Asia Cup 2023 Final: Super bowling by India but we did not help ourselves either, says Sri Lanka coach Chris Silverwood

Sri Lanka coach Chris Silverwood hailed India’s bowling attack as “exceptional” after his team suffered a crushing defeat in the Asia Cup 2023 final on Sunday. Sri Lanka were bowled out for just 50 after opting to bat first as India’s Mohammed Siraj took six wickets for 21 to register the best bowling figures for a pacer in the history of the tournament.

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Hardik Pandya took three wickets for India and Jasprit Bumrah added one to his kitty. India finished the chase in 6.1 overs with both openers Ishan Kishan (23) and Shubman Gill (27) staying unbeaten.

Silverwood praised Indian pacers in his reaction to the match result but also added that the stunning collapse of Sri Lankan batting was also a result of their fault.

“It has been below par, the get bowled out the way we did is disappointing. Today we came up against a very high class bowling attack, Siraj and Bumrah were exceptional, they bowl at a good pace as well. But at the same time, this is our lacking as well,” Silverwood said after the Asia Cup final.

“We came in here with some younger bowlers, we’ve seen some of them shine. Sadeera and Pathirana have really come through. I think we need to sleep on this and make some decisions tomorrow, best to assess this in the morning and discuss it with the other coaching staff as well.”

Read: Siraj blows away Sri Lanka batters in Asia Cup final 

India all-rounder Pandya was glad the bowlers made the most of the swinging conditions and underlined the fact that the Men in Blue managed to close out a crucial game.

“As a group, we spoke about finishing games and throwing punches in the pressure situation. It was a good toss to lose, we wanted to bat as well. I think our new bowlers, especially Siraj bowled really well. He got it swinging and created a lot of chances. Nowadays in ODI cricket, the new ball has been swinging and we have been speaking about getting the most. The first few overs, the ball didn’t even hit the bat,” he said.

‘Kick to the rear end not the worst thing’

Silverwood said it was a timely wake up call for his side ahead of the ODI World Cup next month.

“We played very good cricket to get to the final. I think we have to regroup and put some confidence into the players. You know sometimes a bit of a kick to the rear end is not the worst thing before going into a big tournament,” said Silverwood during the post-match press meet.

Silverwood said the Lankan team needed to ask tough questions and try to move on from this defeat.

“It was a super bowling performance by India. We did not help ourselves either, and were disappointed with the way we finished. We have a big World Cup tournament coming, and we need to ask a few questions in the dressing room and move forward from this,” he said.

The Englishman stressed on the importance of finding consistency especially as a batting unit.

“We are going to compete against teams like India, Pakistan and Australia (in WC) and we have to be consistently at our best. So, we need to find consistency in the batting. We bat all the way down to No. 7, and we have the experience. So, it is a bit of concern (lack of consistency) and we will talk about it,” he added.

Silverwood agreed that the injuries to key players like Wanindu Hasaranga did not help Lanka, but they cannot use it as an excuse – especially the one they suffered on Sunday.

“We have had some injuries in the bowling department but that cannot be used as an excuse in the batting department. The schedule around international cricket is tough at the moment, we have to live with it,” he said.