Since Dimuth Karunaratne made his Test debut for Sri Lanka back in November 2012, he has had 9 different opening partners. From Kaushal Silva to Dilruwan Perera, Sri Lanka have tried them all, in the hope of finding someone who can match Karunaratne’s consistency.
In the 2nd Test between Sri Lanka and South Africa at the Sinhalese Sports Club, Karunaratne and fellow left-hander Danushka Gunathilake put on 116 runs for the 1st wicket, ending a drought of 7 years, during which a Sri Lankan opening pair had not put on a 100+ partnership at home. The last time a pair managed to do so was back in 2011, when TM Dilshan and Tharanga Paranavithane made 207 against the West Indies in Galle.
Between then and now, Karunaratne and his most featured partner Kaushal Silva have managed to cross the 100-run mark on 4 occasions, all overseas. The last century opening partnership for a Sri Lankan pair overall came back in 2016, when Karunaratne and Silva managed 123 against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club Grounds in Zimbabwe.
The pair were persisted with for many years, despite the two almost taking it in turns to go out of form but in time, Karunaratne’s consistency, particularly in the 2nd innings, meant that Silva fell by the wayside. Silva has not played since October last year, when Sri Lanka toured the UAE and now, finally, Sri Lanka seem to have moved on from the diminutive right-hander.
SO, have Sri Lanka found a more permanent replacement in Danushka Gunathilake?
Danushka Gunathilake broke into the national team back in 2015 when he made his ODI debut against West Indies. Since then, he has been considered very much the limited overs player, perhaps as a result of his attacking style of play.
Even when he was handed his Test debut against India back in 2017, it was as a makeshift replacement in the middle order that was without an ill Dinesh Chandimal, almost as a last resort. Since his debut in July 2017, Gunathilake has played in 5 Tests on 4 different tours; one apiece against India, Bangladesh and the West Indies and two against the Proteas. In fact, this is the 1st time in his one-year long career that he has played 2 Tests in the same series.
Trying circumstances for any upcoming player but neither his numbers nor his dismals have been inspiring over that period. Guilty of playing away from his body and surrendering his wicket cheaply, Gunathilake showed some restraint against the Proteas on day 1 of the 2nd Test, particularly when it came to the deliveries outside the off stump. In doing so, he managed to survive longer at the crease and eventually, the runs came easier.
In this innings, at least briefly, he was able to find the right balance between attacking cricket and Test cricket, exactly what Sri Lanka have been looking for, ever since the retirement of TM Dilshan.
Just when he looked set for a big score, Gunathilake was guilty of playing a poor shot once again. Often times those writing him off as a limited overs only cricketer claim that he does not have the temperament for the long game and dismissals such as today’s will only strengthen that claim. However, if he is able to replicate the kind of concentration he achieved during the 1st session of play in this game, there is no reason why the selectors should not consider him as a long-term option partnering Karunaratne.
There is a long way to go for the southpaw but if he is able to get his act together over the next couple of series, if given the opportunity, he has a real chance of cementing his place at the top of Sri Lanka’s batting line-up in all formats of the game.
