New York [USA], Sri Lanka captain Wanindu Hasaranga explained the reason behind his decision to bat in the opening match of the T20 World Cup campaign against South Africa.
It was a low-scoring affair between the favorites for the top two spots in Group D. Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat on a surface whose nature they were unfamiliar with.
The Nassau County International Cricket Stadium turned out to be a difficult two-faced surface. South Africa's fast bowlers scored heavily and forced Sri Lanka to bowl out for 77 runs.Surprised by the nature of the surface, Hasaraga explained that the reason behind his decision to bat was based on the team's current strength – bowling.
The Sri Lankan captain said, "Yes, especially in this big tournament. These wickets are very difficult, especially in T20, and their bowlers bowled really well and our bowlers also bowled well. Still, we made a lot of mistakes " Press conference after the match.
“Our strength is bowling, so we thought we could win the toss, put some scores on the board and put pressure on them.Because we know our bowling, we have won the last few T20 matches because we decided to bowl the second ball. So that was a decision taken as a team with our current strength," he said.
Sri Lanka gave South Africa a tough challenge after their fast bowlers enjoyed movement on the surface.
The Lions managed to defend their modest score and restrict the Proteas to 23/2. But ultimately South Africa managed to win by six wickets.Hasaranga lauded the efforts of the bowlers as they managed to stretch the game till the 17th over.
"But we saw how much pressure we gave them, even as we bowled the second ball. We kept bowling 16 overs to them to reach the score of 70. So, I see the decision we took, There is nothing wrong in that, but the target we set was not right. Even though the wicket was so difficult, till the end we had a bigger target and I think we identified it later. .,
On a surface that offered ample support to the fast bowlers, Dushmantha Chameera could strengthen Sri Lanka's bowling set-up. But the Asian side decided to support Nuwan Thushara instead of Chameera.
Hasaranga revealed the reason behind the decision and said, "We went with Nuwan Thushara because he had played a few matches in the IPL and Dushmantha had not played matches in the IPL. Dushmantha had not played a match since last week, so that's why Happened." We went with Nuwan Thushara - and he had taken five wickets in his last T20 international, so, we went with him, but still, you know, we saw the difference, you know, when we're bowling Even then there is bounce and low bounce in the wickets.,
Sri Lanka will look to win their first match of the tournament in their next match against Bangladesh in Dallas on Saturday.
It was a low-scoring affair between the favorites for the top two spots in Group D. Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat on a surface whose nature they were unfamiliar with.
The Nassau County International Cricket Stadium turned out to be a difficult two-faced surface. South Africa's fast bowlers scored heavily and forced Sri Lanka to bowl out for 77 runs.Surprised by the nature of the surface, Hasaraga explained that the reason behind his decision to bat was based on the team's current strength – bowling.
The Sri Lankan captain said, "Yes, especially in this big tournament. These wickets are very difficult, especially in T20, and their bowlers bowled really well and our bowlers also bowled well. Still, we made a lot of mistakes " Press conference after the match.
“Our strength is bowling, so we thought we could win the toss, put some scores on the board and put pressure on them.Because we know our bowling, we have won the last few T20 matches because we decided to bowl the second ball. So that was a decision taken as a team with our current strength," he said.
Sri Lanka gave South Africa a tough challenge after their fast bowlers enjoyed movement on the surface.
The Lions managed to defend their modest score and restrict the Proteas to 23/2. But ultimately South Africa managed to win by six wickets.Hasaranga lauded the efforts of the bowlers as they managed to stretch the game till the 17th over.
"But we saw how much pressure we gave them, even as we bowled the second ball. We kept bowling 16 overs to them to reach the score of 70. So, I see the decision we took, There is nothing wrong in that, but the target we set was not right. Even though the wicket was so difficult, till the end we had a bigger target and I think we identified it later. .,
On a surface that offered ample support to the fast bowlers, Dushmantha Chameera could strengthen Sri Lanka's bowling set-up. But the Asian side decided to support Nuwan Thushara instead of Chameera.
Hasaranga revealed the reason behind the decision and said, "We went with Nuwan Thushara because he had played a few matches in the IPL and Dushmantha had not played matches in the IPL. Dushmantha had not played a match since last week, so that's why Happened." We went with Nuwan Thushara - and he had taken five wickets in his last T20 international, so, we went with him, but still, you know, we saw the difference, you know, when we're bowling Even then there is bounce and low bounce in the wickets.,
Sri Lanka will look to win their first match of the tournament in their next match against Bangladesh in Dallas on Saturday.
