'Our batters tried for 160-170': Wanindu Hasaranga questions his teammates' approach after Sri Lanka get bowled out for record-breaking 77

Sri Lanka captain Wanindu Hasaranga was left disappointed after they lost to South Africa in their opening clash of T20 World Cup 2024. Hasaranga said that the Sri Lankan batters failed to assess the pitch and conditions at Nassau County Cricket Stadium, New York and suffered a batting collapse resulting in 77 all out. This is their lowest T20Is. 
 

“Our batters tried for 160-170. To be honest this was a 120 wicket especially with our bowlers,” Hasaranga said as he defended his decision to bat first. 
 

Anrich Nortje rushed through Sri Lankan batting lineup bagging four wickets for just seven runs. Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj bagged two wickets each whereas Ottneil Baartman took one. Sri Lankan bowlers did not net South Africa make short work of the 78-run target. They won the game in the 17th over.
 

“We went with our bowling strength, that's why we batted first. We wanted to put up a good score and defend it,” the all-rounder said. 
 

The leg-spinner saw a few positives despite the loss but wants batters to make an impact.
 

“This is early in the tournament, as a team we wanted to do much better especially in the batting. We know we have bowling strength, so if our batters do well we can go further,” he added. 

 

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Hasaranga’s two strikes

Hasaranga introduced himself in the 11th over of South Africa’s run chase. He got the wicket of Quinton de Kock who scored 20 runs from 27 balls. The wicketkeeper-batter got out caught and bowled. In his second over, he ended Tristan Stubbs' troubled stay at the crease. Batting at no.4, Stubbs scored just 13 runs from 28 balls. In the third over, he went for a six and a four as Heinirch Klaasen went after him. He conceded 22 runs from 3.2 overs.
 

Sri Lanka’s next clash against Bangladesh

Sri Lanka will take on their nemesis Bangladesh on June 7 at Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas. Bangladesh have been struggling for form of late as well. They lost the T20I series against the USA and were comprehensively beaten by India in the warm-up game.
 

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