Dilshan set for swansong today

Former World T20 champs Sri Lanka know they will need to come up with a much improved performance in the second T20 International at the R Premadasa Stadium today if they are to stop Australia from running away with the two-match T20 International series 2-0.

In the first T20I it was one man Glenn Maxwell who destroyed Sri Lanka with an astonishing batting performance that saw Australia break Sri Lanka’s world record for the highest T20I total.

If Sri Lanka have to get anywhere close to winning they must get Maxwell’s wicket early if not the game can be taken away from them as it happened at Pallakele on Tuesday.

“As a side we have a lot to play for. There’s a lot of youth and inexperience in the side and we talk of rebuilding a side. We know we need a lot of improvement,” said head coach Graham Ford.

“It’s been a long series and to end it on a high note is important. We can still level the series. There’s a huge amount to play for. I don’t think motivation should be any sort of problem.”

Ford however admitted that Sri Lanka had been poor in their execution against Maxwell’s onslaught.

“There were a lot of balls that were in the areas that he wanted them to be,” said Ford. “We didn’t have a superstar like (Lasith) Malinga in our attack and some experience in our attack and we didn’t execute as well as we would have liked. We thought about a few ways of going about our business differently, but once again it’s about execution.

“I was surprised by the lack of ability to stay out of trouble on a good batting wicket which is the art of T-20 bowling. Some of our bowlers are very inexperienced. We unfortunately don’t get exposed to high pressure T-20 games that much.

“The competition here is played in front of no crowd at all. Australians 10 out of the 11 all play the IPL and they all play the Big Bash. So the intent of the occasion gets to young and experienced bowlers. To practice your skills is one thing but to execute it under enormous pressure is another,” Ford said.

“If you look at Maxwell’s career, on his day, even the best of bowlers can’t contain him. He had a fantastic day out. It’s a bit of both I guess. The pressure that he creates when he is hitting the ball that well leads to bowlers to bowl those loose deliveries. It’s about pressure. He has gone out and hit the ball amazingly well and hopefully he will not do well again.”

The coach lamented the absence of a T20 Premier League in Sri Lanka that has left them short of experience to play under pressure in front of a bigger audience.

“I have mentioned it before that the Sri Lanka Premier League or Super League or whatever it was called a few years ago unfortunately couldn’t continue. That was an opportunity for players to play games on high intensity and learn from guys from overseas,” said Ford. “It’s that kind of tournament that will benefit our cricket and Australia have certainly benefited from that.”

Today’s T20I which will be the swansong of Tillakaratne Dilshan who will quit from all formats of international cricket. A capacity crowd of 35,000 is expected to witness the match with all tickets being sold out well in advance.

Ford paying an attribute to him said, “Very sad to see such a legend of the game finally calling it a time. For me it’s a privilege to have been involved and had a time to witness his exploits first hand. He can be extremely proud of what he has done over the years and certainly goes down as one of the greats of the game.”