Image Credit- AFP
After two games, the side batting first has scored
more than 300. In fact, there have only been 10 instances in 358 ODIs in Sri
Lanka prior to this series where two consecutive games have witnessed a score
of 300 or more. This is not typical in Sri Lanka, and it is very rarer for it
to occur in consecutive games.
Sri Lanka’s 381 in the opening ODI was the first such
performance since 2018 in terms of games when the team batting first has scored
350 or more runs; there have only been nine such scores on Lankan territory,
and only four of those figures belong to Sri Lanka.
In comparison, there were just 13 totals of 350 or
more during the World Cup last year; in all previous World Cups combined, there
were only 24 such totals. Let’s just say that, at least in terms of what
hitters are becoming more and more capable of, this is a very clear indication
of the direction the game is going.
After Pallekele’s first two high-scoring surfaces, Sri
Lanka appears to be finally catching up, or at least that’s the hope.
“After we came back from the World Cup, the first
thing we spoke about was the pitches,” said Charith Asalanka, whose
74-ball 97* had played a large part in their 155-run win in the second ODI.
“We were generally used to pitches where scoring
more than 300 was a challenge. But if we take the pitches we’ve played on [in]
this series so far, those concerns seem to have been addressed to a large
extent.”
They have, in fact. The home spectators in Pallekele
have witnessed infrequent high-scoring matches, but the surfaces in Colombo for
last month’s series against Zimbabwe were still slower in nature. Afghanistan
may have been in line for another on Sunday night, but they were denied by an
incredible collapse that saw them go from 128 for 1 to 153 all out, following
their thrilling chase in the first ODI, where they were denied by 42 runs but
still managed to record their highest-ever ODI total.
“Even today, they [Afghanistan] were in a good
place in terms of their batting but as they were trying to accelerate I think
we bowled well to get them out. But this is how pitches need to be, because
when we go to play international tournament[s] we’re generally going to get
wickets where you need to score more than 300.
“So to be able to do that we need to have
practised in our home conditions. If we do more of that then it’s going to be
easier for us to compete in ICC tournaments. More than that I think even our
bowlers are starting to learn how to bowl on good batting wickets.”