Despite these qualities, Sri Lanka are yet to fully realise his ODI potential
Madushka Balasuriya24-Oct-2024Drift, dip and turn, these are the main attributes one would associate with spin bowling. Then at times there is pace, which is added to the mix when variations such as arm balls come into play. West Indies’ Gudakesh Motie, for example, has an excellent quicker one, bursting through flat and straight clocking in at around 100kph. But what do you get when you combine all these?Well, Alick Athanaze might have the answer. It was just his third ball in the second ODI against Sri Lanka – the first he faced from Maheesh Theekshana – but in terms of how he might have dealt with it, it wouldn’t have mattered even if it were the hundredth.Coming from around the wicket, Theekshana tossed it up, pitched it on middle, drew the batter in with the flight and then deceived him with some dip, before ripping it past the forward defence to peg back the off stump. A textbook offspinner’s dismissal – oh except, it was flung down at 96kph. Drift, dip, turn and pace, these are the main attributes, yes, but rarely – if ever – have they been woven together to such devastating effect.Related
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Okay, cards on the table. This Pallekele pitch was primed for spin. This is a genuine caveat in most cases when it comes to spinners wreaking havoc on opposition batters, but to compare this Theekshana effort to, say, Charith Asalanka running roughshod over India earlier in the year would be to do a great disservice.Yes, Theekshana had conditions to his liking, but there are few – if any – other spinners in world cricket that could have exploited them as devastatingly as he so expertly did.Athanaze’s dismissal might have been spectacular enough were it simply a one-off magic delivery, but across the West Indian innings Theekshana time and again got the ball – particularly his offbreak – to turn at speeds touching 100kph.Wanindu Hasaranga and Dunith Wellalage also got turn, but at much slower speeds, while Motie clocked similar velocity without the same level of venom. Theekshana, simply put, was out on his own, one of one.Keacy Carty, his second victim, even had the benefit of a virtual mulligan, though it made little difference. The first was a sharp, turning offbreak at 97kph, one that in this instance owed more to the rough outside the right-hander’s off stump, as it surprised Carty when he was shaping up to cut. Sri Lanka reviewed the lbw shout, but were shot down by virtue of the impact being outside the line. However, the very next delivery – another quick turning offbreak – left Carty looking back at his battered off stump perplexed, unsure how exactly that one had snuck past his back-foot punch.Theekshana’s final scalp was courtesy his trademark carrom ball, as Hayden Walsh Jr’s attempt at a reverse sweep was comfortably countered by one that was quick, flat and straight as Theekshana rattled the stumps for a third time in the game.Theekshana unsurprisingly took home the Player-of-the-Match award for his 3 for 25 from nine overs, but what was surprising was that he was not even supposed to play on Wednesday. His inclusion had been a late one, as rain intervened between the side leaving the hotel and the toss taking place, so his extra pace was deemed more valuable than Jeffrey Vandersay’s more traditional legspin.Perhaps, this oversight is down to the fact that Theekshana himself doesn’t offer the same sort of headline quality of Sri Lanka’s other spin options. His career up-to-date has been far from prolific – 60 wickets in 44 ODIs, and 54 in 55 T20Is – so it’s rare to see him run through a side, or portend to turn a losing game into a winning one. He has instead long been seen as a containment option first and a wicket-taker second.His economy rate speaks quite clearly to this. In ODIs it’s 4.61, in T20Is it’s 6.76, and in this game it was a quite excellent 2.77, with 40 of the 54 deliveries he bowled being dots – the most in the game. But what he also offers is unparalleled utility; in T20Is, it’s not uncommon to see him utilised in the powerplay, in the middle overs, or even at the death – a place where most spinners dare tread. He has even got an LPL Super Over under his belt.Despite these qualities, Sri Lanka have yet to fully realise his ODI potential, leave alone in Tests – with it not unusual to see Theekshana as the odd man out at times.”He is a world-class bowler in the T20 format,” Asalanka had said after Sri Lanka’s win in the second ODI.At 24, Theekshana has already shown a tremendous appetite for improvement – even his batting is coming along – and if this trajectory continues, perhaps that qualifier won’t be necessary in the future.