Asia Cup final defeat will add motivation, says coach Silverwood

As host India and Sri Lanka square off in a World Cup group league fixture at the Wankhede Stadium, Sri Lanka head coach Chris Silverwood believes that the Asia Cup final debacle would motivate his team to put up a fight.

The last time India and Sri Lanka faced each other in the final of the Asia Cup, a month-and-a-half ago, the latter suffered a humiliating 10-wicket defeat.

As the two sides square off again on Thursday in a World Cup group league fixture at the Wankhede Stadium, Sri Lanka head coach Chris Silverwood believes that the Asia Cup final debacle would motivate his team to put up a fight.

“I would like to think that the defeat in the Asia Cup will add some motivation to the boys to come out and obviously fight tomorrow, show plenty of spirit,” Silverwood said.

“They (India) are a very good side, we know that, we’ve seen them play some superb cricket this tournament so far. But I think it’s a good opportunity for our boys to show what they’re made of as well…”

While India sits atop the points table, Sri Lanka is placed seventh, and its hopes of making it to the semifinals appears slim with a defeat against Afghanistan in its last outing. “All of us were very disappointed the other night after that result. That’s not to take anything away from Afghanistan. I thought they played superb cricket on the night and showed that they are a progressing team and they’re very capable of beating people,” Silverwood said.

“We had a very good chat in the dressing room afterwards, addressed some of the issues that we felt we had and then we’ve come here and we’re trying to put that right in practice now. So, we’ll be ready for tomorrow…”

Back in 2011, Sri Lanka featured in the World Cup final against India, with the latter clinching a six-wicket victory. But Silverwood admitted that his boys are excited to play in the iconic venue. “The boys are very aware of the history. Obviously, players do talk about the history of their team as well and the results that they’ve had,” he said.