Rizwaan: “We thought it was a decent score, we could have done better in the first half but kept them under check. Karthik is a special bowler. We play 45 degrees in the UAE, so this is different, but we have to find a way. Our batsmen couldn’t get going, so we have to work on our skillset and come back better in the next match.”
Shanaka: “I thank the crowd for coming all the way from Melbourne. We were disappointed with 150, we could have ended up with 180-90, the tone was set up front but myself and Danu didn’t click in the middle. We focus on the win only, so once Chameera and Hasaranga got going it wasn’t going to be easy for them. Nissanka’s focus is to bat through the innings, he is outstanding, that is his focus and I am pleased for him. And on Chameera, “hopefully, I think everything will be fine…”
The Player of the Match is Pathum Nissanka. “Along with Kusal, he managed to get a good partnership, and the other batsmen helped him,” he says, via a translation. “He’s happy to have played an innings like this in a World Cup, and thanks the crowd for coming along.”
Sri Lanka vs United Arab Emirates Highlights today. 6th Match, First Round Group A (N), GMHBA Stadium, South Geelong, Victoria, Tuesday 18-10-2022, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.
Toss: UAE win toss and bowl.
“Honestly we would have bowled first as well,” he adds. “Injuries can happen at any time but we still have a good side, a balanced side. [The last match] was just a bad day at the office, let’s forget about that and get into this game. The UAE are a good side, we never underestimate anyone. Hopefully, it’s a good game.”
Dasun Shanaka confirms one injury change for Sri Lanka. Danushka Gunathilaka has pulled a hamstring, so Charith Asalanka is in his place.
“Today is a warmer day, feel dew might come into play,” says Rizwaan. “And if the dew is there it’s always slightly easier to bat as the spinners might find it easier to bowl with the dew. There were a lot of positives from the last match, we took it to the last over. We would love to build on that and hopefully put up a great show today.”
Sri Lanka team: 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Mendis (wk), 3 Dhananjaya de Silva, 4 Charith Asalanka, 5 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 6 Dasun Shanaka (capt), 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Chamika Karunaratne, 9 Dushmantha Chameera, 10 Pramod Madushan, 11 Maheesh Theekshana
United Arab Emirates team: 1 Muhammad Waseem, 2 Chundangapoyil Rizwan (capt), 3 Aryan Lakra, 4 Vriitya Aravind (wk), 5 Chirag Suri, 6 Basil Hameed, 7 Kashif Daud, 8 Aayan Afzal Khan, 9 Karthik Meiyappan, 10 Junaid Siddique, 11 Zahoor Khan
Head to Head In T20I’s: 1
Sri Lanka Won: 1
United Arab Emirates Won: 0
Sri Lanka T20I Rankings: 8th
United Arab Emirates T20I Rankings: 16th
Form guide
(last five completed Tests, most recent first)
Sri Lanka LWWWW
United Arab Emirates LLLLW
Match Timings: 8:00 AM GMT | 7:00 PM Local
Umpires – Marais Erasmus, Rod Tucker
TV Umpire – Joel Wilson
Match Referee – Andy Pycroft
Reserve Umpire – Richard Kettleborough
Match number – T20I no. 1832
