The decision to send Kaushal Silva at number 3 proved to be
a good one. At times, when a batsman is struggling, a change in the batting
order does wonder for him. It did work well for Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq at
The Oval and it worked well for Kaushal Silva as well at the SSC.
As an opener, his scores in this series had been 4, 7, 5, 2
and 0. One of the better performers in England was found wanting in his home
ground and Sri Lanka desperately needed one of their finest talents to get out
of the lean patch. Thankfully, Silva responded with a hundred and put Sri
Lanka in a commanding position.
Silva’s drives through the cover against the spin were sublime and how late, he
was playing the ball, covey us the message of the value of getting behind the
line of the ball, allowing it to come close and then go for the stroke on
tricky tracks. Yet again, spending time at the crease was another factor. I
repeat, when you spend time at the crease, it automatically helps you to come
out of your lean patch. Yes, in the age of Twenty20, they seem boring, but from
a cricketing perspective, they are as valuable as gold.
I still believe, whatever total the Lankans gives the Australians to chase in
the fourth innings, won’t be tough to chase. Yes, history and statistics are
not in favour of Australia, but batsmen like David Warner, Steve Smith, Shaun
Marsh and Adam Voges are capable enough to chase down any totals. They just
need to cut short their over-attacking instincts.
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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