In a relatively scathing assessment, Sammy argued that if the nearest T20 World Cup, in 2026, was to be co-hosted by Sri Lanka, such spin tracks would no longer be the norm as the ICC would have number one on the list. the healing of the wickets.
“So I told the boys, ‘yes, when the World Cup comes we won’t have those situations; the ICC will make sure the pitches are excellent.’ So it was an ethical win for us from the first game to the end. The second recreation.”
“Sri Lanka’s power has always been spin, and we still believe that it is with spin that we can win the most,” he said after Sri Lanka’s victory in the third T20I. “So we made pitches to support that power. When that works for us, I think it’s a lot easier for us to win.”
“When you have pacers, like the two slingers (Nuwan Untilhara and Matheesha Pathirana) who don’t get the opportunity to bowl excellent wickets, when the real test comes, that’s where you really test your team.
“I mean, there is the home advantage, but what benefit does that have for the development of your team, especially your fast bowlers, to be able to bowl and have an impact on the game?”
Sammy’s level has a certain advantage. In the final T20I, both Pathirana and Untilhara bowled just two overs each, with the former coming in as a seventh bowling option; then both part-time spinners Asalanka and Kamindu Mendis. By contrast, in Sri Lanka’s previous win of the generation against Afghanistan, only two spinners were injured in each and every game.
And this could be the place where Asalanka and Sammy can probably find a familiar field. The year Asalanka has championed Sri Lanka’s spinners, he also acknowledges that they want to strengthen their fast bowling ranks.
“We have a lot of fast bowlers on our bench. Today you saw Nuwan Untilhara and Matheesha Pathirana, and they played well when called upon. However, as a team, we need our fast bowlers to improve a little more. Apart from those who “Currently, on the side we need more players. So we can play well in any conditions.”
Bowling and pitching aside, one immutable reality is that Sri Lankan batsmen surged more often than those of the West Indies. Sammy, who had said before the design that he was taking a look to check the intensity of his team, is well aware of the improvements that need to be made on that front.
“We came here with the T20 World Cup, I think it was less than 20 months away. Having seen the way we played on a typical Dambulla ground, what we expected from what all the statistics said, I thought we dominated.
“We started the design with a team trying to check the intensity, and the home team had to change the entire setup to make sure their spinners got the credit. Preferably, yes, our men did not respond. On the other hand, with the mentality we have In our group being a championship-winning team, we should be able to play games in various situations, you know, leaving aside. [our] “The bowlers will be challenged and furthermore our batsmen will be challenged.”
Asalanka, for her part, had no such qualms with her batsmen. In fact, scores over the course of West Indies’ T20Is indicate that Sri Lanka’s batting has performed well (they scored at least 160 in every game) despite the nature of the tracks.
“We were also expecting a turning wicket in the first game, but it didn’t play as we expected,” Asalanka said. “Then in the second game, they became a dozen more, but we still managed to score 162, and in this game we chased 163 in 18 overs. I think when you look at the scores, you will see. I can’t really say it’s an unholy wicket. “.
But what about the best tracks? While that is a question that can only be definitively answered once Sri Lanka has to deal with such conditions, Asalanka is confident that his batting line-up is prepared to face any challenge that comes their way.
“As a group, our goal is that if we get good terrain outside the country, we will have to be able to achieve a score of 200-250, but when it is more difficult terrain later we will have to be able to achieve a score of 160- 170. or in that area.
“Against India we were chasing about 200, but after a good start we couldn’t finish the game. Even in the last game we were close to winning, but then our batsmen couldn’t finish the game. On pitches like this it is important that the batter who is prepared, to the extent possible, extend the game or finish it.
