Sports
Under pressure Sri Lanka need big win over UAE
Rex Clementine
in Geelong
We have just finished two days of the T-20 World Cup and have already seen two huge upsets. After three-time finalists Sri Lanka were humbled by Namibia, who won by 55 runs, in a Group ‘A’ game in Geelong, Scotland stunned two times champions West Indies with a 42-run win, in a Group ‘B’ fixture in Hobart.
Today Sri Lanka will take on UAE in Geelong under lights and prior to that Namibia and Netherlands will play at the same venue.
Sri Lanka’s Net Run Rate is -2.75 and not only do they need to win today but win big as well. A second win against the Netherlands on Thursday is good enough for Dasun Shanaka’s side to qualify without worrying about Net Run Rate, but rain is predicted for later this week and if the last game is a washout, teams can be tied on points and then it will come to the Net Run Rate in deciding which team will go through. That’s why Sri Lanka need to keep an eye on Net Run Rate.
Geelong has drop-in pitches and the one on which the curtain raiser of the competition was played proved to be two-paced. Sri Lanka’s batters tried some big shots but shot-making wasn’t easy on a wicket where the ball wasn’t coming onto the bat and their efforts turned out to be top edges.
Sri Lanka’s spinners fared better than the quicks as the eight overs of Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga went for only 50 runs while the 12 overs of pace went for 112 runs. While spin cost 6.25 runs an over, pace went for more than 9.3 runs.
Pace had been Sri Lanka’s weapon against associates during the first round in the last World Cup and Shanaka backed them in this edition as well. But that backfired and the captain didn’t have much of time to reassess and fall back to his part-time spinners. It didn’t help that Dushmantha Chameera returning to the side after injury bowled a poor second spell.
Lahiru Kumara comes into the equation for today’s game and it remains to be seen whom he will replace. If the extra pace is what Sri Lanka are looking for, it’s not a bad idea to bring him in for Chamika Karunaratne, but they are unlikely to go that path as they need Chamika’s batting at number eight. But if your top seven aren’t going to get you the runs, it doesn’t make any sense to expect number eight to bail you out.
There have been various readings about Sri Lanka’s predicament. While some have been quick to point out that the team had a similar campaign in the Asia Cup where they were humbled by Afghanistan before going on to win five straight games. Put under pressure, Sri Lanka brought their best out in UAE and they are having their back to the walls again here in Geelong after a pathetic display in front of 17,000 adoring fans who had driven down from Melbourne, Victoria’s main city which is one hour from the outskirt.
Some have argued that how Sri Lanka are better off in Group Two of the Super 12 stage which looks like an extended version of the Asia Cup with India, Pakistan and Bangladesh pooled alongside one of the qualifiers. Defending Champions Australia, last year’s losing finalists New Zealand and losing semi-finalists England are in Group One along with Afghanistan and possibly West Indies now. But that will be the last thing on Sri Lanka’s mind right now. They would just want to get two wins under their belts and go through.
Sunday’s defeat was Sri Lanka’s first loss to Namibia in any form of cricket. The moment they dismissed David Wiese, Namibia slipped to 93 for six in the 15th over and then they took the foot off the gas and then a 69-run stand followed for the seventh wicket between J.J. Smit and Jan Frylinck, who took the game away from Sri Lanka. It was Namibia’s first win against a team ranked among the top ten.
Sri Lanka’s total of 108 all out is their lowest against an Associate nation.
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]
