Sri Lanka find new lionhearts in sloppy-to-sublime performance

It's the 47th over of Netherlands' innings. Logan van Beek, running between the wickets, is nowhere near safety and has resigned to fate. Substitute fielder Dunith Wellalage flicks the throw from cover to Chamika Karunaratne, who botches a simple run out chance at the bowler's end. Van Beek gets to his maiden ODI half-century.

Then in the penultimate over, van Beek heaves Kasun Rajitha's slower ball to the deep midwicket. Charith Asalanka covers some ground first before throwing himself full stretch on the edge of the boundary. It was towards the shorter side and momentum could've taken it over, but for Asalanka's athleticism and balance.

These are just two of several instances in a game where Sri Lanka fluctuated from sloppy to the sublime. But again, if you're in their shoes, you'd be mighty relieved at grabbing the two points any which way, not necessarily fussed about how they were earned.

Sri Lanka's campaign has thrown up far too many questions, and few answers. Against South Africa, they conceded 428. Against Pakistan, they failed to defend 344. Against Australia, they went from cruise control at 125 for 0 to crash landing: 209 all out. On Saturday in Lucknow, they were in choppy waters at 52 for 2 in the 10th over chasing 263, after losing the advantage in the bowling innings after having Netherlands at 91 for 6 at one stage.

Van Beek and Sybrand Engelbrecht put up 130 for the seventh wicket to revive an innings that appeared to be stuck in second gear for a good chunk. Sri Lanka would not have felt particularly good at the break between innings but they willed themselves to victory, courtesy key performances from individuals who have elicited varied opinion.

Take Kasun Rajitha for example. It's hard to imagine how someone who burst onto the scene and rolled over a strong India line-up on a spicy Pune deck in a T20I in 2016, with the kind of pace, seam presentation and subtle variations in length he showed that night, hadn't played more than 29 ODIs prior to this.

Rajitha's has been a case of frustrating injuries, poor form and being stuck in a selection mire. Yet, when he bounds in and threatens the top of off regularly like he did on Saturday, it seems he's destined for brighter days.

It's likely he was force-fitted into an XI desperately short of options, especially in the wake of an injury to Matheesha Pathirana. After conceding 1 for 90 against South Africa and then sitting out of the next two games, he returned to deliver a top opening act: seven high-intensity overs, three wickets for 23 to walk off to a job well done.

His late inswing accounted for Vikramjit Singh in his second over. His deceptive pace and skid off the pitch had Max O'Dowd chopping on. Then, Colin Ackermann, perhaps best suited to handle pace and bounce given his rich county experience and regular game time, was done in by a short ball. All told, it was a spell Sri Lanka needed, especially after the tough time they've had with the ball at this World Cup.

Then there's his partner in crime Dilshan Madushanka. He burst on the scene by splaying Virat Kohli's stumps with a zinger in Dubai last year. He nearly didn't make it here, after suffering a torn oblique muscle in August prior to the Asia Cup, but his potential was too tempting for the selectors to ignore even if his chances of being picked, forget playing, was borderline.

Madushanka was among those instrumental in Sri Lanka qualifying for this tournament; he picked up eight wickets in four games at the Qualifiers in June, a tournament where he wasn't picked, only to be summoned late to replace Dushmantha Chameera.

Such are the strange ways of life that Madushanka has gone from being on the fringes of the Sri Lanka A team to one of their main bowlers in a few months. Three nights ago, he delivered a telling spell up top against Australia, eliciting comparisons with the great Chaminda Vaas. In Lucknow, it was merely a reiteration that he is quality.

Much of Rajitha's success was down to Madushanka's control at the other end with the new ball. It also helped that Netherlands surprisingly opted to bat, not wanting to waver from their set template of putting up a score, even if conventional wisdom demanded doing the opposite.

On a deck with moisture and some grass, Madushanka was effective, if not menacing, with his control. He eventually finished with 4 for 49, the strike of Engelbrecht to break a 130-run stand in the 46th over may have perhaps led to Sri Lanka chasing 20 fewer.

Then there's Sadeera Samarawickrama. Another of those maverick batters who you watch and go 'wow', but then do a double take when you see his career stats. For someone with that ability of picking lengths early, cutting and pulling with the kind of power he possesses, it's rather strange he'd played just 26 ODIs since his debut in 2017.

He was particularly impressive in combating Netherlands' spin threat, ensuring he was always getting right to the pitch while driving and outside the line of the stumps while sweeping, especially against Roelof van der Merwe's left-arm spin. His leg-side game, a result of months of work, especially in terms of being able to access the area square of the wicket, was impressive to watch. This came handy especially when the faster bowlers went short of a length after being picked off for boundaries in trying to go fuller.

Samarawickrama's bugbear has been his inability to carry on and make tall scores. On Saturday, he batted those choppy waters to take Sri Lanka home, finishing unbeaten on 91 in a chase he'd decided to take deep. This, coming on the back of what seemed a seminal hundred against Pakistan in Hyderabad two weeks ago, could well signal a new dawn.

Sri Lanka will dearly hope it's also the start of a new dawn for their World Cup campaign which may not be all that doom and gloom, especially considering their next opponents, England, are in a similar situation.