We have to strengthen our bowling, says Theekshana

“We had a good chance to win both matches but our bowling was not up to the expectations on these Indian wickets,” said Maheesh Theekshana, after the Pakistan match in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

Theekshana who has IPL experience, added that they have to learn a lot on these wickets and are hoping to bounce back in their next game.

The team knows they are missing key bowlers Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera, making it difficult to compete against top teams, he said.

He ended with one wicket at the Pakistan game giving away 59 runs in his 10-over spell.

“The Indian wickets are different, and when we don’t bowl with good length, the opponent batters always treat us with a boundary or six. My task, unlike Wanindu’s, is to make more pressure and not give away too many runs. If I try to take more wickets, the opponent can score more runs from me, and my inexperienced bowlers will also feel the pressure after my bowling. We need to adjust our strategies to suit these challenging wickets, which are more favourable to the batsmen,” said Theekshana.

“We were close to beat Pakistan, and if we got 30-40 more runs, we would have had the chance,” said Theekshana.

“The Sri Lankan team is aware that the conditions in India are different from what they are used to in their home country. We know Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama batted well. They scored with more confidence and maintained a good run rate and we were in a good position to win the game. But decent bowling is the key factor. Normally, their bowlers know how to defend 260-270 runs, but the Indian wickets require them to defend 340-350 runs, making the task even more challenging. Unfortunately, giving away more extras and loose balls cost them the match against Pakistan. We have seven more matches before the semi finals and are determined to make good plans to defeat our opponents, said Theekshana.

The Sri Lankan team will be travelling to Lucknow from Hyderabad and will face Australia on October 16 and Netherlands on October 21 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium. According to a team management official, the Sri Lanka team management is concerned about their inexperienced bowling side. Maheesh Theekshana has maintained his physical and mental fitness, especially after his injury period and having played only one match so far. We are also ready to include inexperienced players like Dunith Wellalage and Dushan Hemantha, while Dilshan Madushanka, Lahiru Kumara, Matheesha Pathirana, and Kasun Rajitha are the pacemen but Pathirana whose accuracy is not up to the standard and has given away more wides and no balls.

“Indian former Skipper M.S Dhoni had previously said that Mateesha Pathirana should only be used for T-20 format. But Sri Lanka Team Management seems to have given him unnecessary weight, causing concerns for the team’s performance. The spin coach Piyal Wijethunga and fast bowling coach Dharshana Gamage, need to coordinate with the selection committee and other supporting staff to ensure that the team works together effectively. Learning how to bowl death overs and bat during the last ten overs are crucial areas for the team to focus on if they want to improve their performance,” said a cricket expert.

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