Sri Lanka crashed to a disappointing defeat to ousted South Africa in their recent Cricket World Cup fixture on June 28, at Riverside Ground. In what was a must-win fixture, the Asian side see their semi-final hopes become more minute. Captain Dimuth Karunaratne stated that his side's batting was the reason for the defeat.
The Islanders were all out at 49.3 overs for 203, which their opponents crossed with 76 balls to spare.
"All departments went wrong, especially the batting," said the 31-year-old.
He praised Kusal Perera and Avishka Fernando for their batting, but felt the rest were below par. Perera scored 30-runs in 34 balls, while Fernando notched 30 in 29 balls.
"If you can't rotate the strike, it's not easy. There's pressure, and then there are big shots. The wicket got better and better, and South Africa batted really well," stated Karunaratne.
He praised Lasith Malinga's bowling, but as other departments failed, his side collapsed.
He further stated that the pitch was slow, and Faf du Plessis' side bowled good, as they built in the pressure.
"They planned really well. We couldn't get singles. We needed to get wickets early," quipped left-handed batsman.
(Inputs from PTI)
