It was never going to be easy for the defending champions in the 2016
World T20
and with just one win – against Afghanistan – out four Super 10 games,
Sri Lanka
bowed of the tournament tamely. In the build up to the mega event they managed just one win in Asia Cup T20, that too against the lowly UAE. The void created by the departures of
Kumar Sangakkara and
Mahela Jayawardene proved too much to fill and with
Lasith Malinga ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury before the start of tournament proper, the inexperienced team failed to rally around their skipper
Angelo Mathews.
Record in the World T20:Super 10s: Played 4, Won 1, Lost 3, Points 2
High Point: Sri Lanka squared off against England in Match 29 of the World T20 with an aim to stay alive in the competition and after England had posted a total of 171, Sri Lanka top-order failed once again. Coming in to bat, with his team reeling at 15/3, skipper Mathews proceeded to rebuild the Sri Lankan innings and then took upon himself to keep his team in the hunt. Supported by Chamara Kapugedara (30) and then Thisara Perera (20), Mathews (73* off 54 balls) played a captain’s knock battling a hamstring strain to take his team close. Sri Lanka fell short by 10 runs, but for that brief period when Mathews dominated, Sri Lanka looked like a team that had made it to the finals of the World T20 three times in the last four years.
Low Point: Sri Lanka’s campaign never really got going, but they would have hoped to end on a high. But their final game against South Africa was in stark contrast. Put in to bat, the Sri Lankan openers started well against the South Africa’s pacers, but were bogged down by the slower bowlers. Imran Tahir, Aaron Phangiso and Farhaan Behardien combined to bowl 11 overs and gave away just 59 runs for five wickets. Sri Lankan middle-order crumbled as they managed to post only 120. South Africa cantered home with eight wickets in hand and 14 balls to spare.
Most valuable player: To put it bluntly, no one really contributed in a consistent manner to be the most valuable player for Sri Lanka. While Tillakaratne Dilshan smashed a fifty in his team’s only win in the campaign against Afghanistan, Mathews produced the team’s best knock against England, albeit in a losing cause. Dilshan was the highest run-getter for the team with 133 runs from four matches while legspinner Jeffrery Vandersay and Thisara Perera claimed three wickets each in the tournament.
Major disappointment: This can comprise the entire Sri Lankan squad, but there was no bigger disappointment than
Dinesh Chandimal for Sri Lanka. A highly rated youngster, Chandimal came in to the international scene as the next big thing in Sri Lanka and was even the skipper of the T20I team at one point in time, but with just 56 runs in 4 matches as an opener in this edition of World T20, Chandimal failed miserably in the tournament.
Verdict: Long gone has the time when one could say that this Sri Lankan side is a team in transition. Problems are in plenty for Sri Lanka. They have not been able to find replacements for Sangakkara and Jayawerdene and neither Dilshan nor Malinga are at the peak of their powers. And their dismal performance not only here, but in the Asia Cup, shows that the young team is not quite ready for the toils of international cricket. Only Mathews looks like he belongs at this level.