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.
“𝑨𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒘𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕, 𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 53 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈,” 𝑨𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑫𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒏 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆.”
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.
“We lost five wickets in the first half of our innings, and against teams like Pakistan, it’s very hard to come back,” Asalanka reflected. “Kamindu 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.
“𝑾𝒆’𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒙 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒖𝒑,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅. “𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒓𝒂 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒉, 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒔. 𝑾𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 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.
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