Sri Lanka have to qualify 'the hard way' after England drubbing / Photo: © AFP
Sri Lanka have to qualify 'the hard way' after England drubbing
Sri Lanka will have to do it "the hard way" if they are to make the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup after a chastening defeat to England on Sunday, admitted their batting coach.
The co-hosts were routed for 95 chasing 147 in Kandy, meaning they need to win their two remaining Super Eight games to have a chance of qualifying.
Even that may not be enough as they now have a poor net run rate, something that could be crucial in a tight group.
Sri Lanka are bottom of Super Eights Group 2 on zero points, below New Zealand and Pakistan on one point each after their match on Saturday was washed out.
England are top on two points and can all-but qualify for the last four with a win over Pakistan at the same Kandy venue on Tuesday.
For Sri Lanka, next up are New Zealand in Colombo on Wednesday, leaving little time to regroup.
"We have no choice now but to win our next two games. We will do it the hard way," Sri Lanka batting coach Vikram Rathour told reporters.
Opening batsman Pathum Nissanka, a centurion against Australia, fell for nine exposing Sri Lank's shaky middle order and they folded in 16.4 overs.
"When your best batter is dismissed early, you tend to struggle and that's what happened today," said Rathour.
Sri Lanka were never in the hunt after slumping to 34-5 inside the six-over power play as Jofra Archer took two wickets with extreme pace at one end and Will Jacks claimed three at the other with his off-spin.
"Disappointing game, yes. We should have chased that down," said Rathour.
"It was a tacky wicket as it was under cover for a while. After losing a few wickets, it was tough to get back into the game."
G.al-Khater--BT
