Dhananjaya de Silva blames top-order batters for Sri Lanka's 190-run defeat at Lord's

Sri Lanka's hopes for a comeback were dashed as they suffered a crushing defeat of 190 runs against England in the second Test at Lord's. With the massive defeat, the Sri Lanka cricket team lost the ongoing three-match Test series to England, with the hosts taking a 2-0 lead in the series.

After losing the Test series to England, Sri Lanka's captain, Dhananjaya de Silva, faced the daunting task of addressing yet another disappointing performance by his team. Despite their efforts to make a comeback at Lord’s, it was evident that the Sri Lankans were completely outplayed by England.

Dhananjaya de Silva blames batters for Sri Lanka's 190-run loss at Lord's

De Silva blamed the batters for their massive defeat in the Lord’s Test, as the top order's inability to stand firm in challenging conditions ensured their downfall against the England team. The Sri Lankan skipper further surprised many by revealing his decision to bowl first after winning the toss at Lord’s.

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He said that they opted to field first in hopes of exploiting the pitch conditions, but their strategy backfired as England's batter posted a formidable total of 427 runs on the board in their first inning, riding on Joe Root and Gus Atkinson’s century.

De Silva stressed that Sri Lanka’s plan was to assess the pitch before batting didn't yield the desired results, leaving the visitors with a steep uphill battle. He claimed that he made that call because Sri Lanka’s top order was struggling and wanted to give them a break and assess the conditions.

Well, the captain's admission that the Islanders’ approach was not enough to secure a victory highlights the need for significant improvements if they are to save any pride in the third and final Test against England, starting on September 6 at The Oval.

I could have batted first, but our top order was struggling: De Silva

Dhananjaya de Silva said at the post-match press conference: “We had two days to bat. The message was to bat simple and bat long. They always put pressure on us with their batting; we controlled a bit, but that's not good enough to win a Test match in England. I could have batted first, but our top order was struggling; we wanted to see what the pitch was going to do and bat next; that didn't work at all.”

The Sri Lanka skipper also lauded Kamindu Mendis, who scored 74 runs in the first inning at Lord’s. De Silva added, “He's been awesome in every inning except the last inning here. He's getting runs very quickly, batting at seven. We have to do better to get a win in England against this quality side. We have to do better in all three departments.”

Notably, in pursuit of a daunting target of 483, Sri Lanka showed resilience with three players notching up half-centuries—Dimuth Karunaratne (55 off 129 balls, including seven fours), Dinesh Chandimal (58 off 62 balls, with 11 fours), and captain De Silva (50 off 71 balls, with seven fours).

However, their efforts weren't enough, as Sri Lanka was bowled out for 292, falling short by 190 runs.