Local Fans Shout in Anger at Disgraceful Manner by which Top Batters disappointed to lose from winning position

Sri Lankan fans will spend a tearful weekend as they display over the disgraceful manner by which Sri Lanka lost to New Zealand the lung opener at the Belerive Oval. Local fans watching the match on big screen back home started venting their anger by loudly scolding the rest of the top order Lankan batsmen who folded like sardine fish from such a highly winning position after Pathum Nissanka 90 and Kusal Mendis had put Sri Lanka on the road to victory.

It was certainly understandable Lankan cricket lovers who would sacrifice even a meal to watch their country cricketers perform, lose their cool at such a timid display of losing a game when the match was well in Sri Lanka’s pocket.

The crime of this throwing the game through the window was firstly letting the Kiwis off the hook when the hosts were reeling on 65 for 5 midway of their innings and still disgracefully losing from a very strong winning position of 121 for for the first wicket and letting New Zealand win when Sri Lanka had to score just 52 off 40 deliveries with 9 wickets in hand.by the Lankan top batsmen with top batters Kusal Janith Perera and Kamindu Mendis falling for ducks followed by Skipper Charith Asalanbka falling for 3 and Bhanuka Rajapaksa 8 in a continuation of his let down on the big stage and Wanindu Hasaranga for 5.
Certainly, the art of losing in the lung opefner against the black caps was nothing but funeral like mournful. Best put a batting funeral .

Winning the toss and opting to bowl first, they had the visitors on the back foot by scalping 5 top order batters for 65 runs at the end of 10 overs.

The par score at this venue is 177 runs, hence, the Kiwis would never ever have thought of scoring, setting Sri Lanka a target of 173 runs , but riplys believe it or not it happened.

Darryl Michael and Michael Bracewell stiched a 105-run partnership for the 6th wicket as they made Matheesha Pathirana look ordinary and the bowler to target as he leaked 60 runs in his 4 over quota, bowled 3 no balls, conceeding 3 free hits and let the entire bowling unit down with his indisciplined spell. True, he had Darryl Mitchell out Lbw with a no ball , after which Darryl Mitchell and Michael Bracewell feasted on his school boy spell by making him the target and not a premier wicket taker as penned down by the media.

Hasaranga bowled his heart out, took 2 wickets in one over , and conceded 33 runs , Binura Fernando impressed with the new ball, scalping 2 vital wickets of Tim Robinson and Rachin Ravindra, whilst Nuwan Thushara bowled intelligent line and lengths just conceeding 26 runs in his 4 over spell , and Mahesh Theekshana bowling a brilliant last over and conceed only 3 runs otherwise Sri Lanka would have chased a bigger target. Theekshana ended his 4 over spell, conceeding only 26 runs , whilst Binura Fernando 2 for 22 , but the surprise package was Matheesha Pathirana 1 for 60 with 3 no balls.

Darryl Mitchell and Michael Bracewell have built that match winning partnership. Hence, they proved the importance of disciplined batting even in the T 20 format with excellent running between wickets, rotation of strike, and taking advantage of loose deliveries dished out, especially by the Sri Lankan bowlers in the second half.

Sri Lanka was also penalised for the slow over rate and had to bring in an extra fielder inside the 30-meter circle in the final over. Appaling to state the least.

The massive Sri Lanka support cheered lustily at the park whilst the nation and the expatriate community enjoyed a superb display of batting by both Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis who stiched a record breaking partnership of 121 runs in 12 .2 overs and a victory for the visitors was inevitable. But Lo and behold it all ended up in smoke and tears galore for the faithful Sri Lankan Cricket community in New Zealand who went back home utterly frustrated and angry.

Kusal Mendis was dismissed for 46 , giving the vital breakthrough for the Kiwis, off the bowling Jacob Duffy, and what the crowd witnessed as a shell shock, two more scalps in the same over of Duffy . Kusal Perera played a cowboy type of base ball swing to be caught by keeper Mitchell Hay and Kamindu Mendis out for a first ball duck playing a subcontinent condition driven on a bouncy track that too in New Zealand.

Flood gates opened, with Sri Lanka on 121 for 3 wickets , with then required run rate breathing down their neck the rest of the batters, Charith Asalanbka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa and the tail that rarely wags fell like school boys facing an international bowling attack and fell short by 8 runs.

Sri Lanka lost 6 wickets for 33 runs in 36 balls and made just 36 runs in the last 5 overs whilst New Zealand made 54 runs in their last 5 overs.by

This tells you the story of the Sri Lankan game plan and thinking that goes into the mind of our batting unit that lacked both intent and wisdom.

WHAT A BATTING MESS LACKING COUNTRY PATRIOTISM

By the Editor In Chief

Local cricket fans could not have had it any worse.
I mean seeing their team go down like nine pins when the match was well and good Sri Lanka’s, but which was not to be because of utter disregard to caution flashing the bat like jack rabbits.

This terribly bad approach to a country cause in many ways boils down to nothing but being Unpatriotic. No Country Feeling.
It has left bitterly angry die hard local fans simply cursing the Lankan specialist batsmen for literally throwing a match that was actually theirs when Sri Lanka was on 121 for 1 and needing 52 from 40 balls.
But then the rest after the classic setting of the openers Pathum Nissanka 90 and Kusal Mendis 46 had enacted a batting fireworks.