Tense nature of victory had Asalanka and Sri Lanka worried as they just about managed to scrape past Hong Kong.
Sri Lanka skipper Charith Asalanka had his heart in his mouth following his side’s tense nature of victory against Hong Kong.
With eight wickets remaining, Sri Lanka needed 32 off 30. What should have been a breeze instead became a mini-collapse. Kusal Perera was lbw trying a slog sweep at the very next delivery, and Nissanka was run-out at the beginning of the 16th over when chasing a second that didn’t appear on.
Charith Asalanka cut a fullish delivery to short third six balls later, marking the captain’s dismissal. And when Kamindu Mendis attempted a release shot and smashed one straight to deep midwicket, Sri Lanka had fallen to 4 for 8, needing another 23 from 17 balls.
Asalanka critical of performance
“In that moment, I think our heart was in our mouths,” Asalanka said. “There are a few areas I am really disappointed about. First three overs when we were bowling and then the 16th over, we lost a couple of wickets and then lost my wicket.
“In the shorter format, these things can happen but it cannot keep happening consistently. We have to analyse it and improve ourselves.”
Asalanka was not only critical of the middle-order batting. He wasn’t pleased with how they began with the new ball, as Anshy Rath and Zeeshan Ali took on the new-ball bowlers, and Hong Kong quickly reached 38 runs without losing in four overs.
The seasoned Babar Hayat was relieved when Sri Lanka failed to dismiss a DRS appeal for LBW in the sixth over, with replays verifying all three reds. Rath and Nizakat Khan put up 61 to support Hong Kong to 149 for 4 after he was dismissed.
“We felt confident of chasing it because the pitch was looking good,” Asalanka said. “Credit goes to them (Hong Kong), they batted really well and we bowled badly in the first three overs.
“This is not the way we wanted to play. When we are playing these sides, there is always pressure. But we are professionals and as professionals, we have to do much better than this.”
Positives for Sri Lanka
For Sri Lanka, things weren’t all bad. With his second consecutive half-century and a patient innings, Nissanka reinvigorated their chase. Sri Lanka was being held in a chokehold by Hong Kong’s experienced spinners, Ehsan Khan and Yasim Murtaza, since the ball was not coming on.
Even though Nissanka knew the goal was constantly within touching distance, she never gave the impression of a batter in dire need of a release shot. Only when the asking rate surged above eight an over with eight overs remaining did Nissanka decide to change tactics after he reached a half-century off 35 balls.
If Afghanistan defeats Bangladesh on Tuesday, Sri Lanka, who has already won two games in the competition, would advance automatically to the Super Fours. If Bangladesh wins, Sri Lanka’s match against Afghanistan on Thursday will determine the two positions. Nevertheless, Bangladesh still has a lot of catching up to accomplish in terms of net run rate.