Asalanka on tense finish: 'Our heart was in our mouths'

Two weeks ago, Sri Lanka were stretched into a decider by a spirited Zimbabwe side. On Monday, they nearly stumbled against Asia Cup's lowest-ranked team, Hong Kong, but eventually pulled through, courtesy Pathum Nissanka's 68 in their chase of 150.

What ought to have been a cruise - Sri Lanka needed 32 off 30 with eight wickets in hand - turned into a mini-collapse. Nissanka was run-out at the start of the 16th over while chancing a second that didn't seem on, and Kusal Perera fell off the very next delivery when he was lbw attempting a slog sweep.

Six balls later, it was the captain's turn to be dismissed as Charith Asalanka sliced a fullish delivery to short third. And when Kamindu Mendis slogged one straight to deep midwicket, attempting a release shot, Sri Lanka had lost 4 for 8, needing another 23 off 17 balls.

"In that moment, I think our heart was in our mouths," Asalanka said. "There are a few areas I am really disappointed about. First three overs when we were bowling and then the 16th over, we lost a couple of wickets and then lost my wicket.

"In the shorter format, these things can happen but it cannot keep happening consistently. We have to analyse it and improve ourselves."

It wasn't just the middle-order batting Asalanka was critical about. He wasn't happy with the way they started with the new ball, with Hong Kong racing to 38 without loss in four overs, after Anshy Rath and Zeeshan Ali took on the new-ball bowlers.

In the sixth over, Sri Lanka missed a DRS appeal for lbw with replays confirming all three reds, reprieving the experienced Babar Hayat. After his dismissal, Rath and Nizakat Khan put on 61 to shore up Hong Kong to 149 for 4.

"We felt confident of chasing it because the pitch was looking good," Asalanka said. "Credit goes to them (Hong Kong), they batted really well and we bowled badly in the first three overs.

"This is not the way we wanted to play. When we are playing these sides, there is always pressure. But we are professionals and as professionals, we have to do much better than this."

It wasn't all doom and gloom for Sri Lanka. Nissanka rallied their chase with a patient innings, his second straight half-century. The ball wasn't coming on, and Hong Kong's seasoned spinners - Ehsan Khan and Yasim Murtaza - had Sri Lanka in a stranglehold.

Yet, at no point did Nissanka look like a batter desperate for a release shot, fully knowing the target was always within touching distance. He brought up a half-century off 35 balls, and it wasn't until the asking rate jumped past eight an over, with eight overs left that Nissanka decided to shift gears.

And when he did so, it was exhilarating to see him beat two deep fielders on the leg side with precision with two pull shots off two different deliveries - first off a slower bouncer that needed him to hold his shape, and the next off a hard-length delivery dug into the pitch.

"Over the last two years, I've worked on my strike rates," Nissanka said at the post-match press conference. "I started off as a red-ball batter, but I've worked on becoming consistent across all formats. The coach [Sanath Jayasuriya] has always given me the confidence to play my game, that really is a boost."

After starting the tournament with two wins, Sri Lanka will automatically progress to the Super Fours if Afghanistan beat Bangladesh on Tuesday. A Bangladesh win will leave the two spots to be decided on Thursday, when Sri Lanka play Afghanistan. That said, it's Bangladesh who have all the catching up to do on the net run rate front.