We’ve got the right elements to perform in this format, says Shanaka

• Sri Lanka meet familiar foes Zimbabwe in their opening match today
• Pakistan T20I Tri-Series

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Sri Lanka’s stand-in Captain Dasun Shanaka addressing yesterday’s media conference	Zimbabwe Captain Sikandar Raza

All-rounder Dasun Shanaka, pushed into the captaincy following the sudden illness of regular skipper Charith Asalanka, is confident that Sri Lanka would overcome their defeat in the ODIs against Pakistan and fare well in the Pakistan T20I Tri-Series.

Sri Lanka comes out today for their first match of the Tri-Series against Zimbabwe at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

“In the ODI series, the intent was not there and we were doubting ourselves. I am sure that we will come out from our mistakes and do well in the T20I Tri-series. The batsmen, they need to express themselves to make big scores, especially on these sort of tracks,” said Shanaka addressing the media conference ahead of today’s match.

“In bowling, the right execution is needed and in fielding, the catching has to be 100%, which was not so in the ODI series. We need to get the maximum out of experienced players and young potential as well. We didn’t do well in the Asia Cup, but we had a couple of good games. Except against Pakistan, we could have won the other two games and got into the final, but unfortunately, we didn’t. We are here to make a statement. We are very confident. We’ve got the right elements to perform in this format. Hopefully, we will win this series.”

In the past 22 months, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe have met in two bilateral T20I series and the tally stands in favour of Sri Lanka at 4-2 out of six matches, with Sri Lanka having won both series by 2-1 margins at home and in Zimbabwe. In this shortest format of the game, Zimbabwe have shown that they are quite an extremely competitive team and on their day can cause an upset.

In their opening match of the Pakistan T20I Tri-Series, Zimbabwe gave the hosts a fright by reducing them to 54-4 at the halfway stage chasing 148. It was only Pakistan’s experience that saw them win the contest with four balls to spare.

Zimbabwe know that Sri Lanka are not unbeatable, having won in the recent past against them. They began well against Pakistan and will fancy their chances against Sri Lanka.

A key figure in Zimbabwe’s recent successes against all teams is all-rounder and Captain Sikandar, Raza who has mastered the skill of T20 cricket with both bat and ball, having played across so many leagues around the world. He has been a thorn in contests against Sri Lanka in white-ball cricket and many of Zimbabwe’s victories can be attributed to his contribution. Touching 40, Raza doesn’t show any signs that he has aged and his agility on the field is something for anyone to admire.

Zimbabwe has quite a blend of youth and experience in their side to give any team a good run, and Sri Lanka has got to be quite wary of that fact having played against them as recently as two months ago.

Runs on the board is what matters and Sri Lanka, having made a few adjustments to their batting line-up, will look forward to doing that. With Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera recovering from their injuries and available for selection, Sri Lanka will be at full strength for this contest. They can take heart from the fact that, in their last T20I, they scored over 200 runs and matched India’s total, only to lose the contest in the Super Over. That was in the Asia Cup held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where small mistakes made by Sri Lanka cost them a place in the final.

Sri Lanka will use the Tri-Series to sort out their combinations. Against top oppositions, they have either been a bowler or a batter short. Whether it’s a 7-4 combination or a 6-5, Sri Lanka will have to quickly decide as they have only another six T20I matches apart from the current T20I Tri-Series before the T20 World Cup. They made a muddle of it in the Asia Cup and got nowhere.