Sri Lanka's head coach Rumesh Ratnayake has described his team's performance at the T20 World Cup as "not acceptable", and a consequence of skill "failing us" after they were knocked out of semi-final contention by India. Sri Lanka have lost all of their three matches so far in the World Cup, and cannot advance out of the group after coming into the event with the expectation they could go after an impressive last 20 months.
Since the last T20 World Cup, Sri Lanka have won series in England and South Africa, cruised through the World Cup Qualifiers in Abu Dhabi undefeated, and beaten Pakistan and India on their way to becoming Asia Cup champions. But Sri Lanka lost to both those oppositions and defending champions Australia in the first week of the tournament, which Ratnayake put down to overall underperformance.
"It was bad playing through and through this tournament," he said after Sri Lanka lost to India by 82 runs. "They've been doing poor cricket, and that is not acceptable. We've been talking about it, we've tried to come out of it and we've tried various things, we've been fearlessly doing things, freely doing things, and I think the skill has failed us when it has been really important."
Though he did not specifically say it, Ratnayake must have been talking about Sri Lanka's batting. They have not crossed 100 in any of their three innings, whether batting first or chasing, and their collective form has directly mirrored their captain's. Chamari Athapaththu has been dismissed in single figures in each innings for a total of ten runs at the tournament thus far. It is her worst return at a World Cup, and stands in stark contrast to the last two editions, in South Africa and Australia, where she scored over 100 runs in each event.
The singular focus on Athapaththu can be traced back - probably much further, but for our purposes - to the start of Sri Lanka's current bad patch, which started on their tour of Ireland in August. Athapaththu missed the two T20Is as she was playing in the Hundred, and though Sri Lanka started well in the first T20I and chased down 146 inside 17 overs to win comfortably, they could not reach a target of 174 in the next match. On Athapaththu's return, for the ODIs, she notched up 0 and 22 as Sri Lanka went 2-0 down, before managing 48 when they claimed a consolation win.
"From the second match up to the fifth match [in Ireland], there were situations where we were on top and we faltered," Ratnayake said.
One such situation was in the second T20I, where Sri Lanka were 101 for 2 in the 13th over but then lost 5 for 56 in five overs to lose by seven runs. Still, Ratnayake was happy with the work they did back in Sri Lanka.
"Our preparation was really good back home," he said. "We played on various types of wickets. We simulated some of those similar situations, but winning those moments, winning those appropriate situations, decision-making along with the skill hasn't been backed up. The skill did not come through as it did as you said in the finals of the Asia Cup. So that's something which we need to work on, rethink and come back."
In the Asia Cup final, Sri Lanka successfully chased 166, and though Athapaththu scored a half-century, they also had runs in the form of an unbeaten 69 from Harshitha Samarawickrama, and a 16-ball 30 from Kavisha Dilhari. Both of those are players Athapaththu herself has identified as being key to the future of Sri Lanka cricket. Ratnayake also believed Sri Lanka are "almost closing the gap", between Athapaththu and other batters with potential, and he continues to have faith in their development initiatives.
"In the past 22 months, we've worked hard on creating an environment which is conducive for learning," he said. "So we are not only building up in confidence but building up in confidence so that we would back ourselves with the skill as well."
But has that confidence spilled over into overconfidence, given Sri Lanka's fighting talk before the series? Athapaththu spoke realistically of their chances of making the semi-finals at this tournament despite being in the tougher of the two groups, and Ratnayake backed that up when he said Sri Lanka "are here to win the World Cup," and not just participate.
"Overconfidence is a thing which is verbally not accepted in our environment, so I don't think it's overconfidence, but they are confident enough," he said. "That is what we thrive on and that is what we emphasise on. It's just that when needed, we haven't won the moments."
Now, they also have no hope of winning the World Cup but Ratnayake continues to believe in the group of players he is working with. "This has happened and we will never give up, so that's a very heartening and a very satisfying thing for a coach to see," he said. "As much as I've created an environment, I'm quite privileged and honoured to be here because they are a super lot. I know we will come through this sooner rather than later."
Sri Lanka have two days before their final match, against New Zealand on Saturday, and Ratnayake has described it as a "prime objective" to "salvage ourselves" and win that game. They will be up against a New Zealand side who will feel the same way, after their chastening defeat to Australia, and with the match a must-win to keep their semi-final hopes alive. For Ratnayake, nothing less than an almighty fight will be acceptable.