Star all-arounder Angelo Mathews of Sri Lanka said on Saturday that “we’ve let the entire nation down” after his country lost in the first round of the Twenty20 World Cup.
All-around star Angelo Mathews of Sri Lanka said on Saturday that “we’ve let the entire nation down” after their country’s defeat in the first round of the Twenty20 World Cup. After suffering defeats to South Africa and Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the 2014 champions, will play their final Group D match against the Netherlands on Sunday. Their one and only point was a trampled no-result versus Nepal. “I think first of all we’ve let the entire nation down and we are really sorry because we’ve also let ourselves down,” said the former captain Mathews.
“This is not what we expected. We faced several difficulties, but they are not really cause for concern. It is regrettable that we were not selected for the next round.”
Mathews was instrumental in his nation’s success in the 2014 World Cup, amassing 40 runs in the semifinal match against the West Indies and claiming 1-25 in the six-wicket victory over India in the Dhaka final.
When Sri Lanka plays the Netherlands on Sunday, only pride will be on the line; a win will at the very least enable them to move up from the bottom of the table.
After watching Nepal lose to South Africa on Friday by only one run, Mathews, who will be playing in his 90th T20 international, is adamant that his squad won’t underestimate the Netherlands.
“We cannot undervalue any particular team. Although it’s disappointing that our Nepal game was lost, everything happens as it does,” he remarked.
“We’ll play for our pride in our final game of the tournament. We haven’t played well enough, especially considering how we performed in the previous two games.
