ESPNcricinfo marks the Sri Lanka players out of 10 following their series defeat against India
Andrew Fidel Fernando02-Sep-2015 9 Angelo Mathews (339 runs at 56.50, 4 wickets at 18.75)Another series, another exceptional individual performance – it’s getting to the point where it’s not enough to say Mathews is just Sri Lanka’s best cricketer; he’s among the most valuable in the world. Mathews is more of a consistent run scorer than a stock-piler of hundreds, but even so, he was the only batsman to make two triple-figure scores in the series.He led better than he did against Pakistan, partly because he was forced into aggression by Sri Lanka’s bad match situations. His bowling was decent once again, though that low average is helped by the fact that he has bowled almost exclusively with the new ball. If he could bowl his tight spells a little more often, Sri Lanka might benefit even more. The team is also on the hunt for a safe long-term keeper, and the board is still having issues with ICC payments, so please hurry up and attend to those as well, Angelo. 8 Dhammika Prasad (15 wickets at 23.60)In Prasad’s mind, he has probably led the seam attack for years. This home season though, other people have begun to believe it as well. He was intense through all three Tests, beating plenty of outside edges with the one that nips away, while crashing the other one into batsmen’s pads. His appeals and inner fire have added colour to an otherwise bland Sri Lanka outfit. His delivery to dismiss Cheteshwar Pujara at the SSC was probably the ball of the series.Incredibly for a Sri Lanka seamer, Prasad has also staved away injury to play 10 successive Tests. This alone qualifies him for a diplomatic post in the off-season. Maybe some place that is a little tricky for Sri Lanka – like Canada. Who could fail to be intimidated by those bulging eyeballs? 7 Rangana Herath (15 wickets at 31)That match-winning seven-wicket haul in the Galle Test was vintage Herath – brave, artful and emphatic. He contributed good spells at the P Sara and at the SSC. There doesn’t seem to be a part of his body that isn’t troubling him now, and it shows when he’s fielding. Maybe rolling around horizontally would be a quicker way for him to get from place to place. He hit a 49 at the SSC. Herath has re-established himself as one of the team’s most valuable players. Nuwan Pradeep (8 wickets at 27.50)At the end of the series, Mathews said Pradeep was Sri Lanka’s best bowler in seaming conditions. Figures of 4 for 62 in the second innings at SSC would suggest that to be true. Pradeep has some major flaws in his game. He goes missing in some innings. He drops some pretty simple catches. He is also so injury-prone that he should be immediately encased in bubble wrap and thrown into a cryogenic freezer the moment he steps off the field. But when he is in rhythm, he moves the ball both ways at good speed. His bowling average was 345 after his first three Tests. It’s dropped to below 50 now. For a Sri Lankan quick, this is a considerable victory. Dinesh Chandimal (288 runs at 57.60)Had some luck during his career-best, match-turning 162 not out, but the rest of that innings was sublime. Chandimal might never be a run-machine the way Mathews is, but he is the kind of player who provides these special knocks from time to time. He was also safe behind the wickets in his two Tests there, and more importantly, upheld the greatest of Sri Lankan wicket-keeping traditions: that of appealing himself hoarse when batsmen are clearly not out, then shooting incredulous looks at umpires who refuse to be duped. Kumar Sangakkara may have watched with joy, proud tears forming in his eyes.Angelo Mathews was left fighting a lone battle at the SSC•AFP 6 Kusal Perera (125 runs at 62.50)A swashbuckling debut with the bat, in which he became the second Sri Lanka player to hit two fifty-plus scores on debut. Kusal has been on the Test-match radar for a while, but his oscillating ODI form suggested there was work to be done on his technique yet. There seemed to be no major issues on a demanding SSC deck. His keeping, though, was unconvincing. He dropped Virat Kohli on day one of the third Test, then missed a reasonably straightforward stumping on day four. Apparently he bristles when he is likened to Sanath Jayasuriya now, so please let’s all pretend we’ve never seen that rasping cut or short-arm jab anywhere else before. Tharindu Kaushal (13 wickets at 38.15)He was wayward in his first innings at Galle, but bowled slightly tighter spells thereafter, as he continued his Test-match apprenticeship. Sri Lanka now know more about his strengths and weaknesses, and have begun to use him wisely, where before they loaded him with undue responsibility. He had modeled his wrist-spinning offspin largely on Muttiah Muralitharan, so it’s only fitting that, he will now have to undergo biomechanical tests to discern the legality of his action. 4 Lahiru Thirimanne (142 runs at 23.66)Thirimanne averaged less than 25 in the series, but is Sri Lanka’s third-highest run scorer. That helps reveal where the series was won and lost. He was uncomfortable against both seam and spin at times, and now finishes the home season with his place in the team in some doubt. It may be worth bumping Thirimanne up to No. 3, where his potential has been unlocked in other formats. Kumar Sangakkara (95 runs at 23.75)Hit an important 40 in the second innings in Galle where Sri Lanka sealed an unforgettable victory at his favourite venue. Otherwise, Sangakkara was more irrigation channel than great batsman in this series, forever redirecting offspin deliveries to slip. He avoided being dismissed by R Ashwin six times by retiring after two Tests. It was not exactly a fitting end to such a stellar career, but in years to come, this final fizzle will hardly be remembered. 3 Jehan Mubarak (71 runs at 17.75)Made a good 49 in partnership with Chandimal during the manic Galle recovery, but in six innings since his recall, Mubarak is yet to make a big score. Usually a superb fielder, Mubarak dropped a straightforward catch at gully, which proved expensive for Sri Lanka when KL Rahul went on to make triple figures. Kaushal Silva (87 runs at 14.50)A half-century at the P Sara Oval aside, Silva’s runs went missing in testing conditions, which he should theoretically be adept at negotiating. He was impressive at short leg in Galle, where he got his hands to almost anything that came his way. Dimuth Karunaratne (67 runs at 11.16)A truly poor series for a batsman who had shown substantial improvement in the two previous Test assignments, against New Zealand and Pakistan. Karunaratne used to at least slash his way to a decent 30 in his early Test appearances, but even the Sri Lankan superpower of edging balls through the cordon seemed to elude him in this series. His place, though, should not be in doubt. 2 Upul Tharanga (4 runs at 2)His only runs came via an edge through the cordon. He also gave three slip catches in two innings, and was dropped there once. He did have safe hands in the slips, however.The umpires The numerous bad decisions had the potential to change match outcomes, but even all that would have been forgiveable had match officials not taken the extraordinary step of quieting the bands that have been a feature of Sri Lankan cricket grounds for decades. There were no bands at the SSC for the first time in years. At the end of the series, the umpires may well have made more bad decisions than there were spectators at the ground.