Follow UsSri Lanka have had a tough time in the ongoing T20 World Cup. They were bundled out for just 77 in their opening clash against South Africa in New York and lost the game by six wickets. Then against Bangladesh in Dallas, Sri Lanka could only manage 124 and ended up suffering a two-wicket defeat.
"Now people are realising how unpredictable the pitches are. We were the first ones who'd gone through this process. Because I mean, look, as a player, you cannot expect anything like that, which we played the first time in New York on a new pitch. Now the people are realising what total to place, and what they're expecting when they're chasing even a small total,” said Sri Lanka’s fast bowling coach Aqib Javed ahead of the game against Nepal on June 11 (Tuesday).
"Even though the Dallas pitch we played was I think one of the best in the country to bat on, still these new conditions are surprising, not just us, but many teams. The batters especially, they've gone through a lot. This is not the normal behaviour of the pitches and the conditions. So, I think now the teams will change their strategies, and there will be a little bit of change in the homework as well."
Sri Lanka now don’t only have to win their remaining two games against Nepal and the Netherlands by a good margin but will also want the latter and Bangladesh to lose at least one of their next two. Sri Lanka will have to first sort out their batting if they want to progress further.
"The beauty of this World Cup is that you cannot take easy to anything. We have seen some outstanding results from the associate teams. I think honestly if you look at the pitch, you have to be very careful, especially as a batter. How to adapt, what to leave out, and I think the best plan is to go out there and assess the situation and conditions.
"If you ask me, what happened in New York, nobody knew what was going to be the wicket behaviour. (Score of) 77 was never enough. Even in the second game, we could have scored 150 to 160 because if you look at the batting card, we scored like 24 in the last six overs, we didn't capitalise."
Sri Lanka’s bowling, however, has been pretty good. The surfaces haven’t been great for batting and the bowlers have made full use of it. "I'm really happy and enjoying the role as a bowling coach because this is one of the bowling sides which can challenge anyone. The ideal combo for any international team. You have the best legspinner in the world, you have a mystery bowler, and you have slingers which is very unique and very effective in T20 cricket.
"It's not easy all the time to defend the low totals, but so far, I think it's good to see the captain leading from the front and you can see that energy in the field as well. And still, I think we have very good bowling options. I'm really satisfied so far."
If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out — big time. Play Fantasy on Cricket.com NOW! Download the App here.