ICC T20 WC: Did not bowl in right areas, need top order to come good: SL's Shanaka after loss to Namibia
Oct 16, 2022
South Geelong [Australia], October 16 : Following their 55-run defeat to Namibia in their Group A match at ICC T20 World Cup 2022, Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka said that the bowlers failed to bowl in the right areas and the top order needs to come good.
An all-round Namibia pulled off an upset for ages after defeating Asia Cup 2022 champions Sri Lanka by 55 runs in their Group A, round one match of ICC T20 World Cup 2022 at Geelong on Sunday.
"We did not execute well with the ball. We did not bowl in the right areas and that is a concern. We are a good team. We just need some partnerships. We need the openers to come good and the No. 3 to click," said Shanaka in a post-match presentation.
Put to bat first by Namibia, they were off to a shaky start. The intent was always visible in the innings but wickets kept falling at regular intervals. In 15 overs, Namibia was at 95/6. But they accelerated in the final five overs, scoring 68 runs. Jan Frylinck (44 off 28 balls) and JJ Smit (31* off 16 balls) helped their side reach 163/7 in 20 overs.
Pramod Madushan (2/37) was the standout Sri Lankan bowler. Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Chamika Karunaratne and Wanindu Hasaranga took a wicket each.
Chasing 164, Sri Lanka were caught by surprise by fantastic bowling from Namibia and some electric displays of fielding. Only captain Shanaka (29 off 23 balls) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (20 off 21 balls) could score something decent as the Asian champs were bundled out for just 108 runs and lost the match by 55 runs.
David Wiese (2/16) and Bernard Scholtz (2/18) were the leading bowlers for Namibia. Ben Shikongo and Jan Frylinck also took two scalps while JJ Smit took one.
Frylinck was titled with the 'Man of the Match' award for his all-round performance. He scored 44 and took 2/26 with the ball.
