Jayasuriya laments batting failures after Sri Lanka’s series defeat to Proteas

• Sri Lanka's dreams of reaching the ICC World Test Championship final have taken a severe hit following a 2-0 series defeat in South Africa.

Valiant efforts from Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis went in vain as Sri Lanka succumbed to defeat by 109 runs on the final day of the second Test against the Proteas.

Despite playing at venues that traditionally offer conditions favorable to their playing style - Durban and Gqeberha - the visitors struggled to mount a serious challenge, compared to their historic victory in 2019, when they cleansweeped the Proteas in a two-Test series.

Head coach Sanath Jayasuriya attributed the loss to missed opportunities with the bat, particularly the inability to convert good starts into big scores.

This was most evident in the first innings at Gqeberha, where all of the top five batters managed at least 20 runs, but only one crossed 50. Even Pathum Nissanka, who top-scored with 89, failed to capitalize and reach his third three-figure score in Tests.

“Batsmen have to convert their scores into hundreds - 30s and 40s aren’t enough. It’s tough on these wickets, but at least two batters have to score hundreds on a tour like this. We didn’t get that. All we got were two 80s," Jayasuriya said.

He added, “I think the batters by now know the value of hundreds on the road, having played in a place like England recently as well. We missed that this time. Although there was a lot of effort from the senior batters, I think if they assess themselves individually, they will realise it wasn’t enough.”

The series also marked a setback for Kamindu Mendis, whose early performances in the longest format had been extraordinary. Entering the series with an average of 91.27, Mendis managed scores of 13, 10, 48, and 35 off the four innings, dropping his average to 74.

Sharing his views on the 26-year-old, Jayasuriya said, “Kamindu Mendis is a key player. In every Test match almost he was in the runs, aside from this series. If you saw the way he batted in this series, it was still with a lot of confidence. You can’t expect a batter to hit 50 or 100 every innings - that’s why you have six or seven batters.

“As a player, he’s a quality player. If he’s got shortcomings, he works with the batting coach to figure those out.

“I know that oppositions are quite concerned, and South Africa were as well. Now, he will have to work hard to counter that. But I love watching a player like him in the team - he scores at a run-a-ball and plays positively. What I’ve told everyone is to play their natural game and play positive cricket."

Jayasuriya also highlighted the second morning, where South Africa’s tailenders added 89 runs to stretch their first-innings total as a pivotal moment in the Gqeberha Test that contributed to Sri Lanka’s loss.

“In that first innings, after we got eight or nine wickets, we let them have roughly 40 runs too many,” he remarked.

Another turning point came on the third morning when Sri Lanka lost five wickets, having begun the day with seven wickets in hand and trailing by just 116 runs.

“We couldn’t afford those wickets. We could have got a big first-innings lead, and we let the match slip a bit on that morning.”

Further opportunities slipped away on the fourth day when South Africa’s lower order added 35 runs to their second-innings total after being 282 for 8 at lunch. Additionally, Sri Lanka lost two quick wickets after reaching a promising score of 117 with seven wickets in hand.

“That 25-30 extra runs from their tail also hurt us in the second innings. In the second innings, we gave two extra wickets in the evening session. If we’d had the chance to come in today only three down, that would have made a big difference to our batting unit. It’s in those little places that it got away from us,” Jayasuriya concluded. (ICC)