India vs Sri Lanka 2020 T20I Series: Sri Lanka Players' Performance Ratings

Sri Lanka suffered their second consecutive series defeat after Australia thrashed them by a margin of 3-0 down under. Lasith Malinga’s men fell well short of the required tempo in all the departments, thereby crashing to a humiliating loss in both the games. One may have thought that the sub-continent rivals wouldn’t go down without a fight; however, the gulf widened in the two games.

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Most of the Sri Lankan batsmen, in the two games, got starts. However, they weren’t able to turn into match-winning knocks that could lead them even a single win. Even in their bowling department, captain Lasith Malinga couldn’t produce anything magical to inspire the boys under them and hence were pegged back largely. The Lankans have plenty of work to do if they are to remain a force to reckon with in the next year’s T20 World Cup.

We take a look at the rating each player received based on how they fared:

Danushka Gunathilaka – 5.5/10

Danushka Gunathilaka got Sri Lanka off to a perfect start in the second game, putting on 38 along with Avishka Fernando. Navdeep Saini dismissed him by an absolute peach of delivery for 20. In the third game, during the mammoth chase of 202, the 28-year old became the victim of Jasprit Bumrah in the first over itself for 1. The opener receives a rating of 5.5 out of ten.

Avishka Fernando – 6/10

Avishka Fernando’s outings in the two matches painted a similar picture to that of his opening partner. He carted five boundaries in his innings of 22 in Indore off just 16 balls before hitting it straight to mid-off. In the 79-run defeat to the home side in Pune, Fernando was dismissed again for only 9. In recent times, the 21-year old has loomed as one of the promising prospects for Sri Lanka. Nevertheless, for underperforming in this series, he receives a rating of 6/10.

Kusal Perera – 5/10

Not only is Kusal Perera is one of the technically sound and an attacking batsman, but also one of their most experienced players. He could have built on the start in the second game; however, he threw it away for a well-made 34 as Sri Lanka ended with only 142 on the board which was well below par.

In the third game, the southpaw couldn’t trouble the scorers by much as Navdeep Saini clattered his stumps through a yorker for just 7. Another underperforming Sri Lankan gets a rating of five out of ten.

Oshada Fernando – 2/10:

Oshada Fernando was one of the worst performers on this tour with scores of 10 and 2 in his two outings. In both the games, the 27-year old looked clueless and failed to get going or contribute to the cause. He gets a rating as low as two out of ten.

Bhanuka Rajapaksa – 3/10:

The southpaw emerged as one of the best performers in Sri Lanka’s 3-0 triumph in the T20I series against Pakistan. Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s exploits in the middle-order received plenty of appreciations, including a knock of 77 in the second game in Lahore. Nevertheless, the tour of India turned out to be a forgettable outing for him.

The 28-year old featured in only the second game and could manage just nine runs off 12 deliveries. Angelo Mathews replaced him for the final match in which he responded well by scoring 31 off 20 balls in a losing cause. Nevertheless, the left-handed receives a rating of 3/10.

Angelo Mathews – 7/10

Of late, Angelo Mathews has been sidelined frequently due to injuries. The 32-year old came for the third game in place of Bhanuka Rajapaksa and featured in his first T20 for Sri Lanka since 2018. And as an experienced campaigner, he contributed. Perhaps, the tourists may have crossed 170 had he played the first game too.

Mathews bowled three overs for 38 runs. There was a missed chance off his bowling since he could have had the wicket of Shikhar Dhawan for 1 had Dasun Shanka not misjudged it. With the bat, the all-rounder mustered 31 and built a partnership of 68 along with Dhananjaya de Silva. However, it was a big ask and he eventually fell for 31 off 20 deliveries. Angelo Mathews receives a rating of seven out of ten.

Dasun Shanaka – 3/10

A lot was expected of Dasun Shanaka as well, who eventually disappointed. Following his handy cameos against Pakistan, the all-rounder was seen as a reliable cog in the middle order. All he could scrape out was scores of 7 and 9 in Indore and Pune respectively.

In Indore, he did contribute his four overs when Isuru left the field due to injury. But, he couldn’t prove his worth in challenging situations. Shanaka gets a rating of three out of 10.

Dhananjaya De Silva – 6/10

Dhananjaya De Silva was the sole fifty scorer for Sri Lanka in an otherwise tough series for them. The all-rounder chipped in with a handy knock of 17 off 13 deliveries while batting at number seven in Indore. In the third game in Pune, De Silva kept the visitors in the hunt for a brief period before Angelo Mathews’ wicket pegged them back completely. The 28-year old finished as the top-scorer with 57 as the Lankans plummetted to a massive defeat. He gets a rating of six out of ten.

Wanindu Hasaranga 7/10:

The leg-spinner was one of the shining lights in a horrid tour for Sri Lanka. Wanindu Hasaranga finished with three wickets in the series. He picked up the wickets of KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan in the second match apart from sending back Sanju Samson in the subsequent game for only 6. For his contribution around the failures of pace bowlers and batsmen, he receives a rating of seven out of 10.

Isuru Udana – 1/10:

The left-arm seamer had a significant role to play on the slow and low tracks of India. To his and the team’s misfortune, Isuru Udana couldn’t even bowl a single delivery as a back injury forced him out of the second game. An explosive lower-order batsman, he could manage only a run while batting. Udana receives a rating of 1, having made equivalent to zero impact.

Lakshan Sandakan – 8/10:

Lakshan Sandakan came into the side for the third T20 as a replacement for Isuru Udana. The Sri Lankan think-tank might be kicking themselves for not including him for the second game as well. As a replacement bowler, the left-arm spinner took three wickets for 35 runs in four overs.

The 28-year old sent back the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer to trigger a collapse. Nevertheless, his efforts went in vain as India saw themselves home fairly comfortably. However, Sandakan receives a rating of eight out of ten.

Lasith Malinga – 3/10:

Perhaps the most disappointing performer of them all, Lasith Malinga failed at his job to inspire the young lads under him. The 36-year old went not only expensive in his two outings but also went wicketless. In retrospect, his early wickets served as a big boost to their hopes of defending a total or restricting the opposition to a gettable score.

But Sri Lanka couldn’t receive neither of them from him and got very little support from his other bowlers. For his efforts in both games, he gets a rating of only three out of ten. One could see the end lurking around as his performances keep diminishing with each passing game.

Lahiru Kumara – 3/10:

There have been highly contrasting results with regards to the pace- bowling unit for both sides. While the Sri Lankan pace bowlers looked toothless, the Indian fast bowlers looked very penetrating. Along with Lasith Malinga, Lahiru Kumara’s rendition was equally frustrating.

In two games, the right arm-pacer could manage only two wickets. In the second game notably, the 22-year old conceded 19 runs off the last over that propelled India to over 200. A total of more than 200 became very challenging for the Lankan batsmen. For his two wickets in the series, he gets a rating of three out of ten.

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