I think it is safe to say that batting lineup has not worked for us. Batters need to setup but Kusal has not done well at 3. We should just continue to let him open. Asalanka at 3. Need a little bit of experience in the line up too. Hope KJP is fit and in form.

Fair point. Do agree, Pathum and Kusal have been settling in to opening roles. It will be good solidify the positions. Kusal, Pathum, Asalanka, Avishka is a solid batting lineup once they settle. If Dana was consistent, he would be a good option for 3 too, with pace still on.

I don’t know if Avishka should bat in the top 3. Based on the analysis that Mahela had done, it’s best for him to come in when the field is spread out. Shanaka should come in at 5. Rajitha bowled well in the last game but he will be the weak link if there is no swing. Kolkata seems to be a batting friendly pitch.

I don’t see Pathum getting g dropped but I think it’s best to send Asalanka 2 down.
Agree tactual change in a slow pitch is to swap a pacey with DDS to 9.

Ashen has not done well in international cricket just yet. Dhanushka is still the better option for me. Maybe he opens and Pathum comes one down. Love to see Dana in the line up, on a turning wickets.

Crunch match, I don’t think we should play any uncapped players. For me Asitha and Dana comes in for the 2 in experienced seamers. We should also stick to the regular batting line up, not the time to experiment. Dhanushka and Pathum open, Kusal 1 down and Asalanka at 4. Shanaka should step up. Coming in at 6 makes no sense.

Agree pretty amazing what they have done with the team. I agree about Chandi though. Definitely seems like some bias to keeping him around. He must be a likable person because I just don’t see another reason. Hope bc he is playing in the nets and practice games? That’s very strategic 🙂 Do we rallying think he is going to discover himself on the 62nd game? Want to be fearless, then play Hasaranga at 3 (given everyone has failed there) and bring Asalanka/DDS at 6-7 to bolster the batting. DDS is also fast failing at this format. From what I heard the pitches are going to wear out as we progress, so an extra bowler might not be the worst thing.
Chandi
T20I 61 54 6 950 66* 19.79 909 104.51 0 6 82 19 34 5
Asalanka
T20I 3 3 0 64 44 21.33 65 98.46 0 0 3 3 1 0
DDS
T20I 23 22 2 412 62 20.60 380 108.42 0 2 32 6 6 0

Agree. Think we need Bhanuka to get into some form, to really put a fight in the tournament. Wish Bhanuka had not gotten so many ducks, but I rather go on the hope that he fires. Chandi will be the safer choice, but the fearless/offensive option would be Bhankua. Big DDS fan, but don’t see him getting a chance unless Theeksha goes wicketless or it’s a pitch that’s going to turn sideways. Shanaka is the only one we have not tried at 3 😉 He is proven to be a good captain, let him lead from the font?

With all the all-rounders we have, I like the idea to put someone fearless up at the top. Hasaranaga contributes with the bat, we are going to be in a good place in the game. Bowlers bowl more line and length early so it may be ideal. It is a risk and if he gets out, we would need someone to steady, so Avishka is who I would pick. It’s crazy Bhanuka getting 3 ducks but he is one of the best power hitters we have. I think he should play at 3 or 4. Asalanka has done so well at 5, why mess with that? I see a lot of folks trying to add Chandimal. He shoudl be a backup. T20, he has never done well, and thinking that will change. What’s the point of him getting a 30 and us losing the game. We need to be able to beat at least some of the top 6 teams or we are done. T20 seems to be more of a momentum game, need to keep attacking from one end. I think overall, the team needs some coaching on how to play good balls. Waiting for just bad balls is not going to help us put 160+ on the board. My 2

This is the team I would try first and pull in Avishka and or Kusal depending on form.
Dhanushka, Dick, Bhanuka, KJP, Mathews, Oshada, Dana, Hasaranga, Udana, Malinga, Rajitha/Kumara – has 7 total bowlers and bats down to 9. Top 4 need to get us 60 runs in the first 6.