-mates. On the third-to-last ball of the innings, Pramod Madushan missed with a big heave, but made sure he grounded his bat at the striker’s end while the keeper’s underarm throw went through, so he could protect Asalanka’s wicket as Asalanka ran through to the striker’s end.
Eventually it turns out that Sri Lanka needed two to win off the last ball. And here is the moment that perfectly encapsulates Asalanka – he gets a slower ball on off stump, and instead of trying to bash it to the boundary, he calmly shuffles across, clips it behind square on the leg side where he knows there is space, puts his head down, and sprints two.
The ball does not reach the boundary, because it did not have pace to begin with, and Asalanka has not hit it particularly hard. What he has done, is put it carefully into space. So much space that the fielders in the vicinity do not even seriously give chase. There is no point. This is so obviously a shot that is going to produce two runs. It is just enough. No unnecessary risks taken. No glory shots attempted.
When the win is secured, some of Asalanka’s team-mates storm the field and plant big, wet kisses on his head. Almost all of them are six inches taller.
None of them, though, have won a tense match with a measured flick to deep backward square off the last ball, putting their team in a major final. None of them are quite like Asalanka.
(Cricinfo)
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
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