What Happened to Sri Lanka in Hobart ?

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The on going Commonwealth Bank Series in Australia is one of the most closely fought tri series I have seen in a long time. The quality of cricket has been really above standards and the performance of the Lankan Lions has been pretty awesome. That was till last Tuesday in Hobart, when everything fell apart.


We played against the Indians, knowing that they need to beat us from a bonus point to have any hope in reaching the finals after getting mauled by the Aussies in all their matches with them.  We of course just had to win the match or prevent them from getting the bonus point by not letting them reach their given target in 40 overs or less.

Everything went well in the first session. We batted out of our skins and scored a mammoth 320 runs in 50 overs with Sanga and Dilshan getting a pair of awesome centuries. Everyone thought that India is definitely out of the tournament since how can you expect a team to get 320 runs in 40 overs right?  Sadly though, it was a no and the Indian batsmen starring Virat Kohli  just sent our bowlers and fielders on a wild goose chase and won the match in an unbelievable 36 overs.  The match was over in a jiffy and India, still have a chance to reach the finals.

The Story Behind the Story..

Every Sri Lankan who watched the match yesterday was not convinced on the performance by our team.  After all, this is a team who gave their heart out in all their previous matches and didn't give up till the last ball as the matches against the Aussies showed. There was something fishy, there was something not right. There has been a change of script even before the first ball of the match was bowled.

First up , Dhoni won the toss which started the whole doubting process since this was a man who has not won a toss for more than a month until now. Next, it was the bowling performance of  Lasith Malinga , the slinger  who forgot his slinging yorkers and bounces and kept feeding the batsmen deliveries on the leg side when the field was set on the off and gave away a whopping 96 runs from his 10 overs. Lastly, , the bowling changes of our captain who under bowled his most economical bowlers ( Herath , Maharoof  and Mathews) even when they had so many overs left in their hands.

Why did these things happen? Why did we play like we are the ones who have no choice ? Isn't it the World Cup Final all over again? Was this match pre decided even before it started?   Did  Malinga bowl like a schoolboy cricketer to save his IPL contract , thus loving money more than his country and team ?  

So many questions. No real answers. Doubts remain, in all the hearts and minds of the die hard Sri Lankan Cricket Fans.

It is true that the pitch was true right throughout the match. It is true that the weather didn't help our boys since as see on tv it was a very very cold night.  Yet, our boys are professionals and can beat everyone else.  WHY CAN'T WE BEAT INDIA ?   a question for which an answer will never be received.

We still got the match on Friday and after this debacle , the situation is such that we need to win this match to reach the finals. To our bad luck , it is going to rain in Melbourne  as this 5 day weather forecast suggests.  Let us hope that Duckworth/Lewis will be kind to us or else there will be a total washout.  The Aussies will come all guns blazing since they know they can beat India ; but do have problems in beating our lions.

Cricket is a sport where the spirit , loyalty and performance should not  always be shoved under the rug for the sake of money.  If it is the case, then it won't be too long that the most loved game by all Sri Lankans, get its last nail on its coffin .

Cheers !!