With our experienced batting line-up, we should have got the runs: Asalanka

•  “Turning point of the match was Ferguson’s hat-trick”
• Hasaranga to miss ODI series

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq 

DAMBULLA: Sri Lanka white-ball skipper Charith Asalanka blamed his batsmen and himself for failing to chase down a moderate target of 109 that saw New Zealand pull off a five-run win in the second T20I played at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium on Sunday and share the two-match series 1-all.

“New Zealand bowled brilliantly, but with our experienced batting line-up, we should have taken better options,” said Asalanka at the post-match press conference. “We should have kept our intent a bit longer from the beginning. What we discussed inside the dressing room was to bat with the same intent we have been doing so far, even though we were chasing a small target. You cannot get a target to chase as small as this. To get them out for 108 was a brilliant effort. The batsmen must take the blame for the defeat.”

Asalanka said that spin was Sri Lanka’s strength at home and the batsmen must understand that they are going to get tough conditions to bat on.

“It’s tough for the batsmen to score runs on these kinds of surfaces but we must be able to take proper options. When we get to England or Australia, we get seaming pitches. Even there it is difficult to score runs, so you must be able to take the right options when you play on different surfaces. To score runs you always have to keep your intent.”

Sri Lanka were dismissed for 103, with only Pathum Nissanka showing some intent to top score with a fighting knock of 52 off 51 balls.

Asalanka said that the turning point of the match was the hat-trick performed by fast bowler Lockie Ferguson, who was later named Player of the Match. 

“He got the wickets of Kusal Perera, Kamindu Mendis, and me. Three left-handers getting out of four in the top order had a big effect.”

Ferguson was forced to leave the field after bowling two overs with a stiff calf muscle and New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner was hopeful that he would be fit for the ODI series.

“I am not sure about his calf; he was uncomfortable with it. I don’t know if it was taken as a precautionary measure or if it is anything serious. Hopefully he will be fit.”

“It was nice to watch Lockie. If someone can come and bowl at that pace on a wicket that was actually not carrying through, it can change the game. For us, getting those wickets in the middle helped us defend a low score. We talked about bowling partnerships and we did that well today. Whoever got the ball in hand bowled with a purpose and a real plan.”

Santner said the tricky nature of the wicket enabled the spinners to take wickets quite comfortably.

“[Wanindu] Hasaranga was challenging for us even on one leg. Ideally, we soaked up a little more pressure with wickets in hand and tried and played some shots, but Sri Lanka bowled well throughout the whole innings and made it very tough. Wickets in the powerplay always make it very challenging to come back from. [Matheesha] Pathirana is tough to play.”

One thing that New Zealand will be happy about is that Hasaranga, who won the Player of the Series award, is likely to miss the three-match ODI series starting on Wednesday.

The leg-spinner pulled a left hamstring and was hobbling about while bowling and batting. He bowled virtually on one leg to take four New Zealand wickets for 17 runs to cause the main destruction to their innings. 

“Hasaranga is having a scan taken tomorrow [Tuesday]. He left for Colombo yesterday [Monday]. We don’t know what the injury is until we have the scan report. He will most likely miss the first ODI and probably the series. We cannot take a risk, especially with a white-ball tour to New Zealand starting in the last week of December,” said Sri Lanka Manager Mahinda Halangoda.

Hasaranga underwent major surgery in his right hamstring in October last year and missed out on the 2023 Cricket World Cup in India.

Wicket-keeper/batsman Kusal Mendis, who was also injured during the second T20I when he took a blow on the side of his knee, has somewhat recovered and will be available for the ODI series.