By Dwayne Ferreira.
Sri Lanka suffered another nine-wicket defeat to England Lions at Beckenham, raising concerns ahead of the T20I series against England.
Sri Lanka suffered a second successive heavy defeat to the England Lions, going down by nine wickets under the DLS method at Beckenham on Sunday in a worrying conclusion to their preparations for the upcoming T20I series against England.
Batting first at the Kent County Cricket Ground, Sri Lanka posted 156 for nine from their 20 overs before rain intervened during the England Lions chase.
The hosts were eventually handed a revised target of 73 from eight overs and reached 76 for one in only 6.2 overs, securing another comfortable nine-wicket victory with 10 balls remaining.
Sri Lanka Make Bright Start Before Losing Momentum
Sri Lanka initially appeared capable of posting a much more imposing total after reaching 70 for one during the early stages of their innings.
Pathum Nissanka struck 23 before being dismissed by Saqib Mahmood, while Kamil Mishara provided the most aggressive contribution of the innings.
Mishara struck 31 as Sri Lanka enjoyed a productive powerplay, but the innings lost momentum once England Lions began making regular breakthroughs through the middle overs.
Lahiru Udara scored 13, while Kamindu Mendis managed only two.
Dasun Shanaka also made 13 before captain Charith Asalanka contributed 23 as Sri Lanka struggled to establish a substantial partnership after their promising start.
Janith Liyanage was dismissed for five before Tharindu Rathnayake provided some late acceleration with a quick 22.
Dunith Wellalage added 10 before being run out in the final over as Sri Lanka finished on 156 for nine.
Rain Shortens England Lions Chase
Rain began falling around the innings break and initially reduced the England Lions chase to 12 overs.
The conditions changed again after play resumed, resulting in another DLS adjustment that eventually left the hosts requiring 73 runs from eight overs.
Paul Walter and Ben McKinney immediately placed Sri Lanka under pressure, racing to 43 without loss by the end of the shortened powerplay.
McKinney was eventually dismissed for 19 when Eshan Malinga took the catch off Maheesh Theekshana, but there was little relief for Sri Lanka.
Walter remained unbeaten on 34 and sealed the victory with a six off Dushmantha Chameera as England Lions completed the chase at 76 for one.
Two Heavy Defeats Raise Concerns
The result completed a difficult two-match warm-up series for Sri Lanka.
England Lions had also dominated the opening encounter at Chelmsford, dismissing Sri Lanka for just 117 in 16.4 overs before chasing the target with nine wickets remaining.
Sri Lanka have therefore suffered consecutive nine-wicket defeats immediately before facing England’s senior side.
While warm-up matches are primarily designed to provide players with an opportunity to adjust to conditions and experiment with combinations, the nature of the two defeats will leave Sri Lanka with several areas to address.
The inability to convert promising batting positions into competitive totals has been particularly noticeable, while Sri Lanka’s bowlers have struggled to place sustained pressure on the England Lions top order.
Attention Now Turns to Southampton
Sri Lanka will have little time to regroup.
The three-match T20I series against England begins at Southampton on September 15, before moving to Cardiff on September 17 and Manchester on September 19.
Charith Asalanka will captain Sri Lanka during the T20I series after Kusal Mendis was ruled out while continuing rehabilitation from a right hamstring injury. Pacer Binura Fernando is also unavailable because of a back injury.
For Sri Lanka, the challenge now is to quickly put two disappointing warm-up performances behind them.
With England’s full international side awaiting, the tourists will need a significantly improved batting display and greater control with the ball when the competitive series begins.
