Can’t bat, can’t bowl, can’t field, can’t eat?

The difference in the two sides was as evident as the one between a chalk and a slice of cheese. Sri Lanka seemed like they knew what to expect at every situation, almost akin to an invisible enemy for the Kiwis, who could attack from any of the directions. The New Zealanders acquitted themselves well in the final innings of the final game, but by then, they were only clutching at straws.

The damage seemed to be done in the first game of the series however, when a myriad of players from within the Kiwi camp had had their appointments with the doctors and the loos alternatively; in the process missing out on the best part of the game. Again, by the time, the sickness seemed to have subsided, the match too looked to have done the same and in the favour of the home team!

For most portions of both the games, the Kiwi side looked weary, and not as scrapping for a battle as one usually associates the teams from that part of the world. The lack of personnel surely did them in, but it would require some convincing that even with a fully fit side, they would have been able to come out unscathed. Their batting lacked a concerted effort and no partnerships meant that the scores were much lower than they could have got to, while the bowling continued to fail, with even Daniel Vettori succumbing to the pressure of being their best bowler, batsman, captain and a selector!

Toothless bowling and starts with quick stops:

The tourists had their chances in both the games with their bowling. The first test had seen the Lankans lose two wickets in the first three overs, while the second had them stumble to 115/3, but on both occasions the rest of the batting had seen the Lankans through. Or in other words, the rest of the New Zealand bowling, had had the exhibited a clear lack of penetrative forces to eke out the opposition.

The batting was no different. Batsmen got starts, looked good for a flashy 20 or 30 and then for most part, sat in the dressing room after gifting their wickets away. There were 16 instances of the Kiwi batsmen getting scores between 20 and 50 – as compared to half that number by their oppositions – and even those who did get around to scoring their fifties, failed to get going. Of the 12 innings that the top three in the order featured in the two test matches, there were only two half centuries, all adding up to a concerted effort in assisting the Kiwis in their losing endeavour.

The end result; five centuries – and three nineties – for Sri Lanka vis-a-vis one for New Zealand, and of course, a 2-0 thrashing!

“Nine times out of 10 when you win the toss, bat first, and on the 10th occasion think about it, then bat.”

Whatever happened to piece set of advice. Especially on sub-continental tracks where, whatever the colour of the pitches on the first morning, it will turn into a minefield ripe enough to explode by the time it is the fifth.

Vettori wins toss on the first day of the first test match and on a pitch that, like many others around the world, expected to be moist in the first half hour, and decides to field first! The rest, as they say, was history. A couple of quick wickets and a century or two later, the Kiwis were left to do the catching up, and by the time they had huffed and puffed through a rain-afflicted game, their stomachs had been equally afflicted with the bug and the scoreline read 1-0 in the favour of Lanka.