Colombo, Feb 25 Sri Lanka’s hopes of reaching the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup semi-finals ended with a crushing 61-run defeat to New Zealand at the R Premadasa Stadium, with captain Dasun Shanaka admitting their performance was ‘very embarrassing’ in front of home fans.
After New Zealand made 168/7 in 20 overs, as Sri Lanka lost the plot by conceding 70 runs in the last four overs, the tournament co-hosts never looked to chase down the total. With the visitors spinners, led by Rachin Ravindra’s 4-27, bowling an astonishing 17 overs, Sri Lanka ended up making 107/8 in 20 overs and make an exit from the competition.
The result also extends Sri Lanka’s barren run in the competition since winning the title in 2014. "It is very embarrassing to disappoint the home crowd. You know, they've been very supportive. It's like we started really well, but to be honest, the Santner-McConchie and that partnership, it was a good one, which took the game away from us.
“See, we wanted to restrict them around 130, but, you know, our best bowlers bowling at the given time, to be honest, they played really well, so we must give the credit to Mitchell Santner and Cole," Shanaka said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
The skipper also pointed to the lack of intent from his batters. "Of course, the batsmen will need to take a little responsibility at the top and you know we can't rely on one or two best men in a game, so all the batters need to take the positive option.
“Yes, if you get out taking the positive option, you can be, you know, at least you can be relaxed once you come to the dugout, but here it is not the thing, we don't take the chances and it is T20 cricket, you need to show the intent a little bit more.”
Asked about his assessment of the pitch, Shanaka said, “I thought the wicket might settle a bit since it's a new pitch, but the way they bowled, the areas which we didn't bowl, I mean the Sri Lankan bowlers, yes, we bowled occasionally, but not all the time we hit in that lane.
“But we must give credit to New Zealand bowlers, as they executed really well tonight. Also the decision to bat, so it was a collective decision, but, you know, we didn't expect wicket to turn that much since it's a new pitch.”
With one match left, Sri Lanka can only play for pride and aim to sign off on a high. "Absolutely, one more game, we need to finish it high, yeah, hopefully we'll do our best game in that game," said Shanaka.
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