The team has everything to become a hard-core competitor but the setting and formation are not going their way.
Sri Lankan openers were impatient in the first six overs. So impatient, that they pondered too much and tried too hard without considering the condition.
As result, the team was at 29 for 4 in the 9th over. However, Captain Dasun Shanaka tried to pace up the innings with consistency.
He scored 74 off 38 balls and took his to a respectable total. Due to his effort, Sri Lanka scored 86 off the last 8 overs.
Except for Dasun Shanaka, other Sri Lankan batsmen struggled to touch a strike rate of 90. It was pretty much one man alone determined to give his best for Sri Lanka.
Even in the previous match, Shanaka went absolute berserk and smashed 49 off 19 balls. In the 2nd match, Sri Lanka scored 74 in the last 4 overs.
Sri Lanka is a young team with definite potential. For now, it looks inexhaustible because of the uneven approach.
Credit to Sri Lankan bowlers, they bowled with intense pace in the first 6 overs. Unfortunately, they couldn’t accomplish it with accuracy and consistency.
In both matches at Dharamshala, the first 6 overs made a lot of difference. In a certain way, the outcome of both matches essentially depended on the first 6 overs.
Sri Lanka, being young and unaware, couldn’t sensibly react in the first 6 overs. However, in international cricket, there is no space for such arguments.
You have to adapt as soon as you step onto the pitch. Also, playing in India against India is never an easy task. Sri Lanka missed some senior players who could have batted and bowled sensibly using their experience.
The 3-0 loss has put Sri Lanka under a sceptic zone. They will play a 2 match test series against India in a week. Which way it will unfold, nobody knows but currently, India has the upper hand.
Sri Lanka has its eye on the T20 World Cup 2022 and ICC Test Championship. Thus, they have to be tactical in every format. As a team in the building phase, they will surely try to unleash the potential of young talents in the team.