The score-line in the recent series against Australia was a clear indication that the Sri Lankans — whom the Pakistan team will be meeting later this month — are still trying to adjust to life beyond world record holder spin ace Muttiah Muralitharan. The penetration has just not been there, as the bowling line-up has lost its bite.
To be fair to the rest, Muralitharan is not the only one being missed. It was with seamer Chaminda Vaas that Murali had formed a potent bowling attack. It was not quite the Glenn McGrath-Shane Warne combination, but it was not very far from it either. When the two were joined by Lasith Malinga, who could bowl quick, well-directed and effective yorkers with his deceptive side-arm action, the Lankans were a formidable side with the ability to bowl out the opposition twice.
Age first caught up with Vaas. Then Malinga had his share of fitness problems which forced him to cut down his workload. Probably encouraged by the case-laden Indian Premier League (IPL), he bid adieu to the standard versions of the game and decided to focus on the Twenty20 format which requires bowlers to send down all of 24 deliveries in a match. And, finally, Murali, the magician, called it a day.
Since his retirement, the Lankans have played 11 Tests, losing two, but wining absolutely nothing, with the remaining nine ending in a draw. The impact could be seen better through some relevant statistics. In the last 10 years of Murali’s career — most of them played alongside Vaas and Malinga — Sri Lanka played 49 Tests on home soil, winning 28 while losing 11. Since the departure of the last of the three, the Lankans have played six Tests, losing one and winning nothing.
It goes a bit more graphic when you take into account the runs conceded per wicket by the home and visiting bowlers. Earlier, it used to be 26.36 runs for Murali and company, while for the visitors, it was as high as 42.11. Post-Murali, it has all changed, with the Lankans conceding 37.31 and the visitors nailing it down to 34.17. Sri Lanka earlier had the upper hand in terms of having, on an average, 15.75 runs per wicket more than the visitors.
The corresponding figure in the second phase shows the visitors having 3.34 runs more in the kitty. The net impact for the Sri Lankans is 19 runs less per wicket. In the context of a 10-wicket innings, it turns into a deficit of 190 runs; and, in the context of a two-innings Test, it doubles up to 380 runs. These are the extra runs that the Lankan batsmen now have to score. It is no wonder that the side is struggling.
Captain Tillakaratne Dilshan was spot on when, at the end of the series against Australia, he said, “These are hard times for Sri Lankan cricket. The bowlers we have are inexperienced; they have played just five to 10 Tests and we have to persist with them for some time and give them the experience before we can start winning again.”
When the forthcoming series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka gets under way in the neutral environs of the United Arab Emirates, neither of the two sides will have the cushion of hiding behind false claims of being rusty or ill-prepared. Both of them will be entering the fray hot on the heels of their recent contests.
Pakistanis, however, are bound to be the more eager of the two units because cricketing activity has sort of dried up for them in the last few years. They will definitely want to make a statement — a bold statement, if they can — with their performances. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will be looking to wipe off the bitter taste of defeat in a home series that Australia inflicted on the former just recently.
The Lankans lost the three-Test series 0-1, and the One Day Internationals by a margin of 2-3. The only clear victory was in the Twenty20 format where the islanders won 2-0. In contrast, Pakistan won everything that came its way in all the three formats of the game. But when one brings the opposition into the equation, all these sweeping victories tend to shed their gloss and almost pale into insignificance.
Zimbabwe, by any stretch of the imagination, is not an opposition any mainstream side would struggle to beat. The only thing that is of importance in such a series is the margin and manner of the victories. And on that count, the Zimbabweans did have their moments of glory and defiance during the encounters which makes one wonder what the Pakistanis would do once they face a decent side like Sri Lanka.
With Umar Gul and Wahab Riaz back in the fold to join hands with Saeed Ajmal to form a more-than-decent trio, and newcomers Aizaz Cheema and Junaid Khan ready to have their first experience of playing against a mainstream side, Pakistan appears to have a better bowling attack, but it will come up against a batting order that is more formidable of the two. The contest is likely to be interesting without necessarily being entertaining.
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