T20 World Cup 2022: Sri Lanka campaign gets tricky after the Netherlands win
With some shocking results to start the group stage of the T20 World Cup, things have started to become crucial for Sri Lanka just after their first match
Sri lanka in trouble ?In the first game of the grand championship, the Asia Cup Winner Sri Lanka faced a massive defeat by underestimated Namibia with a significant margin of 55 runs.
This defeat of the mighty team shocked everyone as it was one of the teams to be considered as the qualifiers. Although this was just the first match for the Lankans, it has affected their chances of qualifying!
Namibia stunned Sri Lanka, while the Netherlands defeated UAE
Namibia didn't have a great start as they lost their three wickets for just 35 runs. The Sri Lankan team seemed to dominate Namibia. Further, Namibia lost half of their team within 100 runs, and thus things became critical for them. However, with a stunning partnership of 70 runs between Jan Frylinck and JJ Smit, the scoreboard escalated to a satisfactory target of 163 runs.
In return, the Lankans were bowled out at a score of mere 108 runs in 19 overs, causing them a massive defeat of 55 runs by the underdogs!
In the later game between Netherlands and UAE as well, the result that came out was quite shocking! Team Netherlands, which is ranked in 18th place, defeated the UAE, currently in the 13th spot in the world.
Before the match, UAE was considered comparatively more potent than the Netherlands. However, the result proved everyone wrong. UAE, which Chundangapoyil Rizwan led, managed to score 111 runs in their 20 overs while the opponents, in 19.5 overs, chased.
Sri Lanka is in a critical situation
These two results have dragged Sri Lanka to the bottom place in group A. The huge margin of the defeat has caused their net run rate to drop significantly, which will be a massive concern for the team. It is pretty disappointing to see the mighty Lankan section in a critical stage at the beginning of the tournament.
With this shocking defeat against Namibia, it has become crucial for Sri Lanka to win both of their remaining group matches. Also, they will be essential to winning the games with a considerable margin to recover their net run rate, which stands at -2.75. Their next fixture is against UAE, and this match will be a do-or-die for both teams!
Qualifying; it's not so easy for the Asia Cup Champions
There were multiple factors which resulted in the Lankans' defeat. Out of which, a poor batting lineup turned out to be the major one. The batters failed to settle on the crease, which resulted in a terrible collapse.
Along with the batting unit, the bowlers also needed to work on themselves, as the bowling seemed relatively underperforming. Qualifying for the Super 12 won't be easy for the Asia Champions, and they will have to gear up nicely for the remaining two matches.