Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh): Sri Lankan opener Pathum Nissanka conjured a 125-run stand with Kusal Perera against Australia in their league fixture on Monday, but that was not enough as the side suffered a five-wicket loss to five-time champion Australia.
Nissanka scored 61 off 67 balls, hitting eight boundaries. He however was removed by rival skipper Pat Cummins in the 22nd over. After the dismissal of Kusal Perera (78 off 82 balls), Sri Lanka lost wickets in a heap and were bundled out for 209. Australia riding on half-centuries by Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis cantered to the target in just 35.2 overs.
Pathum Nissanka said anything close to 300 would have been a challenging total but the Asian team failed to sustain a promising start. "Despite our promising start, we deeply regret not being able to sustain it, resulting in us being limited to a score of 210 runs. On a wicket like this, I believe we should aim for a total closer to 300 runs, and this was a contributing factor for our defeat," Nissanka told reporters at the post-match media conference.
"I believe I've given my best for the team. I'm hopeful that I can contribute significantly by scoring a substantial number of runs and playing substantial innings in the upcoming matches," he said. Sri Lanka now needs to win all their remaining six games to stay afloat in the competition and Nissanka believes that the focus of the team is to learn from the mistakes they have committed.
"Our focus now is to learn from our mistakes and strive for strong performances in the upcoming matches. Our mental level is good. We hope to play well in these matches and win the remaining matches," Nissanka concluded. Sri Lanka next faces the Netherlands at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium on Saturday, October 21 in a day game.
