Saturday Feb 28, 2026
Saturday Feb 28, 2026
Tuesday, 24 February 2026 03:34 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
England players celebrate after their team’s victory over Sri Lanka at Pallekele
By losing their first Super Eights match to England by a big margin of 51 runs, co-hosts Sri Lanka have put themselves in a position where they have to do it the hard way – not only win their two remaining games against New Zealand and Pakistan but also by margins that would improve their net run rate.
Sri Lanka lost so badly to England, getting bowled out in 16.4 overs for 95, that they presently have a minus net run of 2.550.
Sri Lanka’s batting on that slow and sluggish Pallekele pitch was awful. Being the home team, they should have known the conditions better than England, who outshone them not only in this game but in the three bilateral matches played ahead of the World Cup, which they won 3-0.
“That series was a perfect warm-up. It was a great bilateral series to come here and play against a team who were going to be in the World Cup and hosting the World Cup,” said England’s winning Captain Harry Brook. “And this ground was going to play a big part in the World Cup. So it’s good to come here and have that experience and play on this surface against a very strong side. That has held us in good stead so far.”
“It was a disappointing game today. We should have chased this target. It can happen. A tacky wicket. We lost a few early wickets. So after that, I think it was tough to get back into the game,” was how Sri Lankan batting Consultant Coach Vikram Rathour described the batting debacle.
“They (the batsmen) could have taken some better options, definitely yes, but I think the surface was still tacky. We expected that. The wicket has been under covers for a long time in the past few days. So we knew it was going to be a tacky wicket. Even when they batted, the ball was stopping a bit. We expected it to get better, but I don’t think it really improved. It was still slow and the ball was stopping a bit. The message was to play your normal game and see how it goes. We have been getting good starts. Pathum (Nissanka) and Kusal (Mendis) have been batting well for us, and Kamil (Mishara) was brought in today. He had given us good starts in the past.”
“It’s a T20 game, so obviously when you come into a game, you are looking to score as many runs as you can. When the ball is not coming on to the bat, it’s easier said than done. As batsmen, you want to score and you are looking to score. Batting is about scoring runs. I thought on a wicket where the ball is stopping, pushing was not a great idea. A couple of our wickets were lost out on guys pushing for a single. I don’t think that was a great option in these conditions. Either you play a hard shot or you defend maybe. That’s the kind of conversation I’m hoping to have with the batters. We need to win the next one too to qualify. I believe that we can still do it. We’ll do it the hard way.”
When batting experience was needed for Sri Lanka, keeping out a player in the calibre of Charith Asalanka defies logic. On that tacky and slow surface, he may have revelled with his off-breaks. Sri Lanka need to get their combinations right and redeem themselves in the next two games.
