Beating Pakistan in UAE - A great turnaround by Sri Lanka

[Buffet]

A few weeks ago:

- Worst loss by any side at home in recent history in all formats.
- Runs were not even counted against SL.


Now:

Not only a rare victory while playing away, but whitewashing Pakistan in UAE.

All this while Sangha, Jaya etc were not playing. Even Mathews was not there. Well, he was surely not missed for him captaincy, but he could make the batting better. One bowler, who is around 40 years old and on his last leg.

What a turnaround! Credit is due. Too many posters are focusing on how poor Pakistan played, but credit should be given to SL.

 

[Ab Fan]

Well played, Sri Lanka.

Great comeback since their poor show vs India, Ban and even Zim.

 

[sachin100]

absolutely terrific turn around from sl.pak team selection and their batsmans horribly timid approach made it easy for sl

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Great performance. This is only their sixth away series win I think.

 

[sachin100]

srilanka is bogey team for pak. they have won maximum number of tests against pakistan .

sl in total has won 16 matches against pak the most sl won against any team

 

[jnaveen1980]

Karunaratne what a dogged effort by him

 

[Hasan123]

They have talent. People went OTT in there critiscm of them when they were whitewashed by India.

 

[dravidthewall]

Really great win for srilanka.This team badly needed this.And more important is they shown runs against them counts.

 

[Cric1234]

Mixture shows how bad Pakistan have been and the strategy of selecting one spinner plus 4 newish batsmen and one inconsistent mainstay in Shafiq didn't work.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

They got blanked by India at their home. Won this series against Pakistan and now again are going to play against India away. They haven't won even a single test in India. Let's see how they play against India first.

 

[Buffet]

They got blanked by India at their home. Won this series against Pakistan and now again are going to play against India away. They haven't won even a single test in India. Let's see how they play against India first.

I don't expect any team to win in India right now . Also, SL has not done anything in India even with Sanga and Murali. Judging current SL team based on how they do in India is not fair.

 

[abhayjj]

I don't expect any team to win in India right now . Also, SL has not done anything in India even with Sanga and Murali. Judging current SL team based on how they do in India is not fair.

I really expect them to do better this time. They are looking a different team than the one we played earlier.

 

[sachin100]

India should not take sl lightly anytime

 

[hadi123]

As a Pakistan fan, I have to say fair play to Sri Lanka. Pakistan were bad at points but Sri Lanka played the better cricket than us. Sri Lanka lost a home test to Bangladesh this year and were blanked 0-3 at home against India.

One thing to note though, is that Sri Lanka lost all 3 tosses against India and had to field first whereas Sri Lanka won both tosses against Pakistan and batted first. I'm not using that as an excuse, but it just shows what a difference the toss makes in Asia. I would expect Sri Lanka to push India more later this year if SL can win the toss and bat first.

 

[abhayjj]

As a Pakistan fan, I have to say fair play to Sri Lanka. Pakistan were bad at points but Sri Lanka played the better cricket than us. Sri Lanka lost a home test to Bangladesh this year and were blanked 0-3 at home against India.

One thing to note though, is that Sri Lanka lost all 3 tosses against India and had to field first whereas Sri Lanka won both tosses against Pakistan and batted first. I'm not using that as an excuse, but it just shows what a difference the toss makes in Asia. I would expect Sri Lanka to push India more later this year if SL can win the toss and bat first.

you are contradicting yourself

 

[hadi123]

you are contradicting yourself

Am I? We lost the toss, but good test teams should be able to adapt to external factors such as which end a two sided coin lands on. I'm simply showing that the toss, along with the fact India are a solid team (pains me to say this) may have made people underestimate Sri Lanka, as many posters mentioned how SL were coming off a 0-3 whitewash.

 

[abhayjj]

Am I? We lost the toss, but good test teams should be able to adapt to external factors such as which end a two sided coin lands on. I'm simply showing that the toss, along with the fact India are a solid team (pains me to say this) may have made people underestimate Sri Lanka, as many posters mentioned how SL were coming off a 0-3 whitewash.

Yes you are. On the one hand your are saying it's not an excuse and then on the another you are using it to make your argument. This is the contradiction am talking about.

 

[hadi123]

Yes you are. On the one hand your are saying it's not an excuse and then on the another you are using it to make your argument. This is the contradiction am talking about.

An excuse is something that tries to lessen the blame. I am not saying that losing the toss means it is more acceptable. We still should have beaten Sri Lanka but they played better than us. Likewise, even though Sri Lanka lost the toss against India, doesn't mask the fact they played rubbish; many catches were dropped and their bowling looked flat.

 

[Buffet]

Yes you are. On the one hand your are saying it's not an excuse and then on the another you are using it to make your argument. This is the contradiction am talking about.

Nah, I think logic is simple. India is a much better team than SL and then if you lose all toss then result may look too one sided. Due to SL losing all 3 tests easily, we were under the impression that SL was too bad to win in UAE.

SL may have still lost all matches, but margin of loss may have been less if SL had won both tosses. In that situation, PPers wouldn't have written off SL before this UAE series started.

 

[Saj]

Better gameplan. Better tactics. Mentally tougher and knew exactly what the weaknesses of the Pakistan team were.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Congrats but it was mostly Pakistan self-destructing than SL outplaying them. They caught them at the right time.

 

[Chrish]

India clearly the best team in SC. Pak and SL tied at rung below followed by BD below by another half-rung.

 

[abhayjj]

An excuse is something that tries to lessen the blame. I am not saying that losing the toss means it is more acceptable. We still should have beaten Sri Lanka but they played better than us. Likewise, even though Sri Lanka lost the toss against India, doesn't mask the fact they played rubbish; many catches were dropped and their bowling looked flat.

Nah, I think logic is simple. India is a much better team than SL and then if you lose all toss then result may look too one sided. Due to SL losing all 3 tests easily, we were under the impression that SL was too bad to win in UAE.

SL may have still lost all matches, but margin of loss may have been less if SL had won both tosses. In that situation, PPers wouldn't have written off SL before this UAE series started.

I know the toss is important, not olly in tests but ODI's and T20's as well but this can't be an excuse for a good team. Do you remember england's tour of India this year. They are considered a good team especially in tests.

they won the toss against us in 4 out of 5 times and even put a very respectable score as well but we all know the result. I mean this kinda excuse makes others accomplishment small and gives you a route to escape.

 

[abhayjj]

 

[Buffet]

I know the toss is important, not olly in tests but ODI's and T20's as well but this can't be an excuse for a good team. Do you remember england's tour of India this year. They are considered a good team especially in tests.

they won the toss against us in 4 out of 5 times and even put a very respectable score as well but we all know the result. I mean this kinda excuse makes others accomplishment small and gives you a route to escape.

You are missing the point here. No one is claiming that India is not a league above in Asian conditions. India will win and has won despite losing toss. It's just that losing toss can make you look a lot worse if you are playing against India in Asian conditions. SL was made to look pathetic and sure toss was not the only reason, but it was one of the reason. Ignoring toss, India would have still won and no one is debating that.

 

[abhayjj]

You are missing the point here. No one is claiming that India is not a league above in Asian conditions. India will win and has won despite losing toss. It's just that losing toss can make you look a lot worse if you are playing against India in Asian conditions. SL was made to look pathetic and sure toss was not the only reason, but it was one of the reason. Ignoring toss, India would have still won and no one is debating that.

I understand what you are saying but the problem is despite how good we play, people here will always come up with excuses to undermine our accomplishment. For ex. despite of how good
virat kohli plays, you will see excuses like "He can only score in India" but when he scores overseas, there will be another excuse "The pitches were flat", "He didn't score against the bowlers we had to face". "He didn't score against England". "Do runs against Sri Lanka even matters?" blah blah

Why don't for once people appreciate others performance at its face value? Is it that hard?

 

[Buffet]

I understand what you are saying but the problem is despite how good we play, people here will always come up with excuses to undermine our accomplishment. For ex. despite of how good
virat kohli plays, you will see excuses like "He can only score in India" but when he scores overseas, there will be another excuse "The pitches were flat", "He didn't score against the bowlers we had to face". "He didn't score against England". "Do runs against Sri Lanka even matters?" blah blah

Why don't for once people appreciate others performance at its face value? Is it that hard?

Many PPers do appreciate good performance and you will always have posters who will open threads like runs against SL doesn't count. You simply laugh and move on, but don't generalize posts by usual suspects as view of this forum. PP is pretty diverse and you will find many views here.

 

[abhayjj]

Many PPers do appreciate good performance and you will always have posters who will open threads like runs against SL doesn't count. You simply laugh and move on, but don't generalize posts by usual suspects as view of this forum. PP is pretty diverse and you will find many views here.

ya I think you are right but those people are here in minority.
but I can say for sure that you are among those.

 

[JattMaula]

Many PPers do appreciate good performance and you will always have posters who will open threads like runs against SL doesn't count. You simply laugh and move on, but don't generalize posts by usual suspects as view of this forum. PP is pretty diverse and you will find many views here.

Well said.