Our team didn’t perform as expected, suffering several defeats, stated Sri Lankan skipper Kusal Mendis after the last game against New Zealand in Bangalore last Thursday.
“Though we aimed for a reasonable total against New Zealand, the loss of early wickets hindered us, preventing us from achieving a substantial score to challenge the Kiwis,” remarked Mendis.
“We secured only two wins against Netherlands and England while missing victories and putting up a good fight in some matches against teams like South Africa, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. However, the tour concluded with a defeat,” added Kusal.
“When I won the toss, we should have bowled first, considering the dew factor later in the day. However, we couldn’t get a good start, and the middle order was under pressure. Scoring more than 300 runs would have changed the narrative,” said Kusal.
I took captaincy after two World Cup matches, and I enjoyed it. It was a great honour for me. However, I know I started with good knocks, but later I couldn’t perform as expected, and I am disappointed about that.
I am happy that my team put up a good fight, especially players like Pathum Nissanka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, and young bowler Dilshan Madushanka, who performed well in their first World Cup. Young Dunith Wellalage played well, got a few matches, and we hope these players can play for the National team for a long time,” added Kusal.
“We had some injury issues in our team, and two players went back home after injury. Despite these difficulties, we did our best,” said Mendis.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka team returned home yesterday early morning as soon as the match in Bangalore concluded. There was no special welcome ceremony, and players returned through normal passenger arrival.
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