Sri Lanka v Bangladesh, Test Series 2017 - Sri Lanka Player Ratings

The Sri Lanka v Bangladesh Test series was expected to be a one-sided affair with the hosts being tipped as the favourites. However, the result sheet of 1-1 was a perfect finish to an exciting contest between the two Asian sides. The first Test at Galle was all about Kusal Mendis’ spectacular 194. He showed some excellent batting skills and was well supported by the middle order. Tons came in from Upul Tharanga and Dinesh Chandimal as well in the next two innings that followed in the series.

In the first game, Sri Lankan skipper Rangana Herath showed what an old fox is capable of doing. His 6/59 ensured that the hosts had an easy 1-0 lead in the series. The action moved to Colombo for the historic game. The historic significance was that it was the 100th Test match for Bangladesh ever since they were inducted in Test nations in 2000.

The Bangladeshis had a fitting 4 wicket win to mark the special occasion. A ton from veteran batsman Shakib Al Hasan put them in commanding position in the first innings. Later in the final innings, it was a steady start from Tamim Iqbal that set the stage for their win. Sri Lanka failed to capitalize on crunch situations to lose the game. Here are the Sri Lanka player ratings for the series:

Dimuth Karunaratne – 6/10

Dimuth Karunaratne progressed in his performances as the series advanced. He had a quiet outing in the first Test but got into sublime touch in the second. He finished as Sri Lanka’s third leading run-getter in the series with 195 runs to his name in 4 innings at an average just under 49.

His top score of 126 (244) came in the second innings of the second Test when most of the other Lankan batsmen had failed. Earlier in the Test, he had scored 7 in the first innings. He gets a decent rating of 6 for his gutsy ton at Colombo that gave Sri Lanka something to defend on the board.

Upul Tharanga  – 5/10

One of the seniormost players in the side, Upul Tharanga should have shouldered more responsibility in the series. The southpaw did an excellent job scoring a belligerent 115 off 171 balls in the Galle Test. Barring that, he failed to put up a resistance in the series and that reflects in the numbers that he has against his name.

He had scored 4 in the first innings of the same Test. In the second Test, he had two quiet outings as he could only must 37 runs across the two innings. Tharanga aggregated 156 runs at an average of 39 in the series.

Kusal Mendis – 7/10

Kusal Mendis was the man who set the tone for Sri Lanka’s massive win in the first Test. He made Bangladesh bowling look meek throughout the first innings. He was set for a Test double but fell short by 6 runs. His knock of 194 came off 285 deliveries with 19 fours and 4 sixes.

He failed to put up a repeat show of the performance in the innings that followed. His next three innings saw him score a cumulative of just 60 runs. However, his knock of 194 was enough to see him finish as the leading run getter of the series with 254 runs to his name at an average of 63.50.

Dinesh Chandimal – 7/10

At 35/3 in the first innings at Colombo, Sri Lanka were in dire straits. Another wicket fell down and things looked grim for the hosts. It was a certain Dinesh Chandimal who then rescued them from the trench. Chandimal’s resistant 138 off 300 deliveries saw the hosts post a decent 338 runs on the board.

Chandimal had a quiet outing in the second innings though. He failed to settle in and perished with a single digit score. Earlier in the series, he had hit an unbeaten fifty at Galle in the second innings. He finished with 198 runs in the series with an average of 49 to his name.

Asela Gunaratne – 5/10

Asela Gunaratne came in with a big reputation in the series. One can accredit that fact to his recent IPL signing as well. He started off on a good note with a gritty 85 in the first innings of the first Test. A total low followed in the second innings when he was dismissed for nought.

In the second Test, two low scores beckoned for the dynamic batsman. With scores of 13 and 7 in the two innings, he definitely did not do any good to the side. He should have showed more resilience when the team needed his services in the Galle Test.

Dhananjaya de Silva – 4/10

Dhananjaya de Silva was drafted in the playing eleven for the second Test. He came in at the expense of specialist bowler Lahiru Kumara. However, the move seemed to have backfired for the host as the young talented batsman failed to deliver the goods in the Test. De Silva came in at number 6 spot to bat in the first innings.

Sri Lanka were rocked hard early by 4 wickets and Dinesh Chandimal needed some support from the other end as held the fort of Lanka’s chances. De Silva provided the much needed support with a 54-ball 34 before being cleaned up by Taijul Islam. He added 66 runs with Chandimal for the 5th wicket. In the second innings, all that he could manage was a duck.

Niroshan Dickwella – 5.5/10

Niroshan Dickwella had a similar start to that of Asela Gunaratne. He started off with a brilliant 75 in batting friendly conditions at Galle. However, the form dwindled as the series progressed. He could only manage 15 in the second innings of the fixture which Sri Lanka won.

He showed some resistance in the second Test and rather took the initiative of counter attacking the Bangladesh side on day one. He scored a brisk 34 off 37 balls before getting dismissed.

Dilruwan Perera – 8/10

Dilruwan Perera emerged as a decent all-rounder for Sri Lanka in the series. The spinner went wicketless in the first innings of the second Test despite bowling 33 overs. He came back strong in the second innings with 3/59 to his name.

Earlier in the game he had scored a patient 50 off 174 balls too to help Sri Lanka set a decent target for the opposition. In the first Test, he scored 51 in the first innings and backed it up with 3/53 in the Bangladeshi first innings. He then scored a quick 33 off 27 balls in the second innings and managed to scalp 2 wickets as well.

Rangana Herath – 7/10

It was skipper Rangana Herath who had spun the web of spin across the opposition to help the hosts win the first Test. Herath bagged 6/59 in the second innings at Galle to see Bangladesh bowled out for 197. Earlier in the game, he had picked 3/72 in the first innings.

The wise old man was at his best yet again at Colombo as he had bagged another four-fer. However, he could not repeat his heroics in the second innings and Sri Lanka had to face an embarrassing 4 wicket defeat.

Suranga Lakmal – 4/10

Suranga Lakmal walked into the series as Sri Lanka’s spearhead. He failed to pick wickets with the new cherry and that is something that did hurt the hosts. Lakmal bowled 14 overs in the first innings at Galle to pick the solitary wicket of Soumya Sarkar. He went wicketless in the second innings.

In the second Test, he bowled as many as 25 overs in the first innings and managed to pick up 2 wickets. The second innings saw him bowl just 2 overs with not much to show against his name.

Lakshan Sandakan – 6/10

Lakshan Sandakan had a quiet series. He failed to trouble the Bangladeshi batsmen in both the Tests. In the first Testm he bowled as many as 22 overs in the first innings for his solitary wicket. In the second innings, he bowled 9 overs for his only wicket of Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim.

In the second Test, he did manage to scalp 4 wickets in the first innings but had to toil very hard for it. He bowled 33 overs and conceded 140 runs for his 4 scalps. In the second innings, he was takena way for 34 runs in his 6 overs.

Lahiru Kumara – 2/10

Lahiru Kumara featured in the first Test of the series at Galle. Kumara had a promising start to his career in 2016. He had an impressive show in South Africa as well. With such reputation, he came in the Bangladesh series. He failed to impress in the only Test that he played in the two-match series.

He bowled 16 overs and conceded 70 runs at an economy of 4.38, which does not look good in respect to Test cricket. He bagged just one wicket in the first innings. In the second innings, he was given just 3 overs to bowl in which he conceded 10 runs with no wickets to show in the wickets column.