Sri Lanka head coach Sanath Jayasuriya was left shaking his head in disbelief after his side once again let a winning position slip against India, this time in their Asia Cup Super Four clash in Dubai on Friday.
The defeat, hauntingly reminiscent of last year’s collapse in Pallekele, saw the Lankans fall short in a Super Over despite centurion Pathum Nissanka’s valiant effort.
“I would’ve preferred to finish games in normal time,” Jayasuriya said at the post-match press conference. “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. Our batting line-up is strong, and we’ve given them confidence. Chasing 200 (203) is never easy, but we almost did it, which shows the quality we have.”
Sri Lanka needed just 12 runs off the final over with six wickets in hand and Nissanka on 107. But Nissanka fell on the first ball, and though Dasun Shanaka’s desperate dive completed two runs off the last delivery, a chance to sneak a third was missed. That left the scores tied at 202, forcing a Super Over where Sri Lanka again came up short.
The loss came despite a scintillating innings from Nissanka, who scored 107 off 58 balls, forging a 127-run partnership with Kusal Perera (58 off 32). Jayasuriya revealed that Nissanka had been managing niggles throughout the tournament.
“When you’re chasing 202 (203), you have to keep finding boundaries,” he said. “Their partnership was the key. The momentum shifted when we started losing wickets. That’s natural in a chase because someone has to take risks. Sadly, Pathum got out at the wrong time, and later on, the ball began to turn more. Still, it was a very good game of cricket.”
He also praised Perera’s contribution. “Kusal is one of the best players of spin in our team. He played that role well again, though I’d have liked him to bat longer. Both took calculated risks, and when they wanted boundaries, they executed them. Pathum also had a bit of a hamstring issue recently but still gave 100% for the team, which shows his commitment.”
For Jayasuriya, the defeat brought back memories of July 2024 in Pallekele, when Sri Lanka needed just nine runs from two overs with six wickets in hand against India, only to crumble into a Super Over loss after managing a single run. Yet he firmly dismissed the notion of a mental block against India.
Sri Lanka will return home winless in the Super Fours, having earlier lost to Bangladesh and Pakistan — a disappointing finish after progressing unbeaten through a tough group stage. Jayasuriya blamed the inability to adapt quickly to changing conditions.
“In T20 cricket, assessing conditions quickly is everything. In Abu Dhabi, for example, the first-round pitches had pace and bounce, but in the second round, things changed, and we were too slow to adapt. That cost us. The disappointment was the Bangladesh match in the Super Four — 168 on that pitch was a good score, but we didn’t bowl well enough to defend it. Against Pakistan, we didn’t assess the conditions [in Abu Dhabi] quickly enough, and were late to adapt,” he said.