After Sri Lanka suffered a 7-wicket loss to Afghanistan in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023, captain Kusal Mendis lamented that his batters did not perform well enough.
Afghanistan produced their third upset win in their ongoing World Cup campaign, outplaying Sri Lanka in all three departments. Half-centuries from Rahmant Shah, skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai and a four-wicket haul by Fazalhaq Farooqi helped Afghanistan secure a memorable seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in their World Cup match at Pune on Monday.
The setback against Afghanistan leaves the Lankans with little room for error, needing them to win all three of their remaining games, including the tough match against tournament hosts India next up, to have any hope of reaching the last four.
"We didn't do enough with the bat. 300 or maybe 280 would have been sufficient, but not to be. Bowlers have done well in the first 10 overs and the dew has come in a little bit and then it became a little hard to bowl the spinners," Kusal Mendis said in a post-match presentation.
"Actually, there was dew today and the ball came on to the bat nicely in the second innings. He (Dilshan Madushanka) has done really well, in the first couple of games as well and hope he will continue his form going forward," he added.
