Brendan Taylor: Zimbabwe a far better side than what we put on display against Sri Lanka

Zimbabwean captain Brendan Taylor is seriously disappointed over his team’s awful loss in the opening game of ICC World T20 against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

Batting first, the Lankans put a huge score of 182 on the board. Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara and Jeevan Mendis all batted superbly to take their side to a decent score.

In reply, the Rhodesians were completely helpless in front of Mendis company. Ajanthan Mendis scalped six wickets while Jeevan dismissed three batsmen. As a result, the entire Zimbabwean batting collapsed on 100, facing a terrible 82-run loss.

Saddened by his team’s below par show in the first game, Taylor described that Zimbabwe is a far better side than what the guys put on display on Tuesday.

"It is a tough pill to swallow. We are a far better side than what we showed today. Credit goes to Sri Lanka. They showed why they are one of the favourites to win the tournament. We got to bounce back," Taylor said at the post match presentation ceremony.

A defeat has put Zimbabwe in a do-or-die situation. The Zimbabweans will have to win their next first-round game in order to keep their chances alive. Taylor is confident about his side’s ability to bounce back in the next clash.

"We have played enough cricket to go back from today, rethink, have a good look, start training and come back a better side," he added.

On the other hand, Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene did not take the opposition lightly, saying that it was tough playing a team like Zimbabwe.

"It’s tough paying a team like Zimbabwe. You can’t take anything for granted. We had to make sure we played to our potential. I am happy that we executed a good game plan," he said.

"It’s a pretty good wicket, just needed to get used to it a little bit. Our guys batted really well, and the bowlers then did a super job. Quite happy with the effort by the boys," Jayawardena uttered.

Mendis, who was playing international cricket after a long time, is determined to carry forward the good work. He stated after the game:

"I am really happy today. Playing cricket after nine months, I am really happy today with my performance, and I will do my best in the coming matches."

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Posted by Rana Nasir Ghafoor on Sep 19 2012. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry