The way the Sri Lankan bowlers bowled in the match against the Netherlands is impressive. That is why Ian Bishop, a former West Indies fast bowler who commented on the Sri Lankan team, said, “This is a serious bowling department. It sends a message to the other teams representing the tournament. ”
It is true that Sri Lanka did not have much confidence when they left for the T20 World Cup. But the attitude towards Sri Lanka has taken a different turn due to the performances from the match against Oman to the qualifiers. According to Ian Bishop, Sri Lanka is a very dangerous team in terms of bowling, fielding as well as batting.
Demonstrating their prowess, Sri Lanka did not allow their opponents to get anywhere near them in the qualifying round. Sri Lanka won the first match by 7 wickets against Namibia and by 70 runs against Ireland by 8 wickets against the Netherlands with no chance of victory for opponents.
Sri Lanka, who have qualified for the main round, will take on Bangladesh in their first match today (October 24). Apart from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka has to play in Group A against some of the top countries in the T20I division. They are current world champions are the West Indies, world champions England, Australia and South Africa. At the end of the Super 12 round, the top two teams with the highest number of victories will advance to the semi-finals.
Fast bowlers Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera and Lahiru Kumara are also at the top of the list while spinners Wanindu Hasaranga and 21-year-old Mahesh Theekshana have taken 14 wickets in three matches so far. Mahesh took 02 wickets for 03 runs in the match against the Netherlands and was ruled out due to a knee injury after bowling the final over. Dhananjaya de Silva was on the field as he did not return to the field until the end of the Netherlands innings.
Due to this situation, Theekshana’s participation in today’s match is uncertain, said captain Dasun Shanaka at a media briefing on the match. So Akila Dhananjaya will most likely replace that place. But vice-captain Dhananjaya de Silva, who is also an off-spinner, is on the bench of extra players. Dhananjaya’s deployment today will also be a double focus in the selections, in the face of the talented bowling force of Bangladesh.
“Mahesh’s illness is a recurring one. I don’t think it will last long. We try our best to get him into the game. But most of the time he will not play in tomorrow’s match. I can’t say anything definite about that. After receiving the report of the physiotherapist, we will have to come to a final decision about the insights, ”Dasun said.
The match against Bangladesh will be played today at 3.30 pm in the Sharjah Stadium. Bangladesh qualified for the main draw at the last minute facing a six-wicket defeat to Scotland. That was followed by victories over Oman and Papua New Guinea. Bangladesh beat Oman by 26 runs and recorded an 84-run victory over Papua New Guinea.
Their main player is Shakib Al Hasan. The Sri Lankan team has come up with a separate plan for the tournament, which is expected to face a tough challenge from the all-rounder Shakib and the Bangladesh team.
Today, Dasun and the team have a positive attitude, including views of the match. The team has built up confidence that has not been the case in the past few months. The extent of the confidence is evident in the way they play. They are great at the fielding section. The catches that used to be dropped are now being chased and caught. The extra runs they spilled are very few now. Throwing accuracy also massively improved.
“It is through the experience gained when we come here that the players develop and start winning matches. So the players have improved their skills by training well, ”said Dasun.
“Especially you see the growth of Lahiru Kumara, Mahesh Theekshana and Pathum Nissanka. All the young players have come and showed their talents at the right time. They have done exactly what they set out to do in training. The coaching staff should be honored for that”.
“Also, the arrival of Mahela Jayawardene was very good for the team. The team was very relieved with the wisdom he shared. Through that freedom, the players have been able to carry out their plans exactly. And no one is forcing anyone to do this. They do what they do in training without fear in the competition. That confidence has now come to every player. That’s what it should be. I think they will show their skills furthermore in the upcoming matches, ”Dasun added.
If there is a subtlety to worry about, it is the failure of those top-order batsmen to score runs at once. Although Kusal Janith and Pathum Nissanka managed to get some runs, the problem of the batsman batting from the No. 3 position is still unresolved. Chandimal has failed to take advantage of the opportunity given to him to remain in that position. Therefore, the place was handed over to Charith Asalanka. But he also failed to show stability in that position with a dismissal of 06 runs.
But the leader does not want to think too much about it. His view in this is that the other batsmen are among the scores. “Yes. Of course, we have a little problem with that place. But that does not mean that we can not win a match. Because we have batsmen who can win a match.” the captain expressed.
Before the qualifying round, Sri Lanka met Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in warm-up matches. At that time, Sri Lanka defeated Bangladesh. “Not only the warm up match against Bangladesh but all the previous matches were also done well by the team. As a team, we have done a lot of things that have not been done and we hope to do well in the Super 12 round as well,” he said commenting on a question asked if the victory over Bangladesh would increase the team’s mental concentration.
Sri Lanka – Dasun Shanaka (Captain), Kusal Perera, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dananjaya de Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Akila Dhananjaya, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara, Binura Fernando, Mahesh Dinesh Chandimal.
Bangladesh – Mahmudullah Riyadh (captain), Mohammad Naeem, Lytton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Mohammad Shaifuddin, Mehdi Hassan, Tuskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rehman, Zomoul, Shomul Sarkar.
