Sadeera Samarawickrama: It’s difficult for us as a team to be happy with the bowling (performance), we rarely bowled consistently as a team

Sri Lanka lost by a huge margin in their World Cup opener against South Africa while they gave up 428 runs, the biggest ever World Cup total, as well as three individual hundreds, one of which was the quickest ever, Sadeera Samarawickrama was disappointed with the team’s bowling performance.

Sri Lanka’s cricket situation is hopelessly precarious. Since the golden generation retired, the team has experienced a prolonged period of financial difficulty, board issues, and a subsequent decline in performance.

To make matters worse, they timed their low in the lead-up to the World Cup in the worst way conceivable. Right before the Asia Cup final, it could have been advantageous to make it to an ODI final before the World Cup. The humiliation then came, with the final being an all-out effort for 50.

And this wasn’t an anomaly. It was followed up by other poor performances, such as losses by seven wickets to Bangladesh and six wickets to Afghanistan in the warm-up matches, sides that Sri Lanka had defeated to reach the Asia Cup final.

To top it all off, they lost by another significant margin in their World Cup opener against South Africa. In the game, they gave up 428 runs, the biggest ever World Cup total, as well as three individual hundreds, one of which was the quickest ever. Particularly Sadeera Samarawickrama was disappointed with the team’s bowling performance.

“Actually, it’s difficult for us as a team to be happy with the bowling (performance). We rarely bowled consistently as a team,”

assessed Samarawickrama.

“On a wicket like this, even a minor mistake from us can result in the opposing team scoring six or four runs. If we had bowled with more patience, we might have kept them to a lower score.”

Samarawickrama talked about how the team in the dressing room discussed chasing down the target and keeping things positive after a demoralizing bowling performance, given that the circumstances were ideal for batting. He added that if it weren’t for the regular wickets and one big partnership, Sri Lanka might have had a chance.

“We could trust the wicket and play. If we had good momentum, we needed to maintain it. We lost by almost 100 runs.”

he said.

“If we hadn’t lost those few wickets in the middle overs, I believe we would have had a chance to come close to their score or even win the match.”

Samarawickrama also felt that there were positives to be gained from the game, with batsmen playing freely in a huge chase, and stressed the importance of Kusal Mendis and Dasun Shanaka’s return to form.

“Actually, we are very happy that Kusal Mendis and especially Dasun Shanaka have returned to their usual rhythm,”

said Samarawickrama optimistically.

“Also, the way Kusal Mendis and Charith Asalanka gave a lot of confidence to the batting unit of our team was great. When we’re chasing such a big number, we don’t have time to set up in the middle part.

“I think we always have to play positively. I think it’s a significant achievement for us to have been able to play like that in these conditions. I think the turning point was that we lost Kusal Mendis and me in two overs. I think that was the turning point, I guess.”

Speaking of Sri Lanka’s spinning tracks and the bowlers’ inability to adjust to less favorable conditions, Samarawickrama claimed that flatter; batting-friendly grounds will help the bowlers gain expertise in less favorable situations.

“In Sri Lanka, we’ve played a lot on turning wickets, so chasing such a big score isn’t something we typically do. If we get wickets like this in Sri Lanka, the bowlers won’t be surprised when we get to a place like this. So, I think we will see pitches like this in Sri Lanka too.”

Samarawickrama continues to be optimistic about his team’s chances at the World Cup despite the string of poor performances and embarrassing losses by choosing to see the bright side of things.

“We all play to win. There may be off days. We’ve won 14-15 matches in a row. So, if we look at the other side, we’ve won matches too,”

Samarawickrama said defensively.

“We’ve only lost three in a row now. We’ll get back on a winning note after playing well in the next matches. Our team just needs a little momentum, and I think we can achieve what we want in the next match.”

Sri Lanka will play their second game of the ongoing World Cup against Pakistan on Tuesday (October 10) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

Sri Lanka Squad: Dasun Shanaka (c), Kusal Mendis (vc), Kusal Perera, Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Kumara, Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka, Dushan HemanthaPakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim.