From the recent T20 series between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, clearly one player showed up over the others, though still to different extents. Both A Fernando and Asalanka had played brilliantly throughout the match. Because of how they came to fruition, they had very different effects on runs scored and their impact on the game.
Joining him at the crease was a different Fernando — Niroshan, who made 11 runs from 17 balls. His innings featured 12 dot balls, which robbed him of any chance to establish any rhythm. Given that Fernando’s performance only spanned 25 minutes, this results in an incredibly low strike rate of 64.71. He played 100 percent, but he lost sight of the lines. Most notably, he finished his innings without hitting a single boundary!
Asalanka upped the ante significantly during his much shorter innings. He was eventually dismissed in the 15th over after scoring 8 runs from 5 balls, leaving a strike rate of 160.00. Asalanka faced two dot balls but made an impact with a single six that added valuable runs to the team total. In fact, his innings was a good bit shorter than Fernando’s — just 6 minutes long.
That one run scored in extras accounts for the difference in the match day score and the team’s total score. It failed to shine a light on standout performances. The contrasting styles of Fernando and Asalanka illustrate the diverse approaches players can take during high-pressure situations in T20 cricket.
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