Life after Murali: Sri Lanka struggling

It has been 18 months and 13 Test matches since legendary Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralidaran retired from Test cricket. And it has been exactly that much time since Sri Lanka won a Test match. It was expected that Sri Lanka would struggle after the departure of their chief match winner, but to imagine that they would be unable to win a single match without him is extraordinary. After all, how much can a team depend on one player? For your reference, Sri Lanka last won a Test back in July 2010 - the first match of the three-Test series against India and the match in which Murali retired after having taken his 800th wicket trapping last man Pragyan Ojha LBW.

Since then, Sri Lanka have played four Test series - two at home and two abroad - losing three and drawing one against the lower ranked West Indies. In November-December 2010, West Indies came to Sri Lanka for a three-Test series which were all drawn. Next, Sri Lanka travelled to England in June-July this year to play a three-Test series. This was probably the most disappointing of all as they lost the first Test by an innings, getting bowled out in just one session for a mere 82 runs. They managed to draw the next two matches but couldn’t save the series. In August-September, they hosted Australia for a three-Test series when they lost the first match and saved the next two again. And now in the ongoing series against Pakistan in the UAE, they are trailing 1-nil after losing the second Test due to a poor display of cricket.

Sri Lanka has a number of spin options in their armoury but none of them have been able to match up to the great Murali so far. Rangana Herath, Ajantha Mendis, and more recently Suraj Randiv, have all done reasonably well in Test cricket but haven’t been able to pick up wickets at regular intervals. Herath, who was slated to fill in the big boots of Murali while playing alongside, has not been the same bowler since the retirement of his senior partner. It seems that he has been unable to assume the role of the main spinner in the team and is finding it difficult to lead the pack. Mendis, who seemed inscrutable and unplayable at the beginning, isn’t much of a threat now that batsmen have gotten used to him. Randiv is relatively new at the highest level and is still to get his feet in. Sri Lanka’s newest spin revelation, Seekkuge Prasanna, made his debut against Australia in the recently concluded home series but failed to pick up even a single wicket, following which he was dropped. Let us have a look at the figures of the above-mentioned spinners in Test cricket:


As the above table clearly points out, none of Sri Lanka’s other spinners have managed to impress with their numbers. What the Sri Lankan team needs desperately right now is a spinner who can come in and get quick breakthroughs, who can break partnerships that look threatening, who can help clean up the tail. In other words, a spinner who can take wickets at regular intervals. The key to winning a Test match is the ability of any team to pick 20 wickets and Sri Lanka has to do just that, and as soon as possible.