Despite the win at The Oval, Sri Lanka returned from the English shores with a 1-2 defeat. Here are the marks out of 10 for the touring cricketers.
Dhananjaya de Silva: 7
M: 3 | 204 runs @ 40.80, 3 fifties, HS: 74 | 2 wickets @ 16.00, BBI: 2-18
The Sri Lankan captain hit a fifty in each of the three Test matches. The 74 at Old Trafford, a dazzling display of strokes with the back against the wall; the 50 at Lord’s, a valiant fourth-innings effort; and 69 at The Oval a patient essay that lifted his side out of trouble. Gets a bonus point for the double strike with the ball at The Oval.
Pathum Nissanka: 9
M: 2 | 217 runs @ 72.33, 1 hundred, 1 fifty, HS: 127*
Before the unbeaten 127 – only the second fourth-innings hundred by a Sri Lankan in a Test win away from home – there was the 64 in the first innings on a burning deck, a swashbuckling 51-ball effort that featured nine fours. Why did he not start the series?
Kamindu Mendis: 9
M: 3 | 267 runs @ 53.40, 1 hundred, 2 fifties, HS: 113
Kamindu’s golden form spilled over to the England series. he started with a hundred at Old Trafford, then hit 74 out of 196 at Lord’s, and 64 after walking out at 93-5 at The Oval. His batting average of 77.22 after six Tests makes one wonder why he does not bat further up the order.
Dinesh Chandimal: 5
M: 3 | 177 runs @ 35.40, 2 fifties, HS: 79 | C: 8
Apart from doing a decent job with the big gloves in two of the three Tests, Chandimal made vital fifties in both Old Trafford and Lord’s.
Angelo Mathews: 4
M: 3 | 158 runs @ 31.60, 1 fifty, HS: 65
Mathews came in at 1-2 in the second innings at Old Trafford and made 65. But down the years, he will probably be remembered more for being out there at The Oval when the winning runs were hit.
Milan Rathnayake: 7
M: 3 | 151 runs @ 30.20, 1 fifty, HS: 72 | 10 wickets @ 32.10, BBI: 3-56
Rathnayake started his Test career with a world record score for a debutant at No.9. Throughout the series he went for runs but provided breakthroughs, and finished with near-equal batting and bowling averages – usually the hallmark of a reasonable all-round performance.
Kusal Mendis: 3
M: 2 | 77 runs @ 19.25, HS: 39
A forgettable series for Kusal, though his 37-ball 39 in the chase at The Oval ensured Sri Lanka did not lose impetus after the early wicket.
Dimuth Karunaratne: 2
M: 3 | 108 runs @ 18.00, 1 fifty, HS: 55
More than half of Karunaratne’s series came when they were bowled out for 292 in pursuit of 483 at Lord’s. It did not affect the outcome of the series, but at The Oval, he became only the fourth Sri Lankan to reach 7,000 Test runs.
Nishan Madushka: 1
M: 2 | 24 runs @ 6.00, HS: 13 | C: 5
Two failures – one as an outfielder, one as the wicketkeeper – summed up Madushka’s series.
Asitha Fernando: 8
M: 3 | 17 wickets @ 24.64, 1 5WI, BBI: 5-102
The pick of the Sri Lankan bowlers, Asitha finished with 17 wickets, six more than any other Sri Lankan fast bowler in a series in England. He rocked England early at Old Trafford, took their only five-wicket haul of the series at Lord’s, and after being hit in the first innings, struck twice in the third innings at The Oval.
Lahiru Kumara: 7
M: 2 | 11 wickets @ 24.72, BBI: 4-21
In the third innings at The Oval, Kumara picked up 4-21 to provide much-needed blows to set up Sri Lanka’s first Test match win in England in a decade. In the process, he equalled Shaminda Eranga’s 11 wickets in 2014, which would have been the national record in England but for Asitha’s performance.
Prabath Jayasuriya: 4
M: 2 | 8 wickets @ 48.00, BBI: 3-85
Not at his usual self in conditions that offered him little assistance, Jayasuriya was dropped for the third Test. His career record stands at 79 wickets in 14 Tests, but outside Asia, it reads 12 in four matches.
Vishwa Fernando: 6
M: 2 | 7 wickets @ 29.28, BBI: 3-40
Along with Kumara, Vishwa was responsible for England’s third-innings collapse at The Oval. His double strike wrecked the hosts’ middle order before he returned to dismiss the dangerous-looking Jamie Smith.
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