Saturday Nov 23, 2024
Saturday Nov 23, 2024
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Getting early wickets is the key to keeping Pakistan Shaheens down to a decent score, is what Sri Lanka ‘A’ are planning to do in the first semi-final of the ACC Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup at the Al-Amerat Cricket ground in Oman today. The match is scheduled to commence at 2.30 p.m. with the second semi-final between India ‘a’ and Afghanistan ‘A’ scheduled at the same venue at 7 p.m.
Pakistan Shaheens have been topping 170 plus in each of their three group matches, and Sri Lanka ‘A’ Head Coach Avishka Gunawardene is of the view that if they can keep the opposition down to score lower than that Sri Lanka ‘A’ will have a good chance of chasing it down.
“160 looks like the par score but in a semi-final on a new wicket anything above 160 we have to get against a strong Pakistan line-up if we bat first,” said Gunawardene. “Getting wickets early is the key to keep Pakistan down to a decent score. Our death bowling has been good in the three games, that’s a plus point.”
“We are playing a day game where the conditions are slightly different than during the night. In the night the ball comes onto the bat slightly better than in the daytime. The spinners have been playing a big part in the middle overs. We are trying to get a couple of early wickets that’s what we have been lacking in our bowling department. Try and get a couple of early wickets and push them back.”
“Pakistan are a pretty good bowling side, their batting is also strong. Overall, they have a strong side, one of the best sides in the tournament. It won’t be the same tactics we used in bowling against Bangladesh. We have a few plans. We are getting a new wicket I was told. If that’s the case the first 6 overs the tactics will be changed.”
Sri Lanka ‘A’ started the tournament with an 11-run loss to Afghanistan ‘A’, a game Gunawardene said they should have won.
“It’s just that a couple of run outs and a few missed chances cost us the game. No excuse. When we left Sri Lanka, we never had an outdoor session at all. It rained for two weeks, and training was confined to indoors. That probably was one of the reasons we were rusty in the first game. But they have caught up as the games have gone. Defending 161 and winning by 19 runs against a pretty decent Bangladesh ‘A’ team was a good effort.”
Between these two matches Sri Lanka ‘A’ defeated Hong Kong by 42 runs.
Gunawardene is happy the way the team has jelled and performed so far.
“We’ve been improving with every game and that’s the confidence they have as a team. The good thing is there is no one player who comes and performs, it’s the whole team as a unit that is contributing with the bat, ball and on the field. This is not a typical T20 side. It’s a young side that has been with the A team for a while. The only thing is I want a batter getting a 20 or a 30 to go onto get a 70-80 score and bat till the 15th-16th over, especially the first four batters. That’s what we have been lacking in all three games. We’ve been talking to the batsman. If one of the batsmen can put his hand up and give us a good innings, we can get to 160-170, which is normally a decent score on this track.”
–(ST)
EMERGING TEAMS ASIA CUP 2024 FINAL GROUP
