5 reasons why Sri Lanka has been struggling in ODIs 

Sri Lanka used to be one of the giants of limited-overs cricket - the fact that the team made the final of the World Cup in two of its last three editions is a testament to that.

However, over the last few years, Sri Lanka has struggled to compete with the best teams in the world, and this year has seen it reach its nadir, with back-to-back 5-0 ODI losses to India and Pakistan.

Let's take a look at five of the major reasons behind Sri Lanka's struggles in the 50-over format of the game.

#5 Retirement of stalwarts

Any team that loses two of its batting stalwarts in one go is going to struggle when it comes to replacing them. Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara were the team's batting stalwarts for the better part of a decade and a half. However, both retired at the end of the 2015 World Cup and a year later, star opener Tillakaratne Dilshan retired as well.

The hole in the batting line up is immense, and Sri Lanka has failed to find adequate replacements. This lack of quality in the team's batting has had them struggle to score big when batting first and chase down big totals when batting second.

#4 Declining powers of Malinga

Lasith Malinga

For a large part of his career, Lasith Malinga was one of the world's best limited-overs fast bowlers, and his ten overs were often the key to Sri Lanka winning matches.

It was as a death over bowler that he was most feared, and his overs have swung many games for Sri Lanka over the past decade.

However, he is not the same bowler anymore. His pace has declined, and plenty of batsmen seemed to have worked out how to play him. Malinga's decline has been directly responsible for the huge scores that Sri Lanka concedes these days. In addition to that, he doesn't play often enough.

#3 Lack of match awareness

The Sri Lankan team

Due to the absence of experienced players, the team often finds itself at a loss when it comes to deciding how best to approach a situation.

For instance, it is often seen that when they lose a wicket, they tend to lose a few more in a cluster, and then the innings goes for a toss even before it properly begins. That was on show in the last ODI against Pakistan, in which they slumped to 103 all out on a fairly straightforward pitch.

This tendency has not served Sri Lanka well and continues to harm the team as it seeks to rebuild itself.

#2 Bowling attack lacks penetration

Pakistan v Sri Lanka - ODI

Although it is true that containment is regarded as a good enough ploy in ODIs, there is no substitute for an effective bowling attack.

Sri Lanka has struggled in that department quite spectacularly. Plenty of promising bowlers have come through the ranks over the years, but the best batsmen often find an escape route when they play against Sri Lanka.

However, Vandersay and Dananjaya appear promising, and it might not be long before Sri Lanka is able to field a penetrative bowling attack in ODIs.

#1 Angelo Mathews's prolonged troubles

Angelo Mathews

Ever since he first arrived on the scene, Angelo Mathews looked like one of Sri Lanka's best players and one of the world's premiere all-rounders. Following the retirements of some stalwarts, Mathews became Sri Lanka's best batsman and, for a while, was counted among the best batsmen in the world. He was also a very good bowler.

However, persistent injuries forced him to give up bowling, and a prolonged loss of form as a batsman further weighed him down. He played the ICC Champions Trophy earlier this year solely as a batsman, and Sri Lanka missed out on his formidable talents as a bowler.

His loss of batting form and long absences from ODIs have been major factors in Sri Lanka's ODI troubles.