Sri Lanka take on India in must-win encounter

Madushka Balasuriya reporting from Dhaka, Bangladesh

Sri Lanka take on India today in what has become a must-win match if the Lankans are to harbour any hopes of making it to the final of the Asia Cup. 

They go into the match with a poor record against the Indians, having lost a T20 series 2-1 in India prior to the Asia Cup. 

There the Lankan batsmen failed to fire in that series and the form of the top and middle order still remain a major concern. Captain Angelo Mathews acknowledged as much after his side’s 23-run loss to Bangladesh on Sunday.

“The shot selection was not really up to the mark today, especially after the start that we got, we could have just milked it around and pulled it through but unfortunately we just kept taking those wrong options. 147 on that wicket wasn’t a very big score,” said Mathews speaking after the match on Sunday night.

“We had a tall batting order but the run rate started creeping up and once it hit the 10-12 run per over mark we just kept losing wickets and we couldn’t really get the ball to the boundary.” Improvement will need to be quick for the Lankans, who only had a days rest since that defeat, and Mathews knows that the result has left his side with it all do against an in-form Indian outfit.

“Now we’ve got to do it the hard way, we have to beat India and Pakistan to enter the finals. It’s going to be tough road but we’re up for it. We’ve got to try and change it around, change our approach and be positive.”

Their task will be made even harder by the fact that pace spearhead and captain Lasith Malinga, who was ruled out of the clash against Bangladesh with a knee injury, will most likely miss out again.

“Lasith is struggling with a niggle. He will always be a crucial bowler for us but the management thought it was wise to give him a rest [against Bangladesh]. I don’t really know whether he will be fit for the next two games.” Stepping into Malinga’s shoes in the death overs was Dushmantha Chameera, who came away with impressive figures of 3/30 in his four overs and has been the one bright spark in recent times. Mathews was extremely pleased with the performance of the young quick and defended his decision to wait until the end overs to bring him in to the attack, despite having Bangladesh on the ropes early on.

“I thought Chameera bowled brilliantly. We needed someone to do Lasith’s job towards the end, and the wicket was turning as well with the batsmen finding it hard to hit boundaries off the spinners. So I thought I’d delay the fast bowlers as much as possible,” he explained.