“Their players were really good, but because of the rain, I think they had trouble holding the ball,” he said. “To be honest, there was less spin on the wicket too. But they still played well.”
In fact, when the West Indies still had fresh balls (they used one ball in every score in ODIs) and were not yet particularly wet, their bowlers had ruled. Sri Lanka lost three wickets during the first three overs, before Madushka and Asalanka made their breakthrough for the fourth wicket.
Throughout that partnership, batters often hit balls beyond the boundary and into outfield fields and drain fields that have been waterlogged, thus significantly changing the situation of the ball. In fact, the West Indies bowlers raised this for the umpires’ consideration at least twice but failed to change the balls to drier ones.
Part of Sri Lanka’s strategy at 45 for three might have been to hang around until bowling became much more difficult. “What Charith aiya “What I said was to take the game as deep as possible, start by dragging the game to 20 or 25 overs, before reassessing it,” Madushka said. “I think that positive mindset also affected me positively and helped me perform.”
With the two different ODIs also taking place at Pallekele, a notoriously rainy venue, the conditions could continue to play a major role in the outcome. So far this voyage, from the point of view of the West Indies, is the element which has had considerable inconvenience.
