Follow UsSri Lanka’s third game of the 2024 T20 World Cup against Nepal at Lauderhill, Florida, on June 11 (Tuesday) was washed out with a ball being bowled and the Island Nation are now all but out of the 20-over showpiece event. The 2014 champions are still mathematically in it… just about. They could officially be out of the tournament even before they take the field next.
They are due to play the Netherlands on June 16 (Sunday) in St Lucia, but three days before that on June 13 (Thursday), the Dutch will take on Bangladesh in St Vincent. If that game does not get washed out, Sri Lanka will be out of the tournament, as one team would make it to four points. The maximum Sri Lanka can get from here is only three points.
Maheesh Theekshana said it’s frustrating to be in this position, but Sri Lanka have no one but themselves to blame. “We were here yesterday and there was no rain, so we thought hopefully there'll be no rain today as well, but we can't control the weather.
“But we didn't play well the first two games. I think that's why we had to earn the spot as well. I think we didn't earn it because we didn't play the first two games well. So we can't control the weather but have one game left in Saint Lucia.
Sri Lanka first lost to South Africa by six wickets and then went down by two wickets against Bangladesh. “We didn't have the luck that we wanted as well but hopefully we will have the luck on the fourth game.
“If we win and if it's rain or something then it's a miracle. Right now if we go through - if it happens I'm really happy. We only have one game, so we have to do our best and think about our net run rate and everything. It's not going to be easy for us and it's a miracle actually. So we'll try to play the next game as well as possible.”
The Sri Lankan spinner said everything has gone wrong for Sri Lanka in this competition and they actually don’t deserve a spot in the Super 8s. “Everything went wrong this year. We didn't bat well and we didn't assess the conditions really well and our plans, everything went wrong.
“I think as a team right now it's not going to be easy in the next game. I think when we look at the last two games that we played, we didn't play well. We didn't play the best cricket that we had. I think we didn't earn the spot - the way we played in the first two games. I don't think we earned the spot for the Super 8, but still we have one game left, so we'll try to do our best.”
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