Hosts Sri Lanka went down in a tame manner in the first T20I at Dambulla as they were outplayed in all facets of the game by a determined and ready Pakistan team. Sri Lanka found the going tough after losing the toss on a surface which was under covers for the last few days due to rain. Pakistan hit the right lines and lengths and troubled Sri Lanka but the hosts played some rash shots as well. We will try and list out three reasons for their loss and areas to work on before the second match of the series.
Losing two early wickets off the openers in powerplay put Sri Lanka on back foot
Sri Lanka were put into bat first by Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha and they never got going in the powerplay and lost both their openers. First Kamil Mishara gave his wicket away for a bronze duck to Salman Mirza in the third over of the contest. Then the in-form batter and Mr. Dependable Pathum Nissanka after hitting two boundaries in his 12 off 12 balls, gave his wicket gave away to Mohammad Wasim Jnr in the subsequent over as Sri Lanka were 2 down inside 4 overs.
It meant that despite Kusal Mendis joining forces with Dhananjaya de Silva, Sri Lanka were under pressure against tight Pakistan bowling. They hardly got boundaries away and the powerplay score was 35/2 in 6 overs. This is where most of the damage was done and the home side Sri Lanka could never really recover from this position continuously losing wickets at regular intervals even in the middle phase and also at the end. But the powerplay generally sets the ton but in this case, it helped Pakistan get stranglehold of the contest.
In order to perform better in the second T20I, Sri Lanka apart from winning the toss must start well with the bat in hand from their openers. They need Pathum Nissanka to fire because it is when he does well is when Sri Lanka performs well. If he fails, Sri Lankan batting crumbles. Yes, they recovered to get to 128 but that score will never trouble Pakistan and they showed that in the chase. So, the hosts will be looking to perform better in powerplay overs with bat in hand.
Inability to play Shadab Khan and Abrar Ahmed in middle phase pegs Sri Lanka completely back
As if starting in the powerplay was no bad enough, Sri Lanka continued to lose wickets in the middle phase as well. This time it was the returning Shadab Khan who picked up 2 wickets in the 7th over to further derail the innings as Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva fell in the same over as the innings was derailed. Later, Abrar Ahmed got into the act and picked up 3 wickets when Sri Lanka threatened to put some sort of a fight.
Yes, there was some fight shown by young and mature Janith Liyanage and some glimpses from Wanindu Hasaranga as they tried to put Pakistan under some pressure. But they couldn’t carry it on for much longer as Pakistan had answers to everything. Sri Lanka did recover a tad and entertained thoughts of getting to maybe 140-150. But Abrar had other plans as he removed Charith Asalanka, Wanindu Hasaranga and the top scorer Janith Liyanage to put Sri Lanka in real strife before the Lankans collapsed again from 127-7 to 128 all out losing their last 3 wickets for 1 run.
Looking ahead to their do-or-die clash, Sri Lanka must bat a lot better in the middle phase against these two spinners as they picked up 5 wickets between them and going less than run a ball in 8 overs. They played Nawaz well and went after him but were found wanting against him. Sri Lanka needs to bat a whole lot better than first game if they want to entertain thoughts of beating Pakistan.
Inability to stop Sahibzada Farhan and conceding 59 in powerplay sealed their fate
Defending a paltry score of 128 runs, Sri Lanka would have hoped to get early wickets and put some pressure on Pakistan. But what followed was exactly the opposite. Sahibzada Farhan put on a show in the powerplay as he took the attack to the opposition by taking Nuwan Thushara to the cleaners. Farhan was ably complimented by Saim Ayub as the duo dominated the powerplay and broke the back of the chase very quickly. Farhan was the aggressor and allowed Ayub to take his time.
The powerplay score was 59/1 in 6 overs for Pakistan and contrast that to Sri Lanka’s 35/2 in 6 overs and this was where the game was won and lost. Ayub did fall at the end of the powerplay but the damage was done as the equation was well below run a ball for the middle phase. Farhan continued beyond the powerplay and completed his half century before getting out, but it was too little too late for Sri Lanka. The Lankans searched for wickets and lost their line and lengths totally. Since, it was a paltry score one could understand the reasons for this thing to happen.
But looking ahead, Sri Lanka needs to be incisive with their bowling plans and be more proactive while bowling. They could have made a match out of this contest, but didn’t and paid the price in the end. So, the Lankans will be hoping to improve in all facets of the game to challenge Pakistan in game 2. Bowling is also an area that one needs to look at with utmost care as well apart from batting which is the major concern.
What Lies Ahead
So, the stage is set for the second T20I to be played later tonight in Dambulla at 7 PM IST onwards as Pakistan will aim to seal the series here itself while the hosts Sri Lanka will aim to level the series and force a decider on Sunday. One hopes that the weather remains clear as there is forecast of rain in the coming days and week there. Let’s hope we get a game in. Can Sri Lanka bounce back? Only time will tell.