Shaken Not Stirred
1
By Rahul Patil
It was a strange test match. Both teams were in control at various stages but kept handing over the initiative to the opposition. For a while it seemed that neither of them had the decisive knock out punch in their arsenal. In the end like a flame that burns brightest before it goes out, Sri Lanka dug deep in the last hour of day four and managed to land the decisive blows. The last rites were completed on the fifth morning and the blackcaps were handed a 63-run defeat in the first test of the two-match series.
The blackcaps made some interesting selections in their playing XI. The reliable Matt Henry was left out for the extra pace and bounce of Will O’Rourke. We chose to go in with three left arm spinners and the off spin of Glenn Phillips which meant Michael Bracewell was left out in favor of Mitchell Santner. One gets the feeling that this team management doesn’t have a lot of confidence in Rachin’s bowling. In a short span of eight test matches Rachin has gone from being New Zealand’s lone spinner against Bangladesh at the Bay Oval in 2022 to bowling only seven overs in this test as the sixth bowling option.
On a track where the opposition spinners picked up 18 wickets, Will O’Rourke repaid the faith showed in him with match figures of 8 for 104. He ran in hard spell after spell and troubled every batter with his pace and bounce. To be successful in the subcontinent fast bowlers need a big heart. In his short test career O’Rourke has shown he has a great ticker. India is next. Please don’t hate me for saying this, but a successful outing there will guarantee him a massive pay day in the next IPL mega auction which is just around the corner.
After losing an important toss the blackcaps had Sri Lanka in trouble at 106 for 4 on the opening day. From there we let them get to 305. The ambidextrous Kamindu Mendis rescued his team from a precarious situation and took them to safety. Kamindu has piled up 822 test runs in his 12-test innings so far. It’s been a remarkable start. One that no-one saw coming even though he averages 63 in first class cricket over 78 innings.
To win test matches in the subcontinent you have to get a sizeable first innings lead. At 269 for 4 the blackcaps were in a great position to get to 400. But ordinary shot selections and poor running between the wickets saw them end up well short at 340. A lead of 35. Handy but not match defining.
We all have needy friends. The ones that reach out to us only when they want something. The blackcaps are that friend. Ajaz Patel is us. But like all of us Ajaz has a heart of gold and delivers whatever the blackcaps require even when they forget about him outside Asia. His six-wicket haul in the 2nd innings made sure the final run chase was still within the realms of possibility. Difficult but not impossible.
Only once before had a team successfully chased a target of over 275 in the fourth innings at Galle. The need of the hour was for someone to put on a cape and be a superhero. In the past 12 months Rachin has volunteered to be that guy on more than one occasion. Once again singlehandedly he kept his nation in the contest. His ability to find gaps on a well spread-out field is remarkable. The shot that he plays of the backfoot against the spinners to hit the ball between long on and mid-wicket is an absolute treat. The amount of power he generates while playing it is unreal. He deserved a century, and better support from his teammates. In the end he got neither.
You don’t have the luxury of time in a two-test series. New Zealand has a few tricky decisions to make before the 2nd test. Since his century against England at the ODI World Cup last October Devon Conway has been struggling for form. Is it time to give Conway a break and bring in Will Young to open? Mitchell Santner had an extremely ordinary game. 33+ overs for a solitary tail-end wicket and 4 runs with the bat across both innings. Could Bracewell be the answer to finding the right team balance? Does O’Rourke’s success pave the way for the selection of Ben Sears since captain Tim Southee is unlikely to play every subcontinent test? History tells us that the blackcaps seldom make wholesale changes but maybe it’s time they prepare their selection cocktail like James Bond does with his Martini i.e. shaken not stirred.
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good summation .
the 2nd test was even weirder for their collapse in the first inns.. it’s as if they had no answer to the spinners !