After a humiliating loss to England on Sunday, Sri Lanka’s batting coach acknowledged that they would have to do it “the hard way” if they wanted to go to the T20 World Cup semifinals.
The co-hosts need to win their next two Super Eight matches to have a chance of qualifying after being bundled out for 95 while chasing 147 in Kandy. They now have a low net run rate, which could be critical in a close group, so even that might not be sufficient.
With 0 points, Sri Lanka lies at the bottom of Super Eights Group 2, trailing both New Zealand and Pakistan by one point each following the cancellation of their match on Saturday. With a victory over Pakistan at the same Kandy venue on Tuesday, England, who are now leading by two points, will almost guarantee their spot in the final four.
There won’t be much time for Sri Lanka to regroup as they face New Zealand in Colombo on Wednesday.
“We have no choice now but to win our next two games. We will do it the hard way,” AFP quoted Sri Lanka batting coach Vikram Rathour telling reporters.
After a century against Australia, opening batsman Pathum Nissanka was dismissed for 9, revealing Sri Lanka’s unsteady middle order, and they were bowled out in 16.4 overs.
“When your best batter is dismissed early, you tend to struggle and that’s what happened today,” said Rathour.
Sri Lanka were never in the hunt after falling to 34/5 in the six-over powerplay, as Jofra Archer took two wickets with lightning speed at one end and Will Jacks claimed three at the other with his off-spin.
“Disappointing game, yes. We should have chased that down. It was a tacky wicket as it was under cover for a while. After losing a few wickets, it was tough to get back into the game,” said Rathour.
