GALLE: When Kusal Mendis inside edged a catch behind the wicket off the first ball he received and was given a reprieve by the head umpire who ruled that delivery a no-ball as the bowler Subash Roy had overstepped the crease he would have known that Lady Luck was certainly on his side.
Kusal Mendis celebrates his century on the first day of the first Test against Bangladesh at the Galle International Stadium yesterday. (Pix by Saman Mendis)

Following that awful first shot he played that nearly cost him his wicket Mendis from there onwards hardly put a foot wrong as he made his way towards his second Test century in 15 matches to put Sri Lanka in a much firmer footing than they were at one stage at the end of the first day of the first Test against Bangladesh played at the Galle International Stadium yesterday.

It was Mendis’ brilliant knock of 176 that paved the way for Sri Lanka’s 3-0 sweep of Australia in their last home series in July 2015, and it has taken him another seven months to notch up his second hundred at the highest level.

The way he is going he is certain to end up with another big score which could be the decisive factor in determining which way the series would go. Mendis was unbeaten on 166 at stumps having batted for 362 minutes and hit 18 fours and two sixes in his 242-ball innings with Niroshan Dickwella on 14.

At 149 Mendis passed 1000 Test runs – the 31st Sri Lankan player to do so and with Gunaratne, he shared a new fourth wicket partnership of 196 off 261 balls against Bangladesh erasing the previous highest of 150 by Kumar Sangakkara and Aravinda de Silva at the P Sara Oval in 2002.

Mendis of whom everyone expects big things was all class as he settled down to play some glorious pulls, drives and sweeps, mainly on the leg side where he collected 99 of his 166 runs.

Gunaratne continued his golden run with the bat and was unfortunate to be dismissed for 85 when he dragged a wide ball that could have been left alone onto his stumps. He had seven fours in his 134-ball knock of 85.

Mendis and Gunaratne raised the batting tempo during their partnership after Sri Lanka had scored only 61 runs in the first session of play so that by the day’s end the total had exceeded 300.

The final session of play produced 166 runs as the Lankan batsmen made capital out of the tired Bangladesh bowlers on a very hot day that saw the support staff bring out a giant umbrella to provide shade to the players during the drinks breaks.

The two batsmen Sri Lanka were banking on to score heavily Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal both failed. Karunaratne coming to this Test on the back of a double century scored against England Lions in the unofficial test at Dambulla made 30 before chopping the ball onto his stumps.

Chandimal having scored an unbeaten 190 against this bowling attack for Sri Lanka President’s XI in the two-day warm-up match was strangely subdued scratching around 54 balls for five before dot balls brought about his downfall got the better of him and his expansive drive ended up in gully’s hands.

Upul Tharanga never looked a Test opener with his poor technique and it was no surprise when he was beaten all ends up by a delivery from Subash Roy that ripped through his defence and shattered his stumps in the sixth over of the day.

Sri Lanka strengthened their bowling attack for this Test going in with five specialist bowlers that included three spinners for the expense of a batsman Dhananjaya de Silva. Bangladesh also opted for five specialist bowlers but included three seamers instead.

Mathews also bagged two other awards in a glittering ceremony graced by Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera and Pakistan cricket legend Wasim Akram who was the chief guest – the All-rounder of the Year for both Test and One-Day Internationals.

The awards which featured the performances of Sri Lanka’s cricketers for 2015 saw Dilshan and fast bowler Lasith Malinga bag two awards apiece.

Dilshan also won the T20 Batsman of the Year while Malinga picked up the Bowler of the Year award for both categories ODI and T20.

Wasim who played in 19 Tests and 59 ODIs against Sri Lanka between 1985 and 2002 recalled many memories of the matches between the two countries since his first visit to the country with Imran Khan’s Pakistan side in 1985.

“We had many major battles on and off the field, but lots of them off the field. Sri Lanka is a memorable place for me. It’s a ‘Heaven on Earth’ and we call it the Pearl Island,” said Wasim.

“What I like about the country is the positive energy that generates from the people. Everyone in Sri Lanka is happy and with a smile on their face. When I walk on the road I feel safe and it’s like my second home. People smile and say hello and some want to take selfies,” he said.

Wasim said his love for the country has made him an unofficial ambassador of Sri Lanka and wherever he went he always told people that Sri Lanka was one country they should not miss visiting.

Speaking of the country’s cricket Wasim said, “Sri Lanka played cricket in the real spirit. They are quite calm but deadly.”

Wasim praised the school system in Sri Lanka and said that it was “an unmatchable school cricket structure” that has helped the country produce so many great cricketers like Aravinda de Silva, Arjuna Ranatunga, Chaminda Vaas, Sanath Jayasuriya and Muthiah Muralitharan.

Wasim thanked Sri Lanka Cricket president Thilanga Sumathipala for inviting him to the awards presentation and said, “I am always available for Sri Lanka Cricket in any capacity. Pakistan and Sri Lanka are brotherly countries and one should help each other.”

Sanath Jayasuriya couldn’t do it. Aravinda De Silva and Mahela Jayawardene couldn’t do it. Even the great Kumar Sangakkara couldn’t do it.

But Dinesh Chandimal might.

The 26-year-old Sri Lankan, his team’s highest-scorer in their three-wicket loss to Australia in Colombo on Sunday, is just one half-century away from becoming the first man from the island nation – and just the seventh in history – to score 50 or more in six consecutive One-Day International innings.

Report & Highlights: Australia grab 1-0 series lead

The right-hander’s unbeaten 80 at the Premadasa Stadium on Sunday, which came on the back of his seventh Test century last week, was his fifth in consecutive ODIs stretching back to his innings of 52 in the second match against England at Edgbaston in June.
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Chandimal goes big as Australia rue dropped catch

Having finished the series in the UK with scores of 62, 63 and 53, Chandimal’s performance against the Australians on Sunday put him alongside Jayasuriya, Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan as the only Sri Lankans to pass 50 in five consecutive ODI innings.

Surprisingly, none of Chandimal’s five half-centuries have come in victories, with Sri Lanka losing four matches (three against England, one against Australia) while the third ODI in Bristol was washed out early in England’s run chase.

As impressive as his feat is, it’s far from unprecedented. Chandimal is the 25th man in history to do so and the second this year after England’s Alex Hales notched scores of 57, 99, 65, 50 and 112 against South Africa earlier this year.
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Australia hit back with opening ODI win

But a half-century in Chandimal’s next match will elevate him into a very elite group.

Only five men have scored 50 or more in six consecutive ODI innings; West Indies opener Gordon Greenidge (in 1979-80), New Zealand’s Andrew Jones (1988-89), Australia’s Mark Waugh (1999), Pakistan’s Mohammad Yousuf (2003 when he was known as Yousuf Youhana) and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson (2015).

Both Yousuf and Williamson fell just short of making it seven consecutive scores of 50 or more; the Pakistani scored 49 in the innings before his run of six began, while Williamson’s streak of six was bookended by scores of 45 and 47.
Javed Miandad during his streak of nin e consecutive fifties in 1987 // Getty
Javed Miandad during his streak of nine consecutive fifties in 1987 // Getty

The exclusive group of five, which Chandimal could join with a fifty in his next match, trails the all-time record of Pakistan legend Javed Miandad, who posted an incredible nine consecutive 50+ scores between March and October 1987.

While history beckons for Chandimal, he may have to wait before he gets his chance to break the Sri Lankan record due to a rib injury that has him in doubt for the second ODI against Australia on Wednesday.

The right-hander was struck in the ribs in the 42nd over of Sri Lanka’s innings on Sunday when an off-cutter Moises Henriques leapt off the dry surface and hit him in the chest, resulting in a delay of several minutes while he was assessed by the team’s medical staff.

While Chandimal was able to finish his innings, the injury prevented him from wicketkeeping in the run chase and skipper Angelo Mathews confirmed after the match his vice-captain is no guarantee to play on Wednesday.

“We’ll see how Chandi goes in the next couple of days and we’ll make a decision on that,” Mathews said.
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Pitch was hard work for batters: Mathews

Fifties in consecutive ODI innings

9 – Javed Miandad (Pakistan, 1987)
(78, 78*, 74*, 60, 52*, 113, 71*, 68, 103)

6 – Gordon Greenidge (West Indies, 1979-80)
(85*, 50, 80, 98*, 103, 78)

6 – Andrew Jones (New Zealand, 1988-89)
(57, 55*, 62*, 67, 82, 63*)

6 – Mark Waugh (Australia, 1999)
(63, 83*, 85, 65, 57, 65)

6 – Yousuf Youhana (Pakistan, 2003)
(106, 65, 94*, 52, 68, 65)

6 – Kane Williamson (New Zealand, 2015)
(93, 118, 90, 50, 97, 90)

Former cricketers Romesh Kaluwitharana and Ranjith Madurasinghe are retained in the new committee from the previous one headed by Aravinda de Silva.

Jayasuriya and Eric Upashantha, a former Sri Lanka fast bowler replace Kumar Sangakkara and De Silva from the previous committee that was appointed for a period of 40 days ending April 30 to oversee the selection of the squad to the ICC World T20 where Sri Lanka fared poorly failing to defend the title they won in 2014.

The selection committee: Sanath Jayasuriya (chairman), Romesh Kaluwitharana, Ranjith Madurasinghe and Eric Upashantha.

The Future Legends Cricket Academy (FLCA) will begin operating across four locations in Dubai from next month with plans of expansion across the UAE.

Dashing Pakistan cricketer turned commentator Rameez Raja is supporting Aravinda’s dream project.

“We both have experienced the thrill of winning a World Cup and the glory, it brings. FLCA is our way of giving back to the game, which has given us so much, and made us who we are today. This academy and its curriculum is a result of extensive research carried out by us during the past year, identifying the gaps in the coaching programmes and the way forward for producing cricketing professionals in UAE,” said former Sri Lanka captain Aravinda de Silva.

“Talent is what the youngsters possess and we hope to build on their natural talent and provide them with the necessary and correct technical skills so that they can achieve greatness in cricket,” said Rameez.

FLCA appears to be an extension of a talent search project Aravinda started in Sri Lanka seven years ago.

“I stepped into this project to create champions and to create champions is not an easy task as it is not the talent or enthusiasm alone that makes champions. A lot of work goes behind the scene in the making of a champion,” said Aravinda at a press conference to launch FLCA in Dubai on Sunday.

Looking back at his career, Aravinda, 50,said,“I started at the age of seven and after schooI I used to stay and watch our seniors practice and every time the ball came beyond the boundary line, I would run, pick the ball and throw it to the field. My dream was to represent my country. I used to listen to 1975 World Cup commentary on a pocket radio as we did not have television at that time.My hero was Viv Richards and every time he played a shot, I would take a golf ball and a ruler and repeat the same stroke.”

Aravinda felt he had an advantage because he came under the wing of former national players from the age of eight.

“As soon as I entered competitive school cricket at under 11, I was only nine years old.Then the advantage I had was the coaches we had at that level were the national coaches who had represented the country. Therefore, at eight years I learnt exactly what it was needed at the highest level,” said Aravinda who emulated his childhood hero Richards by scoring a century in the 1996 World Cup final against Australia.

He believes talent alone is not enough to progress without proper coaching.

“When many said that I was more talented than others, I never believed it and neither will I believe it now. It was the coaching and the hard work, which took me to where I reached in cricket. So I want to give that experience to youngsters,” pledged Aravinda, one of the greatest ever Test batsmen Sri Lanka has produced.

His intention to create something for the younger generation and give something back to the game back in Sri Lanka began seven years ago.

“I started a talent search project called Aravinda de Silva Cricket Foundation in Sri Lanka.Then we called it Aravinda de SilvaCricket Pathway. When we carried on doing that for about three years,Coca Cola came along and renamed itCoca Cola Pathway,” said Aravinda who was buoyed by its success to go global and chose Dubai for it.

“I realised that Dubai was one place where we could start it fromand it was far more easier to do it in a place like Dubai than any other location though cricket is very popular in Sri Lanka,India or Pakistan,” he said roping in 1992 Pakistan World Cup winner Rameez for his dream project.

“Together we have a vision.We have won two World Cups but we have never consistently won World Cups. The reason being there are so many administrative issues.Also planning and having structured programmeslike in Australia. That is what we want to do. Not to be a run of the mill academy. We want to take it to the GCCwhere we feel there is a huge interest,” said Aravinda.

Rameez was circumspect about coaching but was excited to be part of this project.

“I have always believed that coaching kills the natural instinctivenessin your system. I’m not in favour of creating robots. I’m in favour of creating something like Muttiah Muralitharan or Saeed Ajmal or how some of the batsmen are playing these days in T20,” said the former Pakistan opener.

“We are on firm footing here because Aravinda and I feel that while coaching is extremely important it has to be given a new flavour where the natural instinctiveness doesn’t get killed. Because we are dealing with young cricketers here, it is important that we keep it simple which we intend to do,” said Rameez.

“To get the best out of these youngsters I would want a seven-year-old batting right and left hand or bowling right and left hand. That is where we want the academy to goand also to involve some of the legends of the game so that interaction becomes that much more meaningful,” said Raja who hailed the success of the school cricket system in Sri Lanka as a shining example.

“Sri Lankan school system is extremely strong. Aravindaand Arjuna (Ranatunga), most of these guys would come from a very strong school cricket structure and be so technically good and we got amazed at how good they were at a young age. Later on we found it was because of strong coaching structurewhich was delivered at the school level that made them such good players,” he said.

Former Sri Lanka Under 19 coach Naveed Nawazis the head coach of the academy.

“So we are in safe hands.This will have a different flavour to the coaching system. We will make sure it is not boring. We want to attract locals in the UAE but we want to take this concept back to Sri Lanka, Pakistan and India so that all these expat young kids when they go back home they have future in this game. It’s not going to be just a one-off situation. We will maintain continuity.

I’m extremely excited to be part of this unit and I think you’ll see a difference. We are here to make a difference,” he declared.