For the umpteenth number of time this year, Sri Lanka’s batting came a cropper as their woeful run this year continued with yet another humbling defeat at the hands of Pakistan in the first T20 International.
The Islanders were thrashed 5-0 in the ODI series at home, and they failed to learn their lessons even those heavy thrashings, as another poor batting display cost them yet another game.
Batting first, the visitors were bowled out for a paltry 102 in the 19th over. Only two batsmen could cross the 20-run mark while only four managed to pass the double-digit score. The score was never going to pose a tough challenge for the hosts and they chased it down with quite ease in the 18th over.
Speaking after the game, Sri Lanka’s interim head coach Nic Pothas understandably did not pinpoint an exact reason behind yet another massive drubbing and said that players need to show character.
“I can only think of one word which is a character. In the Test side, Kaushal Silva if you take, you can’t put a value on Kaushal Silva. People will look and say that he didn’t get many runs. He gets 20 in 79 balls, and he makes life a lot easier for the middle order. He dries peoples’ gloves, he is there to support people, and he dives around the field and saves a million runs. You take that guy anywhere with you, in white ball cricket, we are looking at people who can do similar stuff. We are looking for that kind of team man,” Pothas told journalists after Sri Lanka’s heavy seven-wicket loss.
Pothas had some encouraging words for the bowlers who gave the team a glimmer of hope after reducing the hosts to 18 for two.
“The bowlers have been brilliant. At one point we were ahead of the game. Throughout the series, we have lost wickets in a clump, and that’s the reason why we have not been able to win. That’s something we need to resolve. Pakistan lost two early wickets and then experienced guys like Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik – with over 200 ODIs under their belt – batted without taking any risks. We need to put runs on the board to put pressure on their batsmen,” he said.
Sri Lanka has struggled against Pakistan’s quality bowling attack. Not only the pacers but also the spinners have made life tough for the Islanders.
Speaking about that, Pothas said: “It is impossible to stimulate things in practice. If you don’t have someone who bowls 90 miles an hour it is difficult to stimulate that in practice. If you don’t have the quality of Shadab Khan’s leg-spin, it is tough to stimulate that. It is pretty simple. You play Australia, how do you stimulate 145kmph left-arm pace at training? You try and do all what you can; you try to be creative to get close as you can. But in the heat of the battle, it’s more than skill that gets you to what you want.”