Sri Lanka have slipped out of the Asia Cup after a second Super-Over defeat to India in as many tournaments, yet head coach Sanath Jayasuriya insists the side “can go very far”. Chasing 203 in Dubai, Pathum Nissanka’s outstanding 107 from 58 balls dragged the target to 12 from the final over, but the equation proved one run too many before the game drifted to the tie-breaker, which India claimed with something to spare.
“We almost did it, which shows the quality we have,” Jayasuriya told reporters afterwards. “I would’ve preferred to finish games in normal time. No captain or coach wants to go to a Super Over. Unfortunately, Dasun missed completing the third run. But no, there’s no mental block against India.”
Sri Lanka’s campaign ends with three defeats in the Super Fours, echoing last July’s collapse in Pallekele when nine were required off 12 balls and six wickets remained in hand. On that occasion Rinku Singh and Suryakumar Yadav forced the match into — and then decided — a Super Over. Friday night followed the same script. Nissanka was out to the first delivery of the last over, Dasun Shanaka’s full-length dive completed only two of the three runs needed off the final ball and, once again, the tie-breaker went India’s way.
Nissanka’s hundred deserved a happier finish. The opener, originally earmarked as a Test specialist, has grown into a key limited-overs player under Jayasuriya. He batted through groin and hamstring niggles sustained earlier in the tournament. “When you’re chasing 202, you have to keep finding boundaries,” the coach said. “Pathum and Kusal’s stand was the key.” Kusal Perera’s brisk 58 from 32 balls helped add 127 in just 70 deliveries for the second wicket, at which point India were wobbling.
Former all-rounder Farveez Maharoof, working as a television pundit, reckoned “Nissanka had answers for every bowler” and predicted Sri Lanka “will surprise some teams in the T20 World Cup”. It is hard to disagree: the top order looks settled, the seam attack found rhythm earlier in the competition and Wanindu Hasaranga is pencilled in to return from injury in time for the global event.
Even so, closing games remains a problem. Shanaka’s side have now lost four limited-overs contests to India in the last 15 months when the finish line appeared within reach. Jayasuriya suggested the issue is tactical rather than psychological. He defended the decision to keep wickets in hand during the middle overs instead of attacking Jasprit Bumrah’s final spell. “Our batting line-up is strong, and we’ve given them confidence,” he said. “Chasing 200 is never easy, but we almost did it.”
India’s bowling deserves credit too. Bumrah and Hardik Pandya conceded just 15 from overs 18 and 19, leaving Axar Patel the cushion that ultimately mattered. In the Super Over, Pandya mixed wide yorkers with slow bouncers, limiting Sri Lanka to eight runs that Suryakumar and Ishan Kishan knocked off in four balls.
From here Sri Lanka fly home for a short break before a three-match T20 series against Afghanistan. Jayasuriya, asked to rate the Asia Cup campaign, called himself “fairly satisfied”, then added with a wry smile: “It would feel better if we knew how to take an extra run.”
Sri Lanka’s next challenge is to turn that rueful grin into tangible improvement. The raw ingredients are evident; finishing touches, literally, still elude them.
