Howzat By Doosra Sammy

February 11th 2012ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 
Sure! theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Lankans look peppier and on their toes, sharp in the field and committed towardsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  applying themselves but if the last two games they played in the Commonwealth Bank Series in AustraliaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ are anything to judge by, they are still floundering and no amount of fancy jargon can equate to the wins they need to produce towards justifying it. In fact the Lankans are still floundering with twoƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ heartbreakingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ pips at the postƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and the rest of their schedule looming so hopefully the return toƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ captaincy by Mahela Jayawardena will be the catalyst towards better returns as the tournament progresses.
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The game against India cannot be classified as one which the Lankans could have wrested from India as they could not capitalise on winning the toss which Mahela seems to have a penchant for although even speculatively the two won might have been reversed according to some cricketing minds.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In the first game,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the fair progress they made in the middle order batting until theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  rot set in seemed heartening,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ yet they crumbled for a gettable total for India.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Needless to say also thatƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ they still look mediocre and weak kneed against good swing and spin asƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the likes of ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Khan and Ashwin et alƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ proved, ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ restricting them toƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  a ratherƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ nominal first tally which the Indians accounted for in the end albeit lackadaisically but surely!
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The effort of the Lankans against Australia in the second game despite the promise shown,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ resulted in the same woeful loss which some obviously call a close encounter but realistically a loss is a lossƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  whichƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ no amountƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ huffing or puffing could alter and there seemsed to be aƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ bit of that in some post game interviews!!
It was mostly a one man Angelo Matthews show which almostƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ pulled offƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the game for Sri Lanka but failed again, this time by a closer margin than the four wicket loss to India and conceded a five run win for the unbeaten Aussies despite also the efforts of Lasith Malinga, Dinesh Chandimal, Upul Tharanga, Tillekeratne DilshanƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and Nuwan Kulasekera althoughƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  by no means valiant ( where was Thisara?) so what seems to be wrong?
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Perhaps this is some vindication in the form of anƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  uncanny poetic justice for the Geoff Marsh sacking and the somewhat unfairƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ treatment of Tillekeratne Dilshan who was not permittedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  to continue his contract until expirationƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  innasmuch as Geoff Marsh wasƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  and rudely removedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  where the pros and cons of Mahela’s appointment can be argued till the cows come home but the decorum of itƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  all wrongƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  where a bit of class could have prevailed! For the record,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ in Marsh’s own words he maintains that Dilshan’s efforts were supreme and dedicatedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ all along and that the momentum had indeed changed for Sri Lanka in South AfricaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  through hisƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ fighting spiritƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and resilience where had he remained there seems no doubt that he too might have acquited himself equitably to the task but that is speculation so lets pass on it as it’s Mahela’s turn nowƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ to produce and lift Sri Lanka out of the mire. not only as the skipper but in his role as aƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ batsman where the flow of runs seems to have all but deserted him!
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Speaking of the new captaincy which of course isƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the recall ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  one of Lanka’s bestƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and nothing new about it,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the signs do seem positive towards future performances of the team under his guidance.There were al least some flashes of it in the two ganes concluded thus far.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The fieldingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  was ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ brilliant andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ complimented by how Mahela setƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ his fieldƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and handled the bowlers, something which he has built a reputation for over the years undeniably. There wereƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ some spectacular catches and boundary saves but all in all the top order batting once again failed and all the fuss and bother, the oohs and ahs, ifs and butsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  etc. were only because Australia did not put up a larger total, theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ successive, overƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ three hundred succesfulƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ run chases in South Africa notwithstanding as the Lankans once again showed their weaknesses againstƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  quality ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ spin and fast bowling where only Matthews seemed to be able to deal with them effectively and the big guns at the top flattered and failed.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 
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It also brings to bearƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the issue ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ludicrous run outs, one todayƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ which in all probabilities had a hand inƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  the final outcome of this gameƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ heck! when will the Lankans learn to run between the wickets without embarassing the precepts which govern it without letting the side down which aren’t that mind boggling and merely based on a clean pair of heels along a straight pathƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ when safe to show them with a bat as a rudder andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  no likelihood of being short of one’s ground if the brain capacity and vision weren’t impaired that is as it sometimes seems to be !
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Finally one needs to ponder upon team selection once again as the squad does include proven performers as opposed toƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  minnows and greenhornsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ who somehow gain a berth heaven knows on what rationale other than their club performances backƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ home and did someone say a bit of ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ favouritism? nah! impossible ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ where today the presence of Thisara Perera and Rangana Herath might have made a world of difference in both the bowling and batting and the task for Sri Lanka perhaps that much easier. Something to chew on for the games forthcoming and there is also the recall of PervezƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Maharoof to the squadƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ who surely merits a spot amongst some of the other notable players who could make a difference, fitness permitting not forgeting Thilan Samaraweera who is also a standby and could make a difference to the outcome of future games.
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Well !ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ to put it mildly, theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  cricketing world is still waiting for the sunrise of a first Lankan win in the Commonwealth Bank Series but it’s still raining defeats!ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ !