Sri Lanka’s dreams of reaching the final of the ICC World Test Championship have suffered a 2-0 defeat in South Africa.
Efforts by Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis went in vain as Sri Lanka lost by 109 runs on the final day of the second Test against the Proteas.
Despite playing at venues that traditionally favor their style of play – Durban and Gaberha – the visitors have struggled to mount a serious challenge compared to their historic win in 2019 when they swept the Proteas in two Tests.
Head coach Sanath Jayasuriya attributed the defeat to missed opportunities with the bat, particularly failing to convert good starts into big scores.
This was most evident in Gqeberha’s first innings where all 5 openers managed to score at least 20 runs but only one crossed 50 runs. Even Pathum Nishankata, who scored 89 runs, could not take advantage and reach his third hat-trick. Test scores.
“Batsmen need to convert their scores into centuries – 30 and 40 are not enough. These wickets are difficult to take, but on a tour like this, two batsmen should score centuries. We didn’t understand it. We got two 80s,” said Jayasuriya.
He further said, “I think batsmen who used to play in places like England now know the value of centuries on the road. This time we missed it. I think there was a lot of effort from the senior batsmen but if they are assessed individually they will realize that it is not enough.
The series marked a setback for Kamindu Mendis, whose early performances in the longest format were extraordinary. Mendis, who entered the tournament at an average of 91.27, managed to score 13, 10, 48 and 35 runs in the four innings and his average dropped to 74.
Commenting on this 26-year-old player, Jayasuriya said, “Kamindu Mendis is a major player. He has scored in almost every Test apart from this series. If you saw the way he batted in this series, it is still with great confidence. You can’t expect a batsman to score 50 or 100 in every innings – so you have six or seven batsmen.
“As a player, he is a quality player. If he has any shortcomings, he works together with the batting coach to find them.
“I know the opposition is quite concerned, and so is South Africa. Now he will have to work hard to fight it. But I would like to see a player like him in the team – he scores the ball and plays positively. I have told everyone to play their natural game and play positive cricket.
Jayasuriya said that the second morning in which the South African batsmen added 89 runs to extend their first innings total as a crucial moment in the Gqeberha Test, which contributed to Sri Lanka’s defeat.
“After we got eight or nine wickets in that first innings, we let them go up by roughly 40 runs,” he said.
Sri Lanka, who started the day 7 wickets behind by 116 runs, lost 5 wickets and another turning point happened on the morning of the third day.
“We just couldn’t get those wickets. We could have had a big first innings lead and we let the game slip away a bit that morning.”
South Africa’s bottom order, 282 for eight at lunch, added 35 runs to their second innings total and missed more chances on day four. Additionally, Sri Lanka lost two quick wickets while scoring a promising 117 with 7 wickets in hand.
“Getting 25-30 extra runs off their tail hurt us in the second innings as well. In the second innings we conceded two extra wickets in the evening session. If only three of us got a chance to come today, it would have made a big difference to our batting department. Jayasuriya said.
