"Disappointed with the way..." - Charith Asalanka attacks Wanindu Hasaranga, Dasun Shanaka after losing 1st IND vs SL T20I

The Charith Asalanka-led Sri Lanka National Cricket Team locked horns with the Suryakumar Yadav-led India National Cricket Team in the first T20I of the three-match series at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Saturday, July 27.

This was the first match for Sri Lanka after Charith Asalanka was appointed as the new T20I skipper of the side. This happened after the champion all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga stepped down from his role after the poor campaign of the Lankan Lions under his leadership in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024. Sri Lanka lost to South Africa and Bangladesh in the first round of the T20 World Cup, which led to them facing a group-stage exit.

Wanindu Hasaranga, just like his predecessors, was not the captain of the T20I team for very long as he led the side in just 10 matches. In those matches, he led the side to victories in 6 matches and he lost 4 matches as captain.

Meanwhile, Charith Asalanka was handed the captaincy responsibility because he has turned out to be the crisis man of Team Sri Lanka. Despite his team going through a tough phase in the last few years both off and on the field, Asalanka has grown into a consistent performer. Since his debut in 2021, Charith Asalanka's stocks have mostly been on the rise, and he has become a reliable batter of the team. Also, he has been the leader of the team at the U19 level and has captained the senior team in a few matches as well.

Sri Lanka also have a new head coach in Sanath Jayasuriya in an interim capacity as his tenure ends in mid-September. He was appointed for the job after Chris Silverwood resigned from the role at the end of June, after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup 2024.

We were not up to the mark in the powerplay - Charith Asalanka

Talking about the first T20I between India and Sri Lanka, the hosts won the toss and chose to bowl first. After being decimated in the first 10 overs, the bowlers made a strong comeback to restrict the opposition to 213/7. Matheesha Pathirana emerged as the top wicket-taker in the innings as he bagged a 4-wicket haul.

When it came to run-chase, Sri Lanka were off to a flyer, thanks to Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis. However, once they got out things went downhill for hosts. They went from 140/1 to 170/10, losing the match by 43 runs.

Speaking after the match, Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka expressed his disappointment over the performance of the bowlers in the powerplay overs, but was satisfied with the way they bounced back in the second half of the innings.

"We were not up to the mark in the powerplay, but in the latter part, we came back pretty strong. Some stage, we thought they might get to 240, we did well."

Charith Asalanka, while talking about the batting side of things, stated that he was unhappy with the way the Sri Lankan middle order batted and that they could've done a better job. Charith Asalanka indirectly slammed Kamindu Mendis and Dasun Shanaka as well as Wanindu Hasaranga and said:

"Little disappointed with the way the middle-order batted, we could have done better. (On the balance of his side) It's an experiment, this is the way we should go in the future."