'Entire batting unit must take blame for defeat'

Janith Liyanage says “We should have been able to chase the total down”

- By Sa'adi Thawfeeq

A game that Sri Lanka should have won, they lost (by 16 runs) - and instead of going to Pallekele for the third and final ODI with the series under their belt, they now face the challenge of having to battle it out with Bangladesh to try and win it.

The loss gave Bangladesh, who had lost the Test series and the first ODI, some relief and belief that they can turn the tables on the host country in this white-ball format. From their point of view, it was a remarkable comeback from their batting debacle in the first ODI, where they lost seven wickets for five runs to beat a team that was brimming with confidence.

Janith Liyanage, who tried to win the game for Sri Lanka on his own, but failed, blamed the defeat squarely on the batsmen.

"We know that the R. Premadasa pitch turns a bit as the game goes on, but we’re not using that as an excuse. This is a game we should have won. We made some small mistakes and lost the game," said Liyanage at the post-match conference.