Our batters wanted to get more boundaries to build up the innings while we were short another 15-20 runs to win the game, said Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Atapaththu after losing the first T-20 game against Bangladesh yesterday at the SSC grounds.

“We had a good start and one stage we were heading to pass the 160 run mark. However our middle order struggled and managed to get only 145 runs in our 20 overs which was not enough total at this SSC wicket. Actually we wanted to play 2-3 power hitters to increase the total and I think our players should learn from the first match”.

“We had a good chance to restrict opponents but we couldn’t make use of that chances. I bowled at a crucial stage (18th over) and conceded 16 runs and that was never expected and our plans did not work. Any way after this losing match we have another two matches and wanted to come back strongly, added skipper Chamari Atapaththu. Skipper Chamari handed over debutant ODI player Kawya Kavindi’s ODI cap before the game.

Meanwhile winning Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana said; “I always tried to build a good partnership to chase the total and both Ritu Moni and Shobana Mostary gave good support to reach the target. We tried to reach the target with more overs to spare but had to face a tough battle in the end. We need to improve our bowling and our bowlers must focus more”.

Especially my head coach Hashan Tillekaratne sent me a message at the crucial stage and said; You play your normal game without any pressure, and we did it in a grand style. I know Sri Lanka will come back strongly and we are ready to face the challenge”, added Bangladesh skipper.