The main reason Sri Lanka has struggled in their series against England has been their inability to put up significant totals; skipper Dhananjaya de Silva has often emphasized how important it is for their batting order to step up. 

Sri Lanka has not reached 350 runs in four innings, and none of their top seven scorers have reached a century. 

De Silva underlined that Sri Lanka is struggling due to their deficiency in first-inning runs.

Sri Lanka’s top order collapsed to 72 for 5 in their opening innings of the first Test match. They scored 83 for five on the second Test, so things were similar. 

The fundamental problem, in de Silva’s opinion, has been the inabilityinability to offer a strong foundation from the top. 

“The biggest problem we’ve had is that our batters need to score runs,” said de Silva. “Those who received beginnings did not progress to become hundreds or 150s. 

On their side, Joe Root is a man who routinely scores runs while other players score runs all around him. To get to 300 or 350, someone on our side must also accomplish that.

The Joe Root parallel is insightful. Throughout the series, Root, England’s prolific batsman, has been a pain in Sri Lanka’s side, anchoring England’s innings and often scoring runs. 

On the other hand, Sri Lanka has yet to have a player who can anchor the innings and let others construct around them. 

De Silva pointed out that scoring runs in the first inning is essential for applying pressure to the opposition and paving the way for victory.

Batting at No. 7, Kamindu Mendis has been the team’s best performer and a bright spot in Sri Lanka’s batting order. 

Mendis scored 74 at Lord’s after amassing an outstanding 113 in Manchester. With a batting average of 78.87 going into his sixth Test match, he has amassed more than fifty runs six times in nine innings, with three being hundreds. 

There has been pressure to promote Mendis due to his form and aptitude for the circumstances. 

De Silva clarified, though, that they are happy to leave Mendis at No. 7 for now. “There’s no reason to change what he’s doing and put him in trouble if Kamindu plays well down there,” de Silva stated. 

It’s beneficial for his career as well if he is scoring there. We are currently considering him as a No. 7, but we may speak with him about his ambitions in the future.

Mendis has been outstanding, but Sri Lanka’s other batters have found it challenging to handle England’s seamers, who have constantly maintained precise control over length and line. 

De Silva remarked, “They [England] have much control in addition to their experience.” There aren’t many loose balls in England, so we have to be ready for that. 

They prevented us from carrying out our strategies in the two prior games. That explains their success.

England’s most outstanding player, Joe Root, has amassed 350 runs in four innings to give his team a decisive 2-0 series lead. 

Sri Lanka has tried several tactics to restrain him, but as de Silva pointed out, Root is hard to stop because of his ability to adapt to their plans swiftly.

He saw what we were attempting to achieve very quickly and refuted it. De Silva said, “That’s what elite athletes do, which is why he scored runs.” 

He is still optimistic that Sri Lanka has come up with a fresh approach that would surprise Root in the remaining games.