Batters crumble in a familiar fashion as rollercoaster Sri Lanka head for an early exit after Bangladesh loss. Bowlers excell in vain effort. BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE. (eLanka Sports Editor)
Sri Lanka appears to have an early flight home planned for them after crashing to their second consecutive defeat, this time to Bangladesh thanks to another dismal batting performance in Dallas.
Horses for courses appear to be at the root cause of their embarrassment as a clueless batting display again made the islanders look like amateurs, and Bangladesh, now their arch rivals, basked in the glory of contributing to their misery with a 2 -wicket win.
Sri Lanka again proved that the selection of the squad was lopsided in their batting which has for time immorial in recent years been on a rollercoaster in terms of consistency.
In fairness it was not an easy passage for the Bangladeshis, as Sri Lanka’s bowlers, given a paltry 124 to defend, fought back, but they held their nerve to pull off a sensational win with 6 balls to spare. The difference boiled down to mental mindset, Bangldesh were better equipped.
At 8 for 113 off 17.4 overs it was tense, but Bangladesh showed poise and cool composure as they pushed ahead to the target with no further issues.
What has been most pertinent about Sri Lanka’s sorry performance was this lacklustre effort and inability to size up the situation and counter the threat they were faced with.
They have shown no sign of a proper game plan when put on the backfoot.
Sri Lanka fans are disgusted at the team’s gutless refusal to fight when the chips are down although the bowlers are an exception. The questions lie squarely on the shoulders of Skipper Wannindu Hasarsnga whose lack of direction and game plan clearly questions his leadership qualities.
Any hope of qualifying for the next stage is now nearly non-existent and fans are gutted at their lack of direction which see them exit the main stage without a whimper.
Pathum Nissanka redeemed himself with a game high 47 runs off 25 balls and Nuwan Thushara bowled a brilliant spell to grab 4 for 18 to be the beacon lights in an otherwise listless Sri Lanka effort.
Bangldesh have set their sights on providing more upsets as they almost certainly move towards the the top eight.
Sri Lanka will be packing their bags after another disappointing campaign.
