SL vs AUS – 1. Test – Sri Lanka’s spinners find no response to Australia’s proactive gameplan

On By Littum

It shouldn’t be that way. None of that was. You come, you can see you bend under. It’s the visitor-team script, especially from late. And especially in Galle.

What you do not expect is for them to rack 654 races in the first place – the highest total by a side that first battled in Galle, eclipes Sri Lanka’s record just five months ago – has three players score centuries (including a double and double One debut ton) and then has the hosts’ best bowler (who even has the nickname “Galle-Dozer”) Cheers the most overs he ever had to in a lap, all with keeping the hosts out in the field for 154 dishonest overs .

As far as guests are concerned, Australia was positively terrible, but with regard to a visitor force on unknown territory, they were almost immaculate.

The smile on Steven Smith’s face said it all as he went away after winning the thrown and chosen for bat – and in Galle you have to win the thrown and bats. But still, there is no guarantee of victory. Australia itself can certify the fact, after doing exactly as expected, the last time they played there only to end up losing a lap and 39 races.

But not even in their wildest dreams could they have predicted the level of dominance they would exercise during the first two days this time. Of course, if Sri Lanka has taken a few early reviews against Travis Head or Usman Khawaja on the first day, things might have been different. Maybe if Prabath Jayasuriya had held on to a return of Smith, Australia’s total may not have reached these Gargantuan proportions.

But in reality, smoking about these moments would make a serious bear service to the planning and execution required to make such a complete achievement. Dough, after the Australian dough stepped out, loaded, slid deep into the crisis and swept, all in service to put Sri Lanka’s spinners from their rhythms.

The ultimate ignominy was the sight of Jayasuriya Bowling Wide outside Smith’s Benstubbe the first night, simply hoping to slow the scoring while Sri Lanka was waiting for the other new ball. The same Jayasuriya, who had collected 106 wickets over 17 laps on Earth before this series – it’s a wicket about every 48 deliveries. The same Jayasuriya who had settled this same resistance on debut not three years before.

But maybe he shouldn’t feel so bad. The fact is that this Australia is not so Australia. In fact, as this tour there is no side with a better average game spin than this Australia.

“We have to give the credit to the Australian fighters,” Jeffrey Vanderersay offered after today’s game on Thursday. “The way they handled all three spinners was excellent. They didn’t let any of us settle down. They came out well and played well on both sides of the wicket.”

Vanderersay had been among the more threatening Lankan spinners, mainly because of his leg spin naturally and created more turns. But while Australia arrived with plans after plans, Sri Lanka stift held on to those who did not work. It was clear on day one that every trip offered could be slow, but at no time did the Lankan spinners make a concerted attempt to vary their pace.

Some of this could be attributed to a lack of initiative from the hosts, but perhaps even more down to the Australians who simply bully them away from it.

“We tried (to bowl faster),” Vanderersay explained. “But as I said earlier, the way they fought, they played back foot, they came in front of, they swept on each side of the wicket. Credit goes to them.”

It was a statement that was penetrated by a sense of inevitability; We tried but they were better. You often hear it in sports. Just earlier this month, Alexander Zverev repeated similar feelings about Janik Sinner after the latter Australian Open Triumph. But you do not expect to hear it about a visitor team in Galle.

Sure there have been poor results for Sri Lanka in Galle before, especially against India in 2017, but it was a pretty big India side and a rather poor Sri Lankan. This game – and yes, maybe it’s only two days old – is a reality check.

It’s a tough lesson for Lankans and someone you might claim that they should have already learned. New Zealand had given a warning shot of kinds during their two-test series a few months before, with the 2-0 margin nicely hidden the periods when New Zealand’s fighters had handled the Lankan spinners without so much fuss.

Such periods in testing tend to end up as footnotes, but had Sri Lanka been more aware that they would have realized that better teams will simply perform such plans better.

And then it happened when Australia lowered with a scoring rate of 4.24 – a matched by a visitor side on only four other occasions – while Sri Lanka’s spin settings each hit (unwanted) milestones of their own go in 189, 193 and and and and and and and and and and and and and and 182 runs, all on a surface tailored to them.

Of course, that’s not how things should be, but unless Sri Lanka adapts, they may be more often than not.