Gurusinha told the media during the pre-match press conference at Rangiri International Cricket Stadium on Monday, “Team is really pumped up after losing the first game. We know the pressure is on us because we don’t have any more chances. It's like a main final for us. We are pretty confident that we can play much better than we did.
The former Lankan cricketer credited Bangladesh for their outstanding display in the first ODI and admitted that the visiting side are more experienced than the home side in terms of 50-over cricket.
“I want to give credit to Bangladesh. They have a very experienced side. If you take their ODI squad, they have nearly a thousand ODIs between them and that’s a lot. They have been playing together for a while, seven-eight years, and it helps a lot,” he said.
“Sri Lanka (are) in a rebuilding stage but I don’t want to use that word any more, it's upto us to make sure that we are up and running to play at the highest level. If you are playing Tests or ODIs, you cannot say we are playing (as) a rebuilding team. You’ve got to step up,” he added.
Gurusinha said they have to focus on their fielding after a below-par display in the first ODI.
“We have to focus a lot more on fielding, which is true. More match condition fielding is the most important thing. You can have a lot of fielding out there. Match condition is completely different. We are trying to get that going for the team which will help us in the short term,” he said.
Friday, May 23, 2025
