Sri Lanka captain, Dasun Shanaka, admitted that his team was really poor in the first T20I after the tourists suffered a 62-run defeat in the three-match T20I series opener against India on February 24.
Electing to bowl first, Sri Lanka’s bowling strategy failed completely, as the bowlers were taken for cleaners by Team India batters Rohit Sharma (44 off 32 balls), Ishan Kishan (89 off 56 balls), and Shreyas Iyer (57 not out off 28 balls) to help the host post a challenging target of 200 against the Islanders.
Chasing the target, Sri Lanka had a very poor start, as they lost Pathum Nissanka on the very first ball and lost half their side by 12 overs. Apart from Charith Asalanka (53*), no other Sri Lanka batters managed to make an impact in front of the Indian attack and were restricted to 137/6 in Lucknow.
Shanaka told Star Sports in the post-match presentation ceremony: “We were really poor in all three departments. They batted beautifully, read the game and conditions really well. I could have bowled more.”
The skipper further said that his spinners Praveen Jayawickrama and Jeffrey Vandersay didn't have much experience and they missed Maheesh Theekshana (nursing hamstring injury) and Wanindu Hasaranga (still in isolation in Australia due to Covid-19) against India.
He added, “We are without two frontline spinners, Theekshana and Hasaranga. The replacements aren't really experienced.”
However, Shanaka hopes Asalanka will continue to do well in the ongoing T20I series in India. He said, “Asalanka was a positive from this game. Hopefully, Asalanka carries his form throughout the series.”
Shanaka also admitted that Dushmantha Chameera was bowling well, but the circumstances didn't allow him to give the pacer a longer spell in the first six overs in the first T20I against India.
He signed off by saying, “Chameera is bowling beautifully. He is our main strike bowler but the situations didn't allow me to bowl him longer.”
(With IANS Inputs)
