We wanted a score in the range of 160 – Pathum Nissanka

Rex Clementine in Sharjah

One of Sri Lanka’s stars during the ICC T-20 World Cup campaign, Pathum Nissanka admitted that his team was a few run short in their epic second round clash against South Africa on Saturday in Sharjah. There has been lot of criticism on skipper Dasun Shanaka’s option to bowl the last over and Lahiru Kumara’s choices with regard to his line and length against Killer Miller (David Miller).

Sri Lanka lost a close contest by three wickets as Kagiso Rabada brought up the winning runs in the penultimate ball.

The 2014 champions looked set to post in excess of 160 when Chairth Asalanka and Nissanka were involved in 41-run partnership for the second wicket. But Asalanka was run out and then Sri Lanka’s middle order could not handle the wrist spin of Tabraiz Shamsi; with numbers four, five and six; Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Avishka Fernando and Wanindu Hasaranga falling to him.

“We lost a few wickets early and I wanted to bat deep. Targeted the last five overs to score some runs. We wanted to get 160 but realized the wicket was a bit slow and then decided to get something in the range of 140 to 145,” Nissanka told a group of Sri Lankan journalists yesterday.

During the water break, Head Coach Mickey Arthur had come along and had revised the target. “The coach came over and said that we will reassess things and go for 140 as it is not easy batting. He wanted me to bat till the 20th over as it was tough for new batsmen to get set.”

“The wicket was slow yesterday and if you see they needed to bat till the last over to score the winning runs,” Nissanaka explained.

This has been a dream year for Nissanka so far. He became the only Sri Lankan to score a Test hundred overseas and was a late inclusion to the T-20 set up and has done well having emerged as the competition’s highest run scorer.

“It’s my best knock in T-20 cricket so very pleased with the effort. There’s been lot of help from senior players and coaches. Trained hard and the results are there to be seen. The presence of Mahela was quite good. He gave me a few tips on how to plan things and when to attack and when to defend.”

The result was a bitter pill to swallow for the team as Sri Lanka’s chances of a semi-final berth is almost over. “We are gutted with the result. But we gave a good fight and it was a good comeback from us. Lahiru had bowled well and we backed him to bowl the last over. We backed him and we gave him all the support but there were a few errors and the game slipped away from us. We have done fairly well. We hope to finish off the campaign well by winning the next two games and try and see whether there’s any chance to reach the semis.

Seven members of Sri Lanka’s World Cup squad were members of the class of 2016. Sri Lanka Under-19 team under Charith Asalanka toured England and won a series there and the team comprised Nissanka, Asalanka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Avishka Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Kamindu Mendis and Praveen Jayawickrama. They are all now delivering for the senior side..

“There’s lot of good understanding between us. It helps when you bat and stuff and when you run between the wickets.”

With men like Roy Dias in charge of our young players, the future is in good hands.