ICC World Cup 2019 | Need to improve our batting in middle overs, says Dimuth Karunaratane
Dimuth Karunaratane reckons that an improvement in the batting performance by the Sri Lankan middle order is all that they are lacking at the moment in this year’s World Cup. The Lankans defeated Afghanistan by 34 runs (DLS method) as Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Pradeep impressed with the ball.
Sri Lanka bounced back from their crushing 10-wicket loss against New Zealand in the opening game with a 34-run (DLS method) win against Afghanistan in their second match of the ICC World Cup 2019. The Dimuth Karunaratane-led side got off to a good start but failed to make the most of it as their middle order crumbled under pressure and they could only post a total of 201 before being bowled out in the 37th over.
Karunaratane, who scored a hard-fought half-century in the first match against New Zealand, was happy with his side’s performance yesterday but admitted that the middle-order is in dire need of some improvement if they intend to perform well at the World Cup.
"We had a good start after a long time but suddenly, we lost a couple of wickets and were on the back foot. That's the negative part but otherwise, the bowling and fielding was really good. After losing the first game, it's not easy to keep your mind positive. We have the experience in these conditions and that helped. Only thing we need to work on is to improve our batting in the middle overs," Karunaratane said at the post-match interview reports Cricbuzz.
Veteran pacers - Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Pradeep - turned back the clock with a spirited display of fast bowling in some tricky English conditions against Afghanistan. Malinga bagged three wickets while Pradeep took four to put the Lankans in command of the game in the second innings.
"Wickets were the key, if the openers get going, then 187 isn't easy to defend. Their openers went hard but we knew that it was a matter of a couple of wickets and that pushed them on the back foot. (Whether they believe now after the win) Of course, we do. As I said, batting needs to improve a bit but the bowlers did really well. Need to work on our middle overs batting a bit," Karunaratane added.
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