Wining the Idea Cup: Young blood proved their abilities

Wining the ‘Idea Cup’ by defeating India (Ranked as number 2 in ICC Rankings) in the finals was a great achievement for Sri Lanka. More interestingly Sri Lanka suffered major setback in the earlier part of the series due to injuries.

But youngsters like Suraj Randiv, Thissara Perera and in-form bowler Chanaka Welegedara (who did well in recently concluded one day and test series in India) have showed their keenness to graduate to the next level, a possible signal that Lanka is ready to mix a new blend in their Cricket .

This is what the country is requesting for! Sangakkara showed that Sri Lanka is a team which has great potential of winning the World Cup in 2011.We beat India in a neutral ground. And India has proved their track records in finals by losing 13 out of 20 finals and winning only 3.

The trend for the tournament was set in the first match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, win toss and bowl first. The presence of heavy dew made it tough for bowlers to grip the ball under lights.

In batting Mahela did well (Average 92 and Striking rate of 87 of 100 balls) despite of his poor ODI performance in India. He demonstrated his calibre as match winner as well as with the quality on his batting.

Sangakkara did well again with the bat while leading the side with the average of 68(striking rate was 92).Thilan Samaraweera Raised his bat and showed to selectors that he can bat well and fast (Average 87 and Striking rate of 84).More importantly Thilan’s career striking rate average is 67 out of 100 balls. Dilshan also preformed well with the bat. Upul Tharanga came with some pressure but delivered the goods as expected by the captain.

The most important finding of this series was young all-rounder Narangoda Liyanaarachchilage Thissara Chirantha Perera, born in April 3rd 1989, left hand bat with right arm medium fast. In his four matches he averaged 53 with the bat (striking rate was 140!) and captured 6 wickets with the economy rate of 4.77. He together with Angelo Mattews (he did not play due to injury) will provide Sri Lanka a substantial edge over other countries in the future.

This the first time we will be having this combination of fine young all-rounders. The position of Thilina Kandamby has been questioned by his performance. (Averaged only 9 in series). Suraj Randiv also played well with both departments. He scored a fine half century at a correct time Vs India in first round match. And he picked up 5 wickets in the series with econ. at 4.28 per over.

Again Uda Walawwe Mahim Bandaralage Chanaka Asanga Welegedara captured most number of wickets for Sri lanka (8 wickets)., Nuwan Kulasekera also did well by capturing 7 wickets with an economy rate of 4.73 per over.

So it is quite evident that Sri Lanka is hoping to enter the fray with young blood. According to Skipper Sangakara “It was nice to see youngsters coming here and doing a great job. There was a lot of pressure on selectors back home, but in the end the youngsters vindicated the faith in them. This victory is sweet, but we should remember that one victory will not make a year great and a team great. We need to get stronger, especially mentally and physically while also improving our set of skills,”. There should be a mixture of experience and youth in the team. Hopefully this should be a good news for the country and for selectors (now they can minimize risk in their selecting process).Most probably for the ODI, Sri Lanka can compete with the following Squad with all talents and skills.

Upul Tharanga, T.Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (Captain & WK), M.Jayawardne, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Thissara Perera, Suraj Randiv, N.Kulasekara, T.Tushara, C.Welegedara,Favez maharoof, Sanath Jayasooriya ,Mutthiah Muralitharan and Muthumudalige Pushpakumara

-Asian Tribune -