Win Projections to be updated soon
Chris Silverwood, coach of Sri Lanka, was dissatisfied with his team’s performance in the Asia Cup final but felt it served as a necessary wake-up call for his team which is heading to the ODI World Cup next month.
The Final Saga
Sri Lanka were bowled out for merely 50 runs after India pacer Mohammed Siraj rattled through the Lankan bowling lineup and took six wickets for 21. Indian openers Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan chased down this total in just 6.1 overs.
While expressing his disappointment, Sri Lankan coach Silverwood said, “We played very good cricket to get to the final. I think we have to regroup and put some confidence into the players.“You know sometimes a bit of a kick to the rear end is not the worst thing before going into a big tournament.”
Answering Tough Questions
While praising India’s bowling lineup, he showed his discontentment with Lanka’s batting approach. He also admitted that they, as a unit, have to answer some important questions ahead of the World Cup.
He said, “It was a super bowling performance by India. We did not help ourselves either and were disappointed with the way we finished. We have a big World Cup tournament coming, and we need to ask a few questions in the dressing room and move forward from this.
Explaining further, he talked about how critical it is to find consistency, specifically as a batting line. He also talked about the challenges they have to face against big teams in the World Cup, hence they have to be at their best.
He said, “We are going to compete against teams like India, Pakistan and Australia (in WC), and we have to be consistently at our best. So, we need to find consistency in the batting. We bat all the way down to No. 7, and we have the experience. So, it is a bit of concern (lack of consistency), and we will talk about it”
Silverwood acknowledged that the injuries to some key players like Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesha Theekshana were a big setback for Lanka, but it cannot be used as an excuse for a defeat of this nature.
The coach also lauded Matheesha Pathirana and Dunith Wellalage and agreed that individuals stepped up and performed well. But Sri Lanka needs to perform as a team to win on big stages.
He said, “There are some good individual and team performances, but consistency is the key, and then we can think of beating teams like India.”
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