Published: Oct 21, 2017, 09:53 AM (IST)
Edited: Oct 21, 2017, 09:53 AM (IST)
Another ODI and another defeat for Sri Lanka, this time by seven wickets. Their losing streak in this format only seem to extend and skipper Upul Tharanga is an extremely disappointed man as the side has now lost 11 ODIs in a row and currently trail the 5-ODI series against Pakistan 0-4.
Tharanga expressed his disappointment for repeating mistakes. He said, “I think we are repeating the same mistakes. We are a good batting side but I do not know why we keep playing like this. It is a matter of confidence, none of our top six have enough runs under their belt and hope we do well next game. After Dinesh (Chandimal) got out, Sadeera (Samarawickrama) got out in the same over and we couldn’t recover. Akila (Dananjaya) has been bowling well in the last two series for us and (Jeffrey) Vandersay has been bowling well too,” said Tharanga.
It was a 119-run stand for the fourth wicket between Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik that sealed the Sri Lankan fate after Hasan Ali and co. restricted them to 173. Pakistan were in a spot of bother at 58 for 3 when Babar rescued them again. He was awarded the Man of the Match for his 69 not out. Earlier in the series he slammed two centuries but failed to bag this award.
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“This knock has done what centuries couldn’t by winning this award. While batting I always look to give my 100%. When Shoaib came in he told me to make a partnership but I did not have to do much considering that he did most of the scoring. I try to keep my focus on at all points,” Babar said after winning the award.
Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed was in all praises for his side. The Test series ended on a disappointing note for him after Sri Lanka meted them with a 2-0 defeat. Things have gone Pakistan’s way in ODIs. He heaped praises on debutant Usman Khan Shinwari.
“The wickets in the Tests were slightly different. I think we have a good momentum going in and people are performing well. It is not that there is no pressure but we are lucky that the players have understood their respective roles perfectly; which simplifies the role of a captain. The way Shinwari bowled and made an impact with the kind of lengths he bowled was superb on debut. We’ll have a look at the conditions in the next match and then look at the combinations and the batting order,” Sarfraz said.
