ICC World Cup 2019 | The middle-order really couldn't handle the pressure, says Dimuth Karunaratane

Sri Lanka fell to their second loss at the ongoing ICC World Cup 2019 as they succumbed to an 86-run loss to Australia on Saturday at The Oval. Despite a promising start by the Sri Lankan opening pair of Dimuth Karunaratane and Kusal Perera who put up a partnership of 115 for the first wicket, the Lankan couldn't put up a strong performance in the middle overs of the second innings. 

"It was a good wicket. There was some seam movement, but it was still a good batting track. We bowled well in the first 25 overs. Then, Finch and Smith batted really well, but we came back strongly at the death. We got a good start with the bat. We couldn't capitalise and when the middle-order came in, they couldn't capitalize either and really couldn't handle the pressure," Karunaratane said after the loss against Australia. 

Karunaratane, who top-scored for 97 from 108 deliveries, heaped praise on the Australian team as the bowling department led by Mitchell Starc and Jason Behrendorff starred with the ball yesterday. 

"The Australians are top-class bowlers, but we have faced them before, and we were missing a game plan against them to be honest. We lost a couple of matches because of the rain. We need to win a couple of matches, and if we can do it, we can definitely be in the top 4. We have got to get to the semi-finals and then take it step by step until the final," the Sri Lankan skipper added.