Bad batting and fielding reasons for Sri Lanka’s heavy defeat

Tuesday, 15 July 2025 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The run out of inform batsman Kusal Mendis sparked off a Sri Lankan batting collapse

Batting combinations continue to haunt Sri Lanka

DAMBULLA: Sri Lanka’s much vaunted fielding was put to the test in the second T20I against Bangladesh and they came up second best when two crucial chances offered by the Bangladesh skipper Litton Das were missed which proved to be costly and led to Sri Lanka’s 83-run defeat at Dambulla.

A stumping chance at 30 by Kusal Mendis and a dropped catch at 56 by Maheesh Theekshana at mid-off, the unfortunate bowler on both occasions being leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay. Das who had been out of form till then went onto score 76 off 50 balls and forged two important partnerships worth 69 with Towhid Hridoy and 77 with Shamim Hossain that enabled Bangladesh to post a challenging score of 177-7.

Fielding was not the only reason why the team lost so badly, but an indifferent batting performance that saw Sri Lanka shot out for their lowest ever T20I total (94) on home soil.

“Those two chances given by Litton went against us but we can’t blame anyone. If we lose, the entire team must take the blame. The bowlers bowled well but we must give them support in the field consistently,” said Sri Lanka’s losing captain Charith Asalanka at the post-match press conference.

“The turning point as I see it was our bad batting. On a pitch to keep the opposition down to less than 180 we should have got those runs considering the form our top order batsmen are in.”

“It must be said that we are disappointed with our performance today. But in a T20 game these types of collapses can happen. As a team we must look at how we can come back strongly. We are in a situation like in the ODIs. We must see how we can forget about this performance and prepare ourselves for the next one.”

One of the core issues Sri Lanka are facing ahead of the T20 World Cup is to find suitable batsmen to fill the No. 4 and No. 6 positions. Avishka Fernando given the task of filling the No. 4 spot failed in the second T20I being dismissed for 2, and in the first T20I he was 11*. Overall, Fernando has a mediocre batting record in T20Is averaging a poor 11.05 in 37 innings with a top score of 37. He was picked for the ongoing series on the back of his performances in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) which is the benchmark for selecting the national T20I side. He was the third highest run scorer in the 2024 tournament with 374 runs (avg. 37.40) including five fifties for Jaffna Kings.

“We are having this problem of filling the No. 4 and No. 6 slots in our batting. I said before the series that we have to try and get our combinations right. It is a big challenge in front of us ahead of the T20 World Cup which is about six months away. The selectors, the coach and I are trying our best to plug that gap,” said Asalanka.

“Without Wanindu Hasaranga the batting looked thin. We really feel the absence of a player like him. If he is there, he will bat at No. 8 and his presence does not show any weakness in our batting. In his absence there is not much batting to come after No. 7 and the weakness is exposed.”

Hasaranga has been ruled out of the series with a hamstring injury in his right leg sustained while batting during the third ODI against Bangladesh. Leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay took his place in the team.

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