Pathum Nissanka – a cut above the rest

by Anura Tennekoon

I had the good fortune of witnessing live at Ketharama a brilliant batting display by Sri Lanka, in the third ODI, against Australia.

I would like to single out Pathum Nissanka for the manner in which he constructed his innings of 136 runs.

Pathum commenced his innings by playing the bowling on its merit, picking up singles and scoring the odd boundary whenever a bad delivery was bowled at him. All this was done with proper cricket strokes in risk free fashion. He played second fiddle to Niroshan Dickwella and Kusal Mendis as they were the aggressors and rotated the strike giving them plenty of opportunities to score briskly. Mendis also batted aggressively and played a noteworthy innings and was unfortunate to miss out on a century due to cramping.

Pathum changed gears when well set on 50 and overtook Mendis who was ahead of him by playing some delightful strokes to all parts of the field. The longer he batted the more aggressive he got and tore the Aussie bowling after his 100, setting up a great victory for Sri Lanka.

What impressed me a lot was the manner in which he conducted himself after reaching his century. He simply raised his bat above his head and acknowledged the loud ovation he received from an appreciative crowd. He then looked at the sky and gave thanks to whoever he believed in. This was quite in contrast to modern cricketers who go into histrionics when they achieve success. Well done Pathum, you brought some old world charm to the game. May you shine in cricket and in life.