Skipper Charith Asalanka has promised a swift turnaround after Sri Lanka’s crushing defeat in the second T20I against Bangladesh left the three-match series level at 1-1.

The hosts were blown away for just 94 in a calamitous run chase at Dambulla on Sunday, their lowest T20I total on home soil and heaviest defeat to Bangladesh in the format, as the tourists romped home by 83 runs.

“Very disappointed with the batting effort. But these collapses can happen in T20 cricket,” Asalanka told reporters. “What matters is how you bounce back. We’ve done it before in the ODI series. We’ll dust ourselves off and come back hard in Colombo.”

Bangladesh had posted a competitive 177 for seven after being put into bat, but Sri Lanka’s response never got out of the blocks. The top order floundered and the innings fell apart like a house of cards.

“Once you restrict the opposition to 180 on that wicket, it should be a gettable target,” said a visibly frustrated Asalanka. “But we were nowhere near it. The batting was a big letdown.”

The team’s brittle middle order has long been a soft underbelly, with Chamika Karunaratne batting at number seven and Avishka Fernando, under scrutiny, struggling at four.

“We need to sit down and sort this out,” Asalanka said. “Number four and six have been problem positions. With the World Cup coming up, we can’t afford to shuffle without clarity. We’ve got to lock down our best XI.”

Despite the debacle with the bat, there were a few silver linings. Left-arm seamer Binura Fernando delivered a probing spell, returning career-best figures of three for 31. However, Sri Lanka’s sloppy fielding let the game slip further from their grasp.

Litton Das, who top-scored with a fluent knock, was handed two lives, once on 30 when Kusal Mendis fluffed a stumping and again on 56 when Maheesh Theekshana spilled a regulation chance. Both reprieves came off the bowling of leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay.

“Binura was excellent — he bent his back and dragged us into the contest during his second spell,” Asalanka said. “But we let ourselves down badly in the field. You can’t afford to gift chances at this level.”

A full house witnessed the Dambulla encounter, and another sell-out crowd is expected in Colombo for the series decider. Tickets for the final game were snapped up a week in advance, and with the series now on a knife edge, fans are hoping for a blockbuster finish.

by Rex Clementine