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Asalanka Stresses Sri Lanka Must Fix Team Combinations Before World Cup

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Sri Lanka Combinations Key Ahead of World Cup: Asalanka

Collapse Against Pakistan Cost Sri Lanka Heavily

Sri Lanka skipper Charith Asalanka admitted that their batting collapse in the eighth over against Pakistan shifted the momentum of the Asia Cup Super Four clash. At 58 for 3, Sri Lanka were in a decent position, but back-to-back dismissals of Asalanka and Dasun Shanaka left them struggling at 58 for 5. They eventually limped to 133 for 8.

β€œπ‘¨π’π’•π’‰π’π’–π’ˆπ’‰ π’˜π’† π’…π’Šπ’…π’β€™π’• π’ˆπ’†π’• 𝒂 π’ˆπ’“π’†π’‚π’• 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕, π’”π’„π’π’“π’Šπ’π’ˆ 53 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒔 π’Šπ’ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’‘π’π’˜π’†π’“π’‘π’π’‚π’š π’˜π’‚π’” π’”π’•π’Šπ’π’ π’‘π’“π’π’Žπ’Šπ’”π’Šπ’π’ˆ,” π‘¨π’”π’‚π’π’‚π’π’Œπ’‚ π’”π’‚π’Šπ’…. β€œπ‘©π’–π’• 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 π’Žπ’šπ’”π’†π’π’‡ 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑫𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒏 π’ˆπ’π’• 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒏 π’„π’π’π’”π’†π’„π’–π’•π’Šπ’—π’† π’…π’†π’π’Šπ’—π’†π’“π’Šπ’†π’”, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’ƒπ’Šπ’ˆπ’ˆπ’†π’”π’• π’…π’‚π’Žπ’‚π’ˆπ’†.”

Both dismissals came while the batters were attempting normal shots rather than attacking strokes, something Asalanka said they must take responsibility for.

Kamindu’s Fifty Offers Resistance

Despite the collapse, Kamindu Mendis stood firm with a fighting 50 off 44 balls, supported by Wanindu Hasaranga and Chamika Karunaratne. However, losing wickets in clusters made recovery nearly impossible.

β€œWe lost five wickets in the first half of our innings, and against teams like Pakistan, it’s very hard to come back,” Asalanka reflected. β€œKamindu and the others fought hard, but when Wanindu fell, our hopes of pushing to 150 were gone.”

Combinations Remain Sri Lanka’s Biggest Challenge

Sri Lanka made tactical changes by strengthening their bowling for this match, but that left their batting thin. Asalanka highlighted this balance issue as a key concern ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup.

β€œπ‘Ύπ’†β€™π’—π’† 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 π’Šπ’”π’”π’–π’†π’” π’˜π’Šπ’•π’‰ 𝒐𝒖𝒓 π’„π’π’Žπ’ƒπ’Šπ’π’‚π’•π’Šπ’π’π’”, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 π’”π’π’Žπ’†π’•π’‰π’Šπ’π’ˆ π’˜π’† π’Žπ’–π’”π’• π’‡π’Šπ’™ 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 π‘ͺ𝒖𝒑,” 𝒉𝒆 π’‚π’…π’Žπ’Šπ’•π’•π’†π’…. β€œπ‘Ίπ’π’Žπ’†π’•π’Šπ’Žπ’†π’” π’˜π’† π’‘π’π’‚π’š 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒓𝒂 π’ƒπ’π’˜π’π’†π’“ 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 π’ƒπ’‚π’•π’•π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒉, 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 π’•π’Šπ’Žπ’†π’” π’˜π’† π’”π’•π’“π’†π’π’ˆπ’•π’‰π’†π’ π’ƒπ’‚π’•π’•π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒔. 𝑾𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 π’”π’•π’“π’Šπ’Œπ’† 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’“π’Šπ’ˆπ’‰π’• 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆.”

He further stressed the need for Sri Lanka to aim for totals between 180 and 200 while also utilizing part-time bowlers like himself, Shanaka, and Kamindu more effectively.

Also Read: Talat Calls Middle-Order Batting the Toughest Job in T20 Cricket

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