Dubai: Sri Lanka head coach Sanath Jayasuriya admitted his disbelief after his side once again squandered a winning position against India, this time in their Asia Cup Super Fours clash in Dubai on Friday.
The defeat, eerily reminiscent of last year’s collapse in Pallekele, saw Sri Lanka fall short in a Super Over despite centurion Pathum Nissanka’s heroics.
“I would’ve preferred to finish games in normal time,” Jayasuriya said at the post-match press conference. “No captain or coach wants to go to a Super Over. Unfortunately, Dasun missed completing the third run. But no, there’s no mental block against India. Our batting line-up is strong, and we’ve given them confidence. Chasing 200 (203) is never easy, but we almost did it, which shows the quality we have.”
Sri Lanka needed just 12 off the last over with six wickets in hand and Nissanka on 107. But Nissanka fell first ball, and while Dasun Shanaka’s desperate dive completed only a second run off the last delivery, it left the scores tied at 202. A chance to sneak a third was missed, forcing a Super Over, where Sri Lanka faltered again.
The loss came despite a sublime innings from Nissanka, who stroked 107 off 58 balls, leading a 127-run stand with Kusal Perera (58 off 32). Jayasuriya revealed Nissanka had been carrying niggles throughout the tournament. “When you’re chasing 202 (203), you have to keep finding boundaries,” he said. “Their partnership was the key. The momentum shifted when we started losing wickets. That’s natural in a chase because someone has to take risks. Sadly, Pathum got out at the wrong time, and later on, the ball began to turn more. Still, it was a very good game of cricket.”
The coach heaped praise on Perera’s role too. “Kusal is one of the best players of spin in our team. He played that role well again, though I’d have liked him to bat longer. Both took calculated risks, and when they wanted boundaries, they executed them. Pathum also had a bit of a hamstring issue recently but still gave 100% for the team, which shows his commitment.”
For Jayasuriya, the loss triggered memories of July 2024 in Pallekele, when Sri Lanka needed just nine from two overs against India with six wickets left but collapsed into a Super Over defeat after scoring only one run. Yet he brushed off talk of a mental block.
Sri Lanka will return home without a win in the Super Fours, having earlier lost to Bangladesh and Pakistan, a disappointing outcome after progressing unbeaten through a tough group. Jayasuriya pointed to poor adaptability as the reason. “In T20 cricket, assessing conditions quickly is everything. In Abu Dhabi, for example, the first-round pitches had pace and bounce, but in the second round, things changed, and we were too slow to adapt. That cost us. The disappointment was the Bangladesh match in the Super Four — 168 on that pitch was a good score, but we didn’t bowl well enough to defend it. Against Pakistan, we didn’t assess the conditions [in Abu Dhabi] quickly enough, and were late to adapt.”
Despite the setbacks, the coach expressed optimism. “Today, India played very well to get over 200. Our boys showed they’re capable of chasing that, but again we just fell short. Apart from that Bangladesh game, I’m fairly satisfied, though disappointed not to reach the final. We have the batting and bowling quality. The key is to execute plans according to conditions and opposition. If we do that consistently, this team can go very far.”
(IANS)
