With Sri Lanka’s poor batting resulting in yet another humiliating defeat for the team, skipper Upul Tharanga has urged the top four to fire to help the team post a big total in following games.

After being asked to bat first in the first ODI at Dambulla, the Islanders were cruising at one stage with the scoreboard reading 139 for one in the 25th over before part-timer Kedar Jadhav dismissed Niroshan Dickwella (64) against the run of play. The dismissal of the well-set Dickwella opened the floodgates, as Sri Lanka lost their nine wickets for a mere 77 runs to get folded up for only 216 inside 44 overs. The score was never going to pose a challenge for the formidable Indian batting line up, as they chased down the total inside 29 overs by losing just one wicket.

With their pride at stake as well as World Cup berth, Tharanga has now asked his top-order batsmen to put up a big score.

“To get to a big total, we need the top four batsmen to fire. One or two of them must make a big score. That’s what we have seen in the past 10-15 years. If a player gets a century then we can put up a good total between 280-300,” Tharanga said at the pre-match press conference.

“What I expect from the batsmen is once they have settled in, they should bat the entire innings and take us to a decent total. If you look at the past results, we have been in good positions in the first 20-25 overs. From there onwards only we have lost the grip as batsmen played irresponsible shots,” the skipper added.

The heavy defeat in the first ODI had led the fans to turn hostile, as they resorted to shouting slogans outside the Sri Lankan team bus. There were also rumours of a rift in the dressing room. However, Tharanga quashed all the reports and also urged the frustrated fans to back the team.

“It was our bad luck we could not win the first ODI. But all the players are in good spirits because we have been preparing for this series well ahead of time. I have faith in the players that for the second ODI they will come up with a much better performance.

“Every time the fans have been behind us when we won or lost. As a team, all I can say is that we go out 100 percent to win the match. None of the 15 players in the squad go out to lose a match. We expect their support because that is the one that gives us strength and encouragement to perform well,” he added.

When asked whether veteran bowler Lasith Malinga is way past his best, Tharanga while denying the suggestion, said:

“Every cricketer goes through this phase. He has returned to ODI cricket after being out for about 18 months. But since his return, he has been unable to produce those match winning performances mainly because catches have been dropped off his bowling. But his presence in the team is a big boon to the young fast bowlers who can learn a lot from him.”

Sri Lanka has a chance of sealing an automatic qualification for the 2019 ODI World Cup if they win two matches in this series. Considering their and India’s form, it looks like a Herculean task, but the skipper said the players are focused on winning the two matches.

“As a team, we go to each match to win. We are not thinking too far but taking match by match. Tomorrow’s contest is vital for us because we lost the first. To qualify for the 2019 World Cup, we have to win two matches of the current series. All the players in the squad are aware of it. Our main aim is to win every match,” said Tharanga.

“West Indies are also trying to win and increase their points in the standings. We know what is expected from us but if we think too much it will affect our performances. So we are taking it match by match,” he concluded.