Sri Lanka lost both their World Cup warm-ups

It is ODI World Cup eve! Each of the 10 qualified nations is playing warm-ups ahead of the marquee event. Though Rain played spoilsport in all these games one got to see some action with teams getting their hand at getting used to the Indian conditions!

Image Credits: Outlook India

Sri Lanka should be very happy in this regard as they got to play almost two full games! However, the results were completely against them! They had both their warm-ups against Bangladesh and Afghanistan, both Asian teams! Surprisingly, Sri Lanka lost both of them by morale-crushing margins!

Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh: Bangladesh won by 7 wickets

A promising start for the Sri Lankan team after opting to bat first. However, Kusal Perera leaving the field with a shoulder strain in the 7th over changed the complexion of the game. A steep slump caused the Sri Lanka team to be bowled out for just 263 runs in 49.1 overs. 

Pathum Nissanka (68 off 64) and Dananjaya de Silva (55 off 79) both scored half-centuries but the support at the other end was minimal! The target was eventually proved to be too small for Bangladesh who chased down the target with 7 wickets in hand and 7 wickets to spare! That's quite a thumping!

Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan: Afghanistan won by 6 wickets

Sri Lanka got an explosive start to their innings with Kusal Mendis scoring 158 runs off just 87 deliveries before retiring himself out at the end of the 30th over. The score of 240/3 after 30 overs looked quite daunting. However, what happened after was a nightmare for them!

They were bowled out for just 294 runs in 46.2 overs implies they added just 54 runs from 16.2 overs after Mendis retired him out! That's pathetic batting, to be honest! In the run-chase, Afghanistan chased down the target with 6 wickets in hand and 23 balls to spare. Both the Afghan batters Rahmanullah Gurbaz (119 off 92) and Rahmat Shah (93 off 82) retired out within touching distance of the target.

Overall, Sri Lanka's performance in both warm-ups was not up to the mark. In fact, they do not give any fight against their opponents! Seems like they are yet to mentally recover from the 50 all-out that they made in the Asia Cup Final against India last month at home!