Colombo, Feb 22 (IANS) Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka did not shy away from admitting his side’s batting failure after they were bowled out for just 95 and suffered a 51-run defeat to England, despite a disciplined bowling effort that had earlier kept the opposition to a modest total.

Reflecting on the contest, Shanaka expressed disappointment at how Sri Lanka let a strong bowling performance go to waste with a rash and ill-judged batting display.

“It’s very disappointing, but at the same time, we had a lot of positives in the ball. So I think we kept them towards a total which was at least 20 runs under par. I expected my players to bat well,” Shanaka said after the game, summarising the factors behind the low-scoring outcome.

Sri Lanka’s bowlers had executed their plans effectively to restrict England to 145, giving the hosts a realistic chance in familiar conditions. However, Shanaka was clear that the pitch was not to blame for the dramatic collapse, insisting the conditions were playable and that poor decision-making with the bat proved costly.

“A combination of all the things. I think the pitch played well. Certainly, it was a bit slow in the first innings, but with the lights on, it settled a bit. We played badly. All the bowlers in our side bowled well, it’s not that they (England) bowled really well. We played some rash shots in critical intervals,” he said.

The captain also emphasised the strength of Sri Lanka’s bowling attack, which had consistently kept opponents in check throughout the tournament.

“In this World Cup, we tried with five main bowlers. I mean, including allounder. So it is a nice attack to have, so I can restrict most of the sides to lower scores,” Shanaka explained.

Despite the early wickets, Sri Lanka had planned to pace their chase and take the game deep, but the approach unraveled under pressure.

“The discussion was to take it deep (during the chase). We have played a lot of cricket in this sort of conditions, it was about taking it deep and taking the positive options and the right options, which we didn’t take. So eventually it’s one bad game which is not affordable in a World Cup, but we need to bounce back in the next couple of games,” the skipper mentioned.

Shanaka, however, remained confident in his batting unit’s ability to respond strongly. “As I mentioned, it’s the one bad game. The top four have done really well in the recent past, so I’m pretty sure that they will do well in the upcoming games,” he concluded.

With crucial fixtures ahead, Sri Lanka will now look to regroup quickly and rediscover the batting form that had carried them through earlier matches.

–IANS

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