September 5, 2024

How Can Sri Lanka Dismiss Joe Root? The Search for Answers Continues

Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne mentioned that they had developed several strategies to tackle Joe Root but have had to reconsider their plans. Root has been outstanding in this series, with scores of 42, 62 not out, 143, and 103. He averages an impressive 67.55 against Sri Lanka and had notable innings of 186 and 228 in his previous series against them in Galle.

Root is known for his strong sweeping and reverse-sweeping skills. He is proactive against fast bowlers and has one of the best defensive techniques in cricket. Given his exceptional form, Sri Lanka’s team discussions leading up to the third Test have heavily focused on how to handle Root. “How do we get Root out?”

Senior batter and former captain Dimuth Karunaratne has revealed that Sri Lanka has tried various strategies to get out Joe Root. However, Root’s consistent excellence in this series has forced them to reconsider their approach. They are now brainstorming new plans to tackle him.

“We’ve tried a few things against Joe but they were always unsuccessful,” Karunaratne said. “I think the turning points in the matches have been those Joe Root innings. Even when we’ve played at Galle, he’s hit big runs, but the batters around him haven’t scored as heavily. We really need to minimise the runs he’s scoring.”

Sri Lanka’s bowlers have likely spent a lot of time watching replays of Joe Root batting. They are focusing on analyzing which strategies might be most effective in getting him out.

Karunaratne Calls for New Strategies Against Root and Addresses Senior Batters’ Struggles

“We need to look at his past performances more closely, see where he’s got out, and what kinds of things we can do on these pitches. We need to make a new plan based on that.”

Counterintuitively, Karunaratne thinks perhaps this can come about by attacking him less.

“Maybe sometimes we attack him too much and he takes advantage of that. So me players don’t like it when we ask them to be less aggressive. Sometimes boring batters out can also be a tactic.”

Sri Lanka’s other big issue has been the underperformance of their senior batters. Despite each of Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, and Dhananjaya de Silva having scored a fifty in the series, they haven’t made a significant impact overall. Together, they’ve managed just six fifties in 16 innings.

“The seniors have talked a lot about how to perform and ease the pressure on the juniors. The juniors have been doing well, especially Kamindu Mendis. Some people adapt very fast to conditions and some struggle. That’s the way the game is. Every game is quite tough.”

For Karunaratne, the fact that Root has scored 153 more runs than the next-best England batter, is proof that batting has been difficult.

“In England the conditions are tough for batters, and we saw that even their openers struggled, as well as their No. 3. Apart from Joe Root the others also struggled despite this being home conditions for them. We’re playing after a very long time here.”

Patriots Add Hasaranga and Clarkson as Key Reinforcements

Wanindu Hasaranga, who was previously ruled out of CPL 2024 due to a hamstring injury, is now returning to replace the injured Sikandar Raza for the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. Originally, Hasaranga was replaced by Tabraiz Shamsi, but now he will take Raza’s spot. Additionally, New Zealand all-rounder Josh Clarkson is joining the team, filling the position of Tristan Stubbs, who is leaving to fulfill national duties.

Shamsi is also heading home for a week to fulfill CSA commitments, and will be temporarily replaced by Mohammad Mohsin. Mohsin, a 28-year-old wrist-spinner from the USA, has played 14 games for the Texas Super Kings in the MLC, taking 15 wickets with an economy rate of 7.43.

Patriots Face Challenges with Injuries and Performance Issues, but Show Resilience

Josh Clarkson is known as one of the hardest hitters in New Zealand cricket and can also bowl at a quick pace. Recently, he was awarded his first New Zealand central contract, but he’s not yet part of the Test team. This makes his debut in the franchise T20 league with the Patriots particularly significant. Clarkson has played 89 T20 matches, scoring 1,673 runs at a strike rate of 147.40 and taking 11 wickets at an economy rate of 9.15.

Patriots head coach Malolan Rangarajan, who is also involved with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, has expressed disappointment over the injuries that have disrupted the team’s balance.

“Obviously, we started off the tournament with an unfortunate injury to Sikandar Raza, who was a well-thought out and important pick for us,” Malolan said on Tuesday before Patriots had announced Clarkson as their new signing.

“We’ve scrambled and we’ve tried to sign a replacement and we’ve had a few hiccups at the start of [the season], with Sherfane [Rutherford] missing out the first game and Rilee [Rossouw] getting injured in the first innings of our fielding. But I think the boys have responded brilliantly to all the challenges that’ve been posed at them.”

The Patriots started the season with an exciting last-ball victory over the Antigua & Barbuda Falcons in Antigua. However, they faced consecutive losses at home against the Trinbago Knight Riders and St Lucia Kings. Despite scoring over 200 runs in both matches, their bowlers struggled and were heavily scored against. Additionally, their fielding has been a concern, with at least seven chances missed so far. Captain Andre Fletcher has urged his team to step up their performance.

“Well, it’s all about execution,” Fletcher said. “We’ve been working hard as a bowling unit, I must say. Even before the tournament started, we had a camp here in St Kitts and then we played a practice game in Nevis. We’ve been working hard as a bowling unit. The guys have been putting in the effort as to bowling with the wet ball and bowling [at the] death and bowling actually to one side of the field, thinking about whether this batter from the other team is playing and how we’re going to bowl to this batsman. The effort is there and the practice as I mentioned we put in a lot, but it just boils down to execution. We haven’t been executing as well as we ought to but, I’m confident.”

Fletcher: ‘I’m big on players being comfortable and enjoying themselves’

Losing multiple games in a row can create a tense atmosphere in the dressing room, especially since the Patriots have only won two out of their last 12 games over the past two seasons. Despite this, Captain Andre Fletcher stated that the team has remained united and focused, ignoring outside criticism.

“As a leader, I try to be not under pressure,” Fletcher said. “Yes, I know a lot will be going around, especially when you lose a game. The first game we win…spectators and fans will be like: ‘good leader and great leader’ and two games lost ‘you’re the worst”.

“It’s expected and they always want a win. For me, I just try my best to see where maybe I can improve as a leader. I wouldn’t doubt myself; I’ve done it before and it’s just a matter of getting the guys together. One thing I don’t want is pointing fingers and we’ve responded well after the two losses, so we are gelling really well as a team and for me that’s important. When teams lose people start segregating and the vibe of the team tends to go down, so I’m big on players being comfortable and enjoying themselves.”

“A chain is as strong as its weakest link, so for me as a leader I will continue to keep the guys together and ensure that they’re comfortable. People would love to see us go out there and entertain them, but it doesn’t make sense to entertain with a loss. We have to entertain with a win and it’s straightforward.”