Sri Lanka will return home with nothing in their bags to showcase in public unable to win the Test series, ODI series and the T20 series after finishing the tour of New Zealand with defeat in the third and final T20 match in Queenstown yesterday.
Having got absolutely nothing right, except win the second T20 in the super over on the entire tour, Sri Lanka on yet another occasion failed to defend what was a defendable target of 183 in the last match with the two main strike bowlers Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva and Mahesh Theekshana unable to deliver when it mattered most.
Hasaranga was one of the main offenders in the entire series as he could not pick up any wickets in the final two matches and in the third T20 match yesterday was thrashed for 41 runs without taking a wicket in the four overs.
It only made the job of the captain unhealthier with calls for him to think about a resignation after Sri Lanka also lost the ODI series as did Dimuth Karunaratne the captain who lost the Test series.
That Sri Lanka picked up just three runs in the last over bowled by New Zealand fast bowler Matt Henry in setting the target did not help the cause either and more tragedy was to strike the team when Sri Lanka’s own fast bowler Lahiru Kumara conceded a six in his first ball in the last over at a time the Kiwis needed 10 runs.
While Hasaranga had a poor series with the ball, Dasun Shanaka made scores of 1, 7 and 15 in the three-match T20 series.
But overall Hasaranga was the biggest let down case in the five matches of what is called the white ball series as he finished with just two wickets from five matches unable to take a wicket in the ODI series.
Sri Lanka has never won a T20 series in New Zealand and yesterday’s deciding match gave the Kiwis a win and the series 2-1 thanks to an imposing innings of 88 by opener Tim Seifert who cracked 10 fours and three sixes facing just 48 balls.
Seifert eventually outsmarted Sri Lankan opener Kusal Mendis who came good with a top score of 73 made in 48 balls with six fours and five sixes.
Sri Lanka also lost the Test series 2-0 and the ODI series 2-0.