Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan heavily criticized Sri Lanka’s batting approach and decision-making in their opening T20 World Cup match defeat against South Africa.
Sri Lanka were skittled out for a paltry 77 after electing to bat first in New York on Monday. South Africa chased down the target comfortably with six wickets and 22 balls to spare.
Speaking on Star Sports, Pathan pointed out that Sri Lankan batsmen, including Wanindu Hasaranga, threw their wickets away with flashy shots instead of building a strong foundation.
“When the ball was moving so much at the start and was not coming onto the bat, if you see all the dismissals, they were bad shots and bad application,” he said. “[There were] No batter getting out caught behind while playing a normal drive or because of the ball moving a lot after pitching.”
Pathan felt that with better shot selection, Sri Lanka could have reached a defendable total.
“Everyone got out while trying to play shots,” he lamented. “If the application had been better, they might have scored 120. If they had scored 120, Sri Lanka might have won the match. You didn’t have to score 140-160 here. The craftsmanship and batsmanship were not seen from any batter.”
Only three Sri Lankan batsmen managed double-digit scores, with Kusal Mendis top-scoring with a scratchy 19 off 30 balls. Angelo Mathews was the only one to score at a run-a-ball pace, making a laborious 16 off 16 deliveries.
Pathan further questioned Sri Lanka’s decision to bat first after winning the toss.
“I also feel Sri Lanka shouldn’t have batted after winning the toss,” he said. “I was saying that even before the match had started. If you don’t know the pitch conditions, batting first doesn’t make sense. You didn’t get the breather because you batted first after winning the toss and you got out for the lowest score in your T20 history. So they lacked application and didn’t read the pitch properly. The decision was wrong there.”
The cricketer-turned-commentator also disagreed with Sri Lanka’s bowling attack selection, particularly the omission of Dilshan Madushanka in favor of Maheesh Theekshana.
“I feel combining both of these things, Sri Lanka were left far behind,” Pathan said. “One more thing, they needed to play Madushanka on this pitch. If you brought Theekshana in the 16th over, it means you felt the spinners were of no use. So you could have included Madushanka. He could have bowled with the new ball instead of Mathews.”
Theekshana bowled just one over in the entire match, while Angelo Mathews opened the bowling with Nuwan Thushara. The third pacer, Matheesha Pathirana, was only introduced in the 10th over.
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