• Sri Lanka’s second T20I defeat against Australia

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Sri Lanka’s leading T20I bowler Wanindu Hasaranga said that his team was 15 to 20 runs short and that was the reason why they lost the second T20I to Australia at the R Premadasa Stadium and with it the three-match series which they trail 0-2 with one to play.

Australia chasing a moderate Sri Lanka total of 124-9 slumped to 99-7, but were able to still pull off a win by three wickets because the target didn’t represent a big challenge to them.

“The wicket was turning and I thought if Mahesh (Theekshana) and I could take wickets at the top we could somehow defend our total of 124 and change the course of the game. But as it turned out we were about 15 to 20 runs short, that’s why we lost,” said Hasaranga who had given Sri Lanka a glimpse of victory when he made a strong comeback from being hit for 27 runs in two overs in the first match to take four wickets for 33 in the second.

“A team like the Australians will always try to attack me from the first over because they know that by doing so, if they can hit me out of the attack they can get on top of the bowling. But I love to bowl when they attack rather than when they try to defend because it gives me a better chance of getting a wicket.”

Hasaranga admitted that the Sri Lankan batting was not in top shape as was witnessed in the first two T20Is where they have not been able to score more than 128.

“We have to accept that some of our middle and late order batsmen are not in good form at the moment. As a team we must try to defend whatever total our batsmen put on the board. If we can add another 10% to our batting performances in the next game and the next series it will be helpful,” said Hasaranga.

“We are targeting the next T20 World Cup. If the batsmen and bowlers can come to peak closer to the World Cup that’s what we are looking at as a team. In the two matches (against Australia) there were small mistakes made in the batting and we have to accept them as a team. We are looking at how to rectify them and make a comeback.”

“We have quite a few good white ball series coming up before the World Cup and if we can bring our batting and bowling to a certain level, it will be helpful for us as a team. We must accept the fact that our bowling unit is performing well because to come close to defending a score like 125 against a team like Australia means that our bowlers are good. By the time we come to the World Cup in October I expect to see a big improvement because the more matches we play we can improve. Likewise, we are targeting our batsmen also to follow similarly before the World Cup.”

The third and final T20I commences at the Pallekele International Stadium tomorrow.

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