Follow UsOn pure pedigree, there is nothing to draw similarities between this Indian side and the Sri Lankan cricket team. One team that are touching the zenith after every encounter while the other, which used to be one of India’s biggest rivals and threats a decade ago, are now on a steady decline. The inflow of talent has been reversely proportional and nothing typified that difference more than the first ball that Ishan Kishan faced tonight - a confident flick that had enough potential to clear the fence.
But then on evenings like these, when things could have really gone haywire, a hero emerged. Pathum Nissanka showed the chasm was not really a big one if the young players continue to be trusted and provided enough opportunities to come good. A dominant performer on the domestic first-class circuit, Nissanka has already taken Test cricket like a duck to water but the way he has adapted himself to the demands of T20 cricket made for a fine story of batting evolution.
"I've watched every cricketer now in Sri Lanka, but I don't see batting talent like Pathum Nissanka and Charith Asalanka,” former Sri Lankan coach Mickey Arthur had said during the 2021 T20 World Cup.
“As a coaching staff and a selection panel, we've got to keep giving opportunities to young players, because in the next couple of years they're going to be the leaders in the batting department."
In Australia last week, Nissanka was head and shoulder above his teammates. Despite not having a lot of experience of facing 145 kph bowlers on a regular basis, he had his tails up, negotiating the frontal blows with elan. He took on Pat Cummins and Kane Richardson with absolute authority in Sydney on his way to a 53-ball 73 just as he did in Melbourne, a week later. Those two games, more than anything else, proved his adaptability can be a really good asset at the top of the order.
"I've always said since the first time I saw Pathum that he's a wonderful talent. His balance, his feet movement, when he attacks and defends are great. He's got it all. We saw that on Test debut. He's played every form now over the last sort of nine months for us. He's going to play every form because I think he and Charith are generation next for Sri Lanka in terms of batting,” Arthur had said.
It was raining in Dharamshala before the game began and there was a considerable amount of fog in the air as well. Pacers had a zing from the surface and Nissanka’s talent was in for a big test. Not only did he pass with flying colors, but also laid down the marker for the visitors with his pacing. In the first 9 balls, he batted with a strike rate of 66.7 but ended up with a strike rate of 141.50 - the kind of acceleration that would make any batter proud.
Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Harshal Patel didn’t really strike the balance as a unit tonight but individually, they were putting in their best yard in the powerplay and middle overs. The overall numbers were screwed up after Sri Lanka collected 80 runs in the last five overs - 72 runs in the last four - and that tells you how Nissanka managed to be in the zone during the toughest of the game situation tonight. This was a proper validation of his patented prospects that continue to grow on him in a rather succinct manner.
Later for Team India, Shreyas Iyer and Ravindra Jadeja made a meal out of the run-chase and handed India a comfortable victory but that didn’t snatch away the moves Sri Lanka were able to generate. In a World Cup year, there were plenty of things to look forward to and how the team from the Emerald Isle would react to their youngsters will dictate the course of action. But for the time being, we can fasten our seat belts and enjoy the ride, just the way Nissanka’s teammates did tonight.