ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
Colombo, Feb 22: Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka described his side’s batting effort as “very disappointing” after their 51-run loss to England in the T20 World Cup Super Eights, admitting that a promising bowling display was undone by poor shot selection.
Speaking after the match, Shanaka said Sri Lanka had plenty of positives with the ball and had managed to keep England at least 20 runs below what he considered a par total. However, he had expected a far stronger showing from his batters.
“It’s very disappointing, but at the same time, we had a lot of positives in the ball. I think we kept them towards a total which was at least 20 runs under par. I expected my players to bat well,” he said.The skipper rejected suggestions that the pitch was responsible for the collapse, maintaining that conditions were playable. While acknowledging the surface was slightly slow early on, he felt it improved under lights and did not justify the manner of the dismissals.“The pitch played well. It was a bit slow in the first innings, but with the lights on, it settled. We played badly. All our bowlers did well; it’s not that they bowled exceptionally. We played rash shots at crucial intervals,” Shanaka observed.
He reiterated his confidence in Sri Lanka’s bowling combination, noting that the team had relied on five frontline options, including an all-rounder, throughout the tournament to good effect.“In this World Cup, we’ve gone with five main bowlers. It’s a good attack to have and I can restrict most sides to lower scores,” he explained.Shanaka revealed that the plan during the chase was to take the game deep, given the team’s familiarity with such conditions. But he admitted that the batters failed to choose the right options under pressure.
“The discussion was to take it deep. We’ve played a lot in these conditions. It was about taking the positive and right options, which we didn’t. It’s one bad game, and that’s not affordable in a World Cup. We need to bounce back in the next couple of games,” he said.Despite the setback, the captain expressed faith in his top order, pointing out their strong performances in recent matches.“It’s one bad game. The top four have done really well in the recent past, so I’m sure they will come good in the upcoming games,” Shanaka added. (IANS)
