ICC Champions Trophy 2017: Sri Lanka vs South Africa, 5 things Sri Lanka did wrong

Modified Jun 03, 2017 23:29 IST

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 03: Imran Tahir of South Africa celebrates throwing to run out Suranga Lakmal of Sri Lanka during the ICC Champions Trophy match between Sri Lanka and South Africa at The Kia Oval on June 3, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images) — Sri Lanka were flummoxed by Imran Tahir's sensational spell and fielding

#1 Failure to build partnerships

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 03: Upul Tharanga of Sri Lanka in action during the ICC Champions trophy cricket match between Sri Lanka and South Africa at The Oval in London on June 3, 2017 (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images) — None of the Lankan batsmen played a supporting role as Tharanga and Kusal Perera were left stranded

Sri Lanka had the target well within their sights after Niroshan Dickwella's early blitz but that changed quickly as Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal and Asela Gunaratne all failed to build on their starts.

Skipper, Upul Tharanga was holding up one end while witnessing the harakiri at the other end. None of his teammates seemed very keen on building partnerships as Tharanga was left stranded in the middle. The story repeated itself when Kusal Perera too found no companions at the other end. The failure to build partnerships and play in pairs affected Sri Lanka's chances in the chase.

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Edited by Staff Editor