Sri Lanka had an early taste of what to expect when they play cricket’s big boys after South African batters wreaked havoc to record a thumping 102-run win after posting an unprecedented World Cup score of 428 runs.

Sri Lanka did well to make 326 runs, but the target looked beyond their reach even before the chase began. It was a record-shattering night at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. A flat pitch and shorter boundaries saw the bowlers being reduced to cannon-fodder, making the contest between bat and ball hugely in favour of the batters.

These conditions have surprised the Sri Lanka cricketers, who believe they would have been better equipped had the Lanka Premier League (LPL) and the Asia Cup been played under similar conditions rather than the slow, turning tracks that had been on offer.

“It (playing on a slow wicket) had a significant impact,” said Sadeera Samarawickrema, the middle-order batter.

Only once in the Asia Cup did a team manage to score above 300 runs in Sri Lanka (India scored 356/2 against Pakistan). Batters struggled to make runs on slow and turning pitches. In the finals, Sri Lanka were blown off by the Indian seamers, who bowled them out for just 50 runs before racing to victory without losing a wicket.

“In Sri Lanka, we've played a lot on turning wickets, so chasing such a big score isn't something we typically do. If we get wickets like this in Sri Lanka, the bowlers won't be surprised when we get to a place like this. I am hopeful Sri Lanka will prepare wickets like these for us back home."

During the LPL, Sanath Jayasuriya, the team director of Dambulla Aura, criticised the low-scoring pitches being prepared for the tournament. He expressed his disappointment with the subpar wickets at the Premadasa Stadium and called for better batting-friendly surfaces.

“Disappointed by poor wickets at Premadasa stadium for LPL. We crave pitches that fuel positive, aggressive play and electrify the fans. Hoping upcoming qualifiers feature better cricketing wickets please,” Jayasuriya wrote on Twitter.

Star spinner and B-Love Kandy skipper Wanindu Hasaranga also advocated for improved pitch conditions during the LPL, while Kusal Mendis, the captain of the Dambulla Aura team, echoed them.
However, despite these pleas, the pitches remained slow and low, not only during the remainder of the LPL but also during the Asia Cup.

After reaching 206 for the loss of one wicket in their first 30 overs, South African batters hit 222 runs in the last 20 overs to put on a mammoth total. They hit 45 boundaries and 14 sixes in their run feast, which saw Aiden Markram make the fastest World Cup hundred in 49 balls.

Samarawickrema, who made 23 off 19 balls in Sri Lanka’s failed run-chase, says that, had they bowled consistently at a good line and length, they could have kept the South Africans to a lower score.

“It’s difficult for us as a team to be happy with the bowling, but considering the pitch, it's really good. We rarely bowled consistently as a team. On a wicket like this, even a minor mistake from us can result in the opposing team scoring six or four runs. If we had bowled with more patience, we might have kept them to a lower score,” he added.

Had Sri Lanka done this, they would have had a realistic chance of chasing down the target, as batting looked even better under lights. 

And although Sri Lanka lost wickets at regular intervals, they kept taking the South African attack to the cleaners.

“We actually lost by about 100 runs. If we hadn't lost those few wickets in the middle overs, I believe we would have had a chance to come close to their score or even win the match,” Samarawickrema, who made a 19-ball 23, said.

“We knew the wicket was getting better, so I think, as a team, we just wanted momentum in the first few overs. I think we got the start we wanted. Unfortunately, in the middle period, we lost like one or two wickets regularly. I think that was the turning point. Otherwise, the wickets were really good. The turning point was that we lost Kusal Mendis and myself in two overs,” said Samarawickrema.

Following Saturday’s defeat, Sri Lanka headed to Hyderabad for their second game against Pakistan at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Tuesday. (Champika Fernando in Hyderabad)