Sri Lanka's year of two halves

Sri Lanka endured a year of two halves in 2016. It began as an absolute nightmare, before the side managed to regain a modicum of composure. They were constantly exposed while on the road at the start, but the turnaround that began in the comfort of home conditions, stretched beyond the Isles. Their unending grapple with the transition following the retirements of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene reared its head in the first half of the year, but the rise of young Kusal Mendis and the maturity shown by Dinesh Chandimal proved Sri Lanka were indeed ready to kick-start a brand new era.

Timeline:

The New Zealand misery (January): Sri Lanka kick-started 2016 in the same way they ended the previous year - in doldrums. They played out the last two ODIs and the three T20Is in New Zealand, and returned home without a single victory.

Disappointments in Asia Cup and World T20 (February-March): Despite question marks over Lasith Malinga's fitness, the pacer risked his inclusion in the opening game of the Asia Cup against UAE. The result - a menacing spell of 4 of 24 that saved Sri Lanka the blushes as they set a modest target of 126 for their unfancied opposition. The repercussion - Malinga didn't bowl again in the Asia Cup and sat out of what turned out to be a terrible title defence at the Asia Cup. Sri Lanka's victory over UAE was their only win of the tournament, and was followed by defeats to Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.

Champions Sri Lanka were well and truly humbled in the World T20 soon after. If Malinga was the saviour in their solitary win in Bangladesh, it was veteran Tillakaratne Dilshan who turned up against Afghanistan at their World T20 opener. But once again, they managed to win just one of their four fixtures and crashed out of the tournament.

The England debacle (May-June): A brittle Sri Lankan batting unit came up against James Anderson in raging form, and understandably imploded. The fast bowler picked up three five-fers in the first two Tests, both of which England won with a handful of sessions to spare.

In the first game at Leeds, the visitors copped a severe beating as they succumbed to scores of 91 and 119 in a defeat by an innings and 88 runs. Their performance improved, but only marginally, as they couldn't avoid a defeat in Chester-le-Street to concede the three-match series. The first sign of resilience came very late in the series, when Sri Lanka managed to draw the final Test at Lord's as the batsmen finally turned up.

The resurrection (July): Sri Lanka's 'Road to Damascus' moment came at home against Australia. The Steven Smith-led side did everything in their control in order to improve their results in the subcontinent - arrived well in advance and hired Muralitharan as spin and Thilan Samaraweera as batting consultant - but faltered eventually.

It wasn't a straightforward route to success for Sri Lanka, though. When they were bundled out for 117 in the first innings of the series, there were genuine fears that Australia might actually taste success on Sri Lankan turf. Up stepped Rangana Herath.

The veteran spinner had the visitors in a daze, as did debutant left-arm tweaker Lakshan Sandakan as they picked up four wickets apiece to keep Australia's first-innings lead under 100. Even at this stage, Sri Lanka needed a good show with the bat in the second innings to put the pressure on Australia. Up stepped another hero, Kusal Mendis.

Mendis scored an impressive 176 to help the hosts set Australia a target of 268. Herath improved his tally to bag a fifer and earn a 106-run victory for his side.

Mendis carried forward his batting form to the Galle Test, his 86 in the first innings took Sri Lanka to 281. Herath and Dilruwan Perera then bamboozled Australia, who looked severely undercooked against turn, despite their early arrival in Sri Lanka in an attempt to acclimatise. Perera finished the Test with a match-haul of 10 wickets as Sri Lanka completed a 106-run win early on Day 3. At the SSC in Colombo, batsmen found a breather. At least for three out of the four innings. The two teams went neck-to-neck with two centurions each in their respective first innings. But the challenge of batting fourth wasn't one to be overcome easily as Australia were skittled for 160 in chase of 324. Herath finished the game with 13 scalps to his name as Sri Lanka completed a 3-0 whitewash.

Joy in Zimbabwe (October-November): Even if they hadn't recovered from a poor start to 2016, Sri Lanka were never meant to struggle in Tests in Zimbabwe. A complete performance, where the top-order batsmen competed amongst themselves for centuries and the bowlers - Herath particularly - enjoyed testing a shaky batting line-up. Sri Lanka won both the Tests comfortably, with Herath bagging 13 wickets in the second (5-89 & 8-63).

Sri Lanka took their good form into the ODI tri-series, involving Zimbabwe and West Indies. They lost just one fixture and lorded over a tricky home side that usurped West Indies to reach the final. Once again, Kusal Mendis was at the helm of applause-worthy performances, despite having an ordinary start to the series. In two crucial fixtures, Mendis took the onus upon himself to steer his team forward. Against West Indies, his 73-ball 94 propelled Sri Lanka to 330, after which the bowlers did their job, just about, in a one-run victory.

In the final, he scored another half-century as Sri Lanka chased down a sub-par target to win the tournament.

Dismay against South Africa (December): In the first Test at Port Elizabeth, Sri Lanka were thoroughly outplayed as they fell to a 206-run defeat against the hosts. Suranga Lakmal picked up a five-wicket haul to restrict the hosts in the first innings but Vernon Philander's five-fer nullified that, giving South Africa a lead of 81 runs. The hosts, led by centurion Stephen Cook, enhanced the advantage in the second innings before bowling Sri Lanka out for 281 on the last day to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Top Performer : Rangana Herath

Rangana Herath was the man who anchored Sri Lanka's turnaround this year. Until the Boxing Day Test against South Africa, Herath had 57 wickets in 16 Tests at an average of 18.92 and finished as the second-highest wicket-taker of the year in Tests. During the course of the year, Herath also reached the milestone of 350 Test wicket in 75 matches - the second-fastest spinner after Muttiah Muralitharan to achieve the feat. Angelo Mathews's injury during Australia series prompted Sri Lanka Cricket to reward one of the best performers of the year with captaincy for the tour of Zimbabwe.

Disappointing Performer: Dimuth Karunaratne

It has been four years since Dimuth Karunaratne made his Test debut, but is yet to fulfill his potential at the highest level. He began poorly in the Leeds and Chester-le-Street Tests against England, before scoring a consolatory 50 in the drawn Test at Lord's, which was much kinder of the visiting batsmen. The massive slump came at home against Australia, when he managed an aggregate of 41 runs in six innings. He recovered some form with a fifty and a hundred in the first Test in Harare, but has largely had an underwhelming 2016.

Promising Performer: Kusal Mendis

While Herath has been heralded for his performances at a time when the team has had to find its way out of the abyss, 21-year-old Kusal Mendis deserves ample amount of praise too. His exceptional knock of 176 in the second innings proved to be a key moment in Sri Lanka's turnaround this year, as it helped provide a big enough total for Herath to run through Australia's batting line-up in the first Test in Pallekele. Mendis also showcased his ODI credentials in the tri-series under pressure situation, providing an optimistic glimpse into the future for Sri Lankan cricket.

What lies ahead?

After the tough assignment in South Africa gets done, Sri Lanka could get a chance to gauge their home abilities in Tests, as they are likely to host Bangladesh in March and India after the Champions Trophy. Zimbabwe are also expected to come visiting around the same time, before another away tours against Pakistan and South Africa. A lot also depends on how long Rangana Herath plans to carry on. The 38-year-old has had a phenomenal year with the ball and could be prompted to play on for a bit longer. Sri Lanka will hope for the same too, given their recent history of dealing with retirements. A Herath-shaped void could prove to be a massive one to fill.