Scramble for squad places isn’t over yet, as shown by compelling internal struggle at Chester-le-Street

Cameron Ponsonby30-Aug-2023During the five-hour drive up to the Seat Unique Riverside stadium from London today, Google suggested an “alternative route” that was 27 minutes slower. That is not an alternative route, that is the wrong way.The same sentiment could be expressed about England’s World Cup squad selection, with the omission of Harry Brook, left out in favour of Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone and Jason Roy, an example of brains whirring and coming to a conclusion that, on the one hand, does still get you to Ahmedabad, but on the other takes you via Melbourne to get there. Surely there’s a better way.So much was proved today, as Brook furthered his case for World Cup inclusion with a flawless 43 off 27 balls to ice a middling chase against New Zealand, as England cruised to a seven-wicket win with six overs to spare.”He’s been unbelievable,” England seamer Brydon Carse said of his Northern Superchargers’ team-mate’s progress over the last year-and-a-half. “I’ve been fortunate enough to spend quite a lot of time with Harry and to see him go about his business over the last 18 months has been a joy to watch”He’s such a laid-back character, he loves batting obviously, but away from cricket he’s a laid-back character who enjoys spending time with his family.”I’m glad I haven’t had to play against him, he just seems to be hitting it all around the ground and just the tempo he’s playing at, it’s great for him and for English cricket.”This innings was Brook’s second reminder in as many matches of his standing as the star of English cricket, today and tomorrow, having initially responded to the squad announcement with a remarkable 41-ball century in the the Hundred, an innings which prompted Jos Buttler to clarify that the door wasn’t entirely shut on Brook’s World Cup campaign: “There’s still a long time before everyone is meant to get on the plane, so we’ll wait and see what happens.”Liam Livingstone and Harry Brook saw England home in the chase•Getty ImagesButtler, in this instance, was playing the role of Kevin McAllister’s Mum in , and bolting upright as he realises he’s left Harry at home for the World Cup.The upshot is that Wednesday’s match against New Zealand was the first of four T20s, followed by four ODIs, in which Brook will test out the depths of England’s buyer’s remorse, while Malan and Livingstone fight to avoid becoming the David Willey of 2023. Roy, rested for this series, can expect to return to the ODI set-up next week under increased pressure, as not only did Brook shine, but Malan and Livingstone equally rose to the occasion. Malan made 54 off 42 balls to break the back of England’s chase, while Livingstone bowled beautifully to record figures of 1 for 25 off four before finishing the chase off with a quickfire 10 off four balls.The reasoning behind their respective selections is that Malan, as well as being a relentless white-ball run-machine in recent years, provides a left-handed option that can target the opponent’s left-arm spinners and right-arm wrist spinners. In an otherwise disjointed innings, Malan succeeded on this front, taking the New Zealand spin pair of Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi for 32 runs off 16 deliveries. On a macro level, this was vintage T20 Malan. A slow start (4 off 10 balls), followed by relentless aggression when faced with his match-up to take him to yet another international half-century, off 40 balls all told. In the longer format, that latter trait is more valuable than the former is damaging, and Malan will have done his chances no harm this evening.Related

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Similarly, Livingstone played his role with the ball to perfection, bowling with genuine skill to pick off the key wicket of Daryl Mitchell, while his figures would have been even more impressive had his final ball not been launched for six by Adam Milne. Livingstone was even preferred to Adil Rashid to bowl a fourth over, with England’s premier legspinner sending down just the three run-a-ball overs on this occasion.The selection of Livingstone rests largely on the variety he brings with the ball. He’s capable of bowling both offbreaks and legbreaks, and data from CricViz shows that in T20Is, his economy-rate bowling offies is 6.95 with an average of 34.00, compared to 8.33 and 25.34 when bowling leggies. Livingstone is a more-than-capable bowler, but with just two scores of above fifty in an England shirt in 35 innings, he will be under pressure to make a telling score before the squad is finalised in a month’s time. Will England prefer a Jack of all trades in Livingstone, or a master of one in Brook? His towering six to wrap up victory was a timely reminder of his explosive power with the bat.And where exactly was Brook in all of this? Well, he was at the other end being Harry Brook, cruising along at a strike-rate of 159 without ever looking in a rush to finish the job.Two fours and three sixes, each as enormous as the other but in three completely separate directions, further illustrated why all of Michael Atherton, Jofra Archer and Kevin Pietersen – arguably the father, son and holy ghost of English cricket – have each individually expressed their shock at his absence. Buttler himself has said that Brook has nothing to prove, but Brook did it anyway. Someone is going to be the victim of the cruellest omission. Brook is doing his damnedest already to make sure it isn’t him.

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ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2023

Tactics board: where the first semi-final between India and New Zealand, in Mumbai, could be won and lost

Sidharth Monga13-Nov-20237:44

Kumble: India batters need to watch out for extra swing if they chase

Don’t lose the match in the first 15 oversIdeally just win the toss.Even before the Wankhede Stadium revealed its conditions, a Mumbai semi-final against a big-hitting team was the one conceivable banana peel for the dominant Indian side. A six-hitting contest is not what India want to get into. They haven’t drawn a big-hitting side for the semi-final, but the conditions here have emerged as a challenge of another kind for the side that loses the toss.The average score batting first at the Wankhede this World Cup has been 357 for 6 and 188 for 9 when chasing. Those chasing numbers have been bolstered by the once-in-a-lifetime double-century on one leg by Glenn Maxwell. The reason is that the new ball has been swinging and seaming more under the lights, and for longer. The average powerplay score goes from 52 for 1 in the first innings to 42 for 4 in the second. From there on, it has generally kept getting better for the batters in the first innings while only Maxwell has found a way back in the second.Now, miraculous, Maxwell-like freakishness can’t be the strategy going into the match. You have to find a way to limit the target if you lose the toss, and then almost bat like it’s Test cricket for the first 15 overs. What we have seen is that it gets easier to bat in the night but you have to make sure you don’t lose more than two wickets by the time it is night.ESPNcricinfo LtdHawkEye data suggests the swing stops being uncomfortable after about ten overs, but problems with seam movement persist till the 15th over. After about 20 overs, though, batting tends to get easier than in the afternoon.So, if India lose the toss, for example, don’t expect Rohit Sharma to play the way he has been playing this World Cup. Expect the same care from the New Zealand top order if they happen to be chasing.Put pressure on JadejaNew Zealand did knock India out of the 2019 World Cup, but they are up against a superior side in superior form this time. India’s bowling attack, now that Mohammed Shami is in it, is drawing comparisons with the best ODI attacks of all time. That, though, is if you are comparing five frontline bowlers with five frontline bowlers.Related

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Therein lies New Zealand’s opportunity. To find a way past this formidable attack, they have to take down one bowler. And the only match that Ravindra Jadeja has bowled ten overs in and not taken a wicket this World Cup was against New Zealand. There are three left-hand batters in their top six followed by Mitchell Santner. They will want to do better against Jadeja than the last time when he conceded only 48.India will try to get past the two opening left-hand batters even before Jadeja is introduced. In another time, if Hardik Pandya had been available, they might even have thought of going out of the box and playing R Ashwin, but that seems out of the question now.Don’t let Ravindra bowlNew Zealand have more bowling options than India but only four specialist ones. A big part of New Zealand’s success has been the success of their part-time spinners Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra in an era when part-time bowlers are going extinct because of one extra fielder inside the circle and two new balls. It is unbelievable that neither of these part-time spinners has gone at even a run a ball.New Zealand will likely try Ravindra more than Phillips because there is no left-hand batter in the top six for India, but expect India to go after them in an attempt to force New Zealand to go back to their main bowlers sooner than they would like. This lack of a fifth specialist bowler will also allow India to sit in on the seamers if they lose the toss.Give Santner the respect he deservesSantner in the last World Cup semi-final vs India: 10-2-34-2.In the league match vs India in this World Cup: 10-0-37-1.He is a high-quality left-arm spinner, who happens to enjoy a good match-up against India: 15 of his 16 victims in this World Cup have been right-hand batters. He has also conceded 1.25 per over more when bowling to left-hand batters. India don’t have any left-hand batter before No. 7. However, if they can get the better of the fifth bowler, they needn’t try anything extraordinary against Santner. Just avoid giving him wickets.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe Rohit threatRohit’s explosive starts have started a chain reaction where Virat Kohli is not even put under any pressure. Not that he can’t bat quickly, but if he is not required to, it is very difficult to get Kohli out in the conditions we get in ODIs.Of course, New Zealand would love to bowl in the night and test both of them with the moving ball, but they have to prepare for the afternoon. And if India are batting first, the best way to put Kohli under pressure is to get Rohit out early. Rohit in this form, though, has been butchering the new ball and killing contests in the powerplay itself.If you look at how New Zealand bowled against Rohit in Dharamsala, you will see not a single bouncer tried. If Rohit is batting in T20 mode, it might perhaps not be that bad a shout to bowl in T20 mode.The last time T20 got serious for a considerable period of time was when the two World Cups were played in 2021 and 2022. In that period, the theory going around the world was to bowl short to Rohit – he averaged under 14.75 then against the short ball in all T20 cricket, and 14.33 in T20Is. Rohit loves the pull and the hook, and takes quick runs with it, but it also tends to bring about dismissals.If New Zealand do get Rohit early, they can hope to control the middle overs with left-arm spin against right-hand batters and hard lengths from the quicks.

Lots of runs, lovely weather and big crowds especially if the home team is playing

Vishal Dikshit05-Mar-2024This is the best time of the year to be in Delhi. The biting cold has made way for spring sunshine which has given birth to an abundance of flowers whose fragrance has spilled all over the city. The Air Quality Index (AQI) has left its highest levels far behind. Even the afternoons are mellow. And the evenings are just perfect to put on a snug sweatshirt and venture out for the delectable street food Delhi is famous for.Not a bad time for some cricket matches then. The WPL caravan moves to Delhi for the second leg – nine league games and two knockouts – from March 5 to 17, the third city to serve as host after Mumbai (and Navi Mumbai) last year and Bengaluru for the first half this season. Here’s what to expect in the coming fortnight.

How are the Delhi pitch and conditions different from Bengaluru’s?

Traditionally the pitch at the Arun Jaitley Stadium is known to offer slow pace and low bounce compared to the batting-friendly M Chinnaswamy deck. The recent T20 games there have, however, seen regular scores of 170-plus and Chennai Super Kings had even amassed 223 there in last year’s IPL.Even though the current weather and boundary sizes are different from what’s seen in the IPL, Delhi is expected to offer scores similar to what’s been on display in the Bengaluru leg of the WPL. There may not be many 200-plus totals like last year, but the conditions will largely be batter-friendly because of the perception that fans want to see fours and sixes more than low-scorers. Some wear and tear could make the tracks slower as the matches go on, but probably not as much as in the IPL in the summer months when the pitches are much drier.What could help the bowlers is that Delhi saw some scattered showers over the weekend and overcast skies on Monday. Tuesday is also likely to see clouds in the evening which could offer some swing when the ball is new. The temperatures over the next week are likely to dip below 20 degrees Celsius around the start of the game and as of now no rain is expected in the coming days.The home team Delhi Capitals possess an all-round attack for both spin- and pace-friendly surfaces with fast bowlers in Marizanne Kapp, Shikha Pandey, Arundhati Reddy and Annabel Sutherland, and spinners in the form of Jess Jonassen and Radha Yadav. But if the balance skews really heavily in favour of spin, teams like UP Warriorz and Mumbai Indians could edge them out.

Will the dew and toss continue to heavily affect the results?

In Bengaluru, teams winning the toss have almost blindly opted to bowl and won seven of the 11 matches. Delhi is likely to continue the trend. The first reason for that is dew, which captains have been citing in the first leg. Since the games start at 7.30pm IST, the teams winning the toss try to bowl their set of 20 before the dew takes over, and then take advantage while chasing when the ball becomes more slippery to grip. With dew expected in Delhi too, teams are expected to bowl first again.The Arun Jaitley Stadium is expected to offer boundaries about 50-60m in length•AFP/Getty ImagesThe second reason is chasing targets is largely the preference in T20s as teams know exactly what pace to score at instead of guessing what’s the likely par score when batting first.”That’s what teams prefer in T20s,” Mumbai captain Harmanpreet Kaur told the broadcaster after they chased 132 against RCB with 29 balls to spare. “As a batter we practice a lot for these situations, so you have an idea. When you bat first you have to bat according to the wicket, and you don’t have a clear idea. While chasing it’s a lot clearer and you can plan accordingly.”

What are the boundary sizes expected to be?

Mumbai saw some tiny boundaries in WPL 2023, as short as 42 to 44 meters at the start, but Bengaluru in 2024 was better and Delhi is expected to follow suit. ESPNcricinfo has learnt that the BCCI has set a range of 50 to 60 meters for the boundaries in Delhi. The Arun Jaitley Stadium is preparing to use three of the nine pitches at the ground for the WPL and at times one of the square boundaries is going to be shorter than the other as different tracks are used, which will change the tactics of the bowling sides. The outfield was lush green and smooth in the days leading up to the first match.

Which stands will be open and how are the tickets priced?

Initially, only the first tier of the stands will be opened for spectators, and the authorities will open up stands in the second and third tiers depending on the crowd response.In Bengaluru, fans turned up in huge numbers mainly for their home team RCB, especially on weekends, and the first sellout game was on Saturday evening which was RCB’s first game of this season. Out of the four games Capitals will play in Delhi, the first will be against defending champions Mumbai on Tuesday, their last league game on Wednesday (March 13) and their two games in between – on Friday and Sunday – could see the biggest crowds. Currently on top of the table, Capitals will hope to make the knockouts again to cash in on the home advantage.”I’m very excited [about the games in Delhi],” Capitals vice-captain Jemimah Rodrigues said in a video on the WPL website. “We saw the crowds in Bangalore, which was crazy. Not just the RCB games. I’ve never seen such crowds for women’s cricket ever. I think they (RCB) are very loyal fans but even for all the other games it was crazy. But now going home for the first time, playing at home, playoffs are also there and hopefully our home ground will be a blessing for us to win at home and lift that trophy for the first time.”The tickets for the Delhi leg are up on Bookmyshow.com and those available online range from INR 100 to 200.

England’s bravado was admirable, and what we’ve come to expect

Vithushan Ehantharajah05-Feb-20242:43

Harmison: England not guilty of ‘going too hard’

The bravado was admirable, and what we have come to expect. A team that has taken it upon themselves to question – even threaten – Test cricket’s traditional whims made their latest one on Sunday evening. No target would put them off. Brendon McCullum said they would have even had a go chasing 600.They ended up falling eight short of half that figure in pursuit of a “milder” target of 399. It would have been the highest chase of the Bazball era, and in India outright. In the end, the ethos wrote a cheque the batters could not cash.Having knocked 67 off for the loss of one last night, only 225 more was managed on day four. That those came in just two sessions is both noteworthy and redundant. The journey was quick, and yet the destination was still all of 106 runs away.The factors for defeat are all on the scorecard. On a pitch where the ones that got in had to make it count, India boasted Yashasvi Jaiswal’s first-innings 209 and Shubman Gill’s 106 in the second. England had a pair of seventies from Zak Crawley and, barring 47 from Ben Stokes in the first innings, no scores of note from a middle order with the most experience of these conditions.Related

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Even while the inexperienced trio of Shoaib Bashir, Tom Hartley and Rehan Ahmed held firm in a toe-to-toe with Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, India held the edge with Jasprit Bumrah. Match figures of 9 for 91 featured at least three match-turning spells, starting with a day two burst that handed India a first-innings lead of 143 and, ultimately, the Test.It was a reminder of the small margins and fleeting windows of opportunity when you play Test cricket in this part of the world. Getting that refresher with the series tied 1-1 ahead of a 10-day break before the third Test makes it easier to mull over. And as England knocked a football around on the outfield at around 5pm local time, long after the stumps had been pulled and the crowd had spilt out into Visakhapatnam, you sensed this was not a defeat that would derail them.”I think they’re playing very well,” said India head coach Rahul Dravid. “Whether you call it Bazball or whatever you call it. I know it’s just a term – I’m not sure how happy they are about it – but they’re playing really good cricket. I mean, let’s be honest, I think they played well.”England arrived on Monday determined, if slightly offset by a virus that had affected Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes and Hartley. They charged through the opening session, with 127 runs ticked off the remaining 332 required at the start of play. The problem was the loss of five wickets.Two batters did their job. Rehan continued his cavalier Sunday night cameo into Monday morning, swinging, charging, and, on one occasion, gorgeously caressing through the off side before Axar trapped him lbw for 23. By then, Crawley had settled back into his groove, caressing his usual drives and tucks through midwicket, all while facing up to most of Bumrah’s initial five-over spell.Zak Crawley was out lbw just before lunch•Getty ImagesA well-executed charge and punch down the ground brought him an eighth boundary and a second half-century of the match. Three overs later, Pope picked the wrong ball from Ashwin to cut. It still required something special from Rohit Sharma, who obliged with a stunning reaction catch at first slip, shooting up his left hand like a kid in class who knows the answer before anyone else.And he did, to be fair, particularly by not wavering as Joe Root introduced some uncharacteristic maelstrom. An innings which perhaps showed just how serious the damage to his right little finger may be. He spent most of day three off the field after damaging it in the 13th over of India’s second innings.He reverse-swept his first ball for four, scuffed his third up and over the keeper attempting a similar shot, skipped down and planted Axar into the stands for six with his seventh and then survived a strong leg-before review against him on Umpire’s Call.An ugly hack off his 10th, aiming for cow corner but finding the hands of Axar at backward point, gave Ashwin career wicket number 499. And off Root went with 245 still to get. Usually the sherpa in the pursuit of such summits, coming to the crease boasting a fourth innings average of 120.00 under Stokes and Brendon McCullum, Root was already back at base camp with the team less than halfway up the mountain starting to consider chewing on their own feet.Joe Root was caught slogging•BCCIA stand between Crawley and Bairstow had reached 40 by the time Rohit made his best call of the morning. With 20 minutes before the break, Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav were reintroduced. In the space of five deliveries, Kuldeep had accounted for Crawley – an lbw achieved through a tight DRS call to overturn a “not out” decision on the field – before Bairstow was prised out by Bumrah to send us to an early lunch.Even with Stokes coming back out after lunch alongside an able facilitator in Foakes, the 205 on the table would always be a tough ask. Only 16 had been cleared when Stokes inexplicably got himself run out.A thick inside edge as Foakes pressed forward to Ashwin saw the ball roll into the vacant square leg region. The single was on, but Stokes approached it with leisure, watching it all the way into Shreyas Iyer’s hand before speeding up. A direct hit found him short by inches.”It was like one of those dreams where you’re trying to run faster but you can’t,” explained Stokes at stumps, still trying to square it with himself. “I knew I had to go faster, but for some reason, I just couldn’t. It was a really bizarre couple of seconds.”As it happened, the rest seemed to go pretty quickly despite stubborn resistance from Foakes and Hartley. An eighth-wicket partnership of 55 did bring about some anxiety in the stands, particularly when both batters exchanged sixes early in their stand.But in waltzed Bumrah once more, hoodwinking Foakes with a slower ball for a return catch, then knocking out Hartley’s off stump to seal an emphatic equalising win.”You don’t get any points losing by five, you don’t get less points losing by 100,” said Stokes, by way of justification of trying to get it done today rather than use more of the available time. Not that he or England needed an alibi.Their chasing record has taken a hit, but still an impressive 8 out of 11 successes under Stokes. What will sting is they have been bested over these four days by the weakest India XI they will face on this tour. Some of the big guns are due back for the final three, adding an extra layer of intrigue on to an already thrilling series.England now head to Abu Dhabi for a break, with little but rest and relaxation on the agenda. Focus will soon shift to going again in Rajkot, exactly like this.

Sri Lanka fans have been burned before, but on the face of it, Asalanka does have the credentials to potentially turn things around

Andrew Fidel Fernando25-Jul-2024To suggest that the Sri Lanka men’s team captaincy has been in turmoil recently doesn’t get close to capturing it. In the last ten years, since Lasith Malinga (himself taking over in an emergency-ripcord situation) led Sri Lanka to their last title in a global tournament, there has been serious churn in the leadership. So much churn that had it been strapped to a turbine, perhaps Sri Lanka’s electricity grid would not be under so much strain.Just in T20Is, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Upul Tharanga, Thisara Perera, Kusal Perera, Dasun Shanaka and Wanindu Hasaranga – they’ve all had a turn.But such as it is, the island’s cricket mirrors the island’s volatile politics. And cricket here variously begs from, fights against, buddies-up to, and bear-hugs the island’s government. At present, there is something of a détente between the government and Sri Lanka Cricket, to follow the full-scale war that had taken place through 2023. How long this will last, who can tell?Related

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Into this fickle melee steps Charith Asalanka, the latest to take Sri Lanka’s T20I reins. At first blush, he is the most chilled and genial captain Sri Lanka have had since Rangana Herath briefly led the Test team. How chilled? Just this last Sunday, the team he captained in and won the Lanka Premier League, which despite its many flaws, produced some spectacularly compelling cricket this season.At the moment of victory, Asalanka did not charge the field like many of his franchise team-mates, choosing instead to quietly congratulate members of the support staff in the dugout. Then, when time came to lift the trophy, Asalanka carried it to his team-mates, handed it to two others in the centre of the group, and then shuffled off to the edge of the clump, letting others raise the trophy and claim the limelight in a moment of triumph.It is not as if Asalanka shrinks from duty. He has been marked out for leadership for as long as he has been known for his cricket, having led the Sri Lanka Under-19 side, as well as school sides at Richmond College in Galle. He has been impressive almost throughout his stay in the international side – particularly at No. 5, where he strikes at 150 in T20Is, and averages 46.19 in ODIs. But although you sense that he wants the job – and is happy to have it – he doesn’t need it in the way others have.His, you suspect, will be a lighter touch than that of, say, Hasaranga, who took the captaincy by the collar and attempted to shake some life out of it. It’s hard to imagine Asalanka abusing an umpire and landing himself a two-match suspension, or showing so much dissent at a decision upon his return that he cops another two-match ban and has to unretire from Tests to absorb.Wanindu Hasaranga took the captaincy by the collar and attempted to shake some life out of it•AFP/Getty ImagesAn arm around the shoulder of a struggling batter, team meetings where consensus is valued, and a pointedly-joyful celebration of a wicket a team-mate has been straining to get – these seem like the Asalanka moves. There is selflessness there, but also a sturdy sense of self. He knows he belongs. He doesn’t find himself constantly having to prove it.Is it what Sri Lanka need right now? It’s hard to say, really. He inherits the captaincy of a team that is very clearly now attempting to relive glories they do not currently seem capable of, if we’re being frank. The batting has been in a long-term decline, with Asalanka and Pathum Nissanka the only players in the top order to operate with some semblance of consistency in T20Is.It is largely on the batting order’s shoulders that repeated nosedives in T20 World Cups, and that gradually-worsening ranking in the format may be dumped. It’s worth remembering that between 2009 and 2014, Sri Lanka made the semi-final of the T20 World Cup on all four occasions, and reached the final three times. They were No. 1 for a stretch there too.Now, their new captain has to plug leaky holes all over the top order. Asalanka may have to reintegrate the likes of Avishka Fernando and former captain Chandimal back into the top five. He has got to ensure Sri Lanka’s middle order does not succumb so meekly to high-quality wristspin as they so often have over the last several years. And he has got to find firepower lower down, where Dasun Shanaka has been conspicuously modest in internationals for well over a year now.Dilshan Madushanka could easily have made the original squad if discussions had taken a slightly different turn•AFP via Getty ImagesAsalanka will thankfully be on firmer ground on the bowling front. Some of the sheen of the Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana duo has faded in the past 12 months, but they remain formidable. And Sri Lanka have arguably never had deeper fast bowling reserves. Dushmantha Chameera and Nuwan Thushara have been ruled out of the upcoming series against India, but you imagine Asitha Fernando and Dilshan Madushanka – their replacements – could easily have made the original squad if discussions around the selectors’ table had taken a slightly different turn.The Sri Lanka men’s captaincy is a vexed thing. Has been for years. It has taken all types, spat out all types, ended some careers, sent others into decline, produced chaos in industrial quantities, and hilarity almost as often (Remember when Mathews was dumped as captain for allegedly running too many partners out?). We’re not in poisoned chalice territory just yet. But it has started to feel like a curse needs to be cast off. There has been a pattern: first the captain’s own performance tends to enter decline, then the whole team does.First up for Asalanka is one of the most difficult assignments in his sport. It would be unfair to expect Sri Lanka’s team to stun even a somewhat-depleted India. But some fight, some form for the batters, a decent series of catching, close games – these will feel like victories even if victories proper do not come.Sri Lanka fans have been burned on hope before, so perhaps it is wise to manage expectations, and stay tight on the tangibles: Asalanka has all the credentials of a captain who could potentially turn things around.