In the third T20I against India, Sri Lanka were 108-1 and needed another 30 runs in the last five overs to register a win. They had the match in their pocket but let it slip as they managed only 29 runs and lost seven wickets. The game was tied and India won the Super Over contest comfortably after Washington Sundar conceded only two runs and dismissed .

Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka, who was himself dismissed for a golden duck, was disappointed with the perennial issue of their middle and lower-middle order batting as they once collapsed like nine-pins. 

In fact, Sri Lanka lost the nine wickets for only 30 runs in the opening game whereas the hosts lost seven wickets for 31 runs in the second game.

Charith Asalanka said in the post-match presentation, “I am really disappointed about our batting line-up, especially middle-order and late middle-order. Very bad shot selection was the reason. Spinners were bowling that’s why Hasaranga came up the order. We gave him the license to hit one or two boundaries, that didn’t work for us.”

Asalanka admitted poor shot selection led to their downfall and it was a gettable score.

He added, “Wrong shot selection on this pitch. When the ball gets old, our shot selection should be spot-on, it’s really hard to bat on these tracks. Definitely (the target was gettable), we can’t give excuses. As professional cricketers, we need to do little bit more than this. I want to see good batting performances in the ODIs, not like T20s. Our top three and four have done well and that’s the only positive I have. Boys will do something better.”

Sri Lankan batters will be disappointed with their mundane performance as they had the match in their grasp. 

Sri Lanka will now take on India in a three-match ODI series in Colombo, with first ODI to be played on Friday.