So it was Murli the chucker or the shot-putter who was doing the trick for them all these years.
Without Murli, they were a flop in the Twenty20 WC (so much for their attacking batsmen).
And they just lost the ODI series to a mediocre English Side on home soil.
What say ?
Re: Sri Lankan Team - Murli the Chucker = TOOTHLESS
like i said…1 down, 2 more to go… :k: 
as far the series, ENG def is the better of the two teams. their approach and attitude, a world apart from sri lanka. with the exception of the first ODI where eng struggled to cope with sub continent conditions, they have come back strongly in the last 3 ODIs to not just win but win convincingly. :k: sri lanka, on the other hand, had to taste a dose of their own medicine by producing such horrible pitches, especially the one at dambulla.
oh well, i hope they’d learn from this loss. :k:
Re: Sri Lankan Team - Murli the Chucker = TOOTHLESS
Didn't see the matches so can't comment on their overall performance. However the series could be have been 2-2 had Srilanka won the close contest in the 3rd ODI.
Indeed murali is an important part but I won't say that they are a useless bunch without him. They still have Vaas, Malinga, Fernando and some allrounders along with quite a few solid batsmen in their team. Don't forget their performance in the WorldCup this year, eeven though Murali was the top wicket taker however there was big contributioin from Malinga and Vass in the bowling department as well as Jayawardene, Sangakara, Silva in the batting.
So it wont be fair to say that Srilankans are nothing without Murali.
Re: Sri Lankan Team - Murli the Chucker = TOOTHLESS
So it wont be fair to say that Srilankans are nothing without Murali.
Sri Lanka are not nothing without Murli, but they are close to half-strength considering that Murli takes 4-5 wickets in almost every other match.
Also, the absence of Murli the chucker provides "psychological relief" to the opposition.
Re: Sri Lankan Team - Murli the Chucker = TOOTHLESS
^^ Totaly agree on Some1's point. I would love to see the Lankan performance after Murli retire.
Re: Sri Lankan Team - Murli the Chucker = TOOTHLESS
So it was Murli the chucker or the shot-putter who was doing the trick for them all these years.
Without Murli, they were a flop in the Twenty20 WC (so much for their attacking batsmen).
And they just lost the ODI series to a mediocre English Side on home soil.
What say ?
But then they did well in the main world Cup and against England in England last year drawing the test series 1-1 after being 0-1 and thrashing England in all 5 ODIs (minus Murali in the last three games). Although Flintoff missed the one-dayers he did play in the tests.
And it was n't all about Murali in tests either as Jayawardene and Sangakkara played their part with the bat, Jayawardene stroking a memorable 374 and Jayasuriya hitting two big hundreds in the one-dayers
Pakistan on the other hand lost the test series 0-3 (or more like 0-2 or 1-2 as they forfeited the last game which they were winning) and drew 2-2 in one-dayers.
That said Sri Lanka have really underperformed in the last three games after winning the first one quite easily and perhaps understandably. Their batting is just not clicking for some reason.
Re: Sri Lankan Team - Murli the Chucker = TOOTHLESS
Pakistan - Shoaib are a weak ass attack too in Asian conditions.
Re: Sri Lankan Team - Murli the Chucker = TOOTHLESS
So it was Murli the chucker or the shot-putter who was doing the trick for them all these years.
There was a time when you took out Mcgrath or Warne from Australia and all of a sudden they didn't know how to win
There was a time when you took out Tendulkar and all of a sudden India didn't know how to bat
It's just a phase in cricket, when you take out a star performer, it takes a while for the team to re-establish itself.