GEELONG: The UAE spinner Karthik Meiyappan's triple strike caught Sri Lanka head coach Chris Silverwood off guard, but the top-order batsmen's "solid foundation" gave him confidence that his team would prevail in the ICC T20 World Cup's First Round Group A encounter on Tuesday.
Meiyappan's incredible hat-trick at the T20 World Cup made for a memorable moment. He tore through the middle order and completed the feat by dismissing Dasun Shanaka with a turner through the gate.
UAE was dismissed for 73 runs while pursuing 152, however, despite the outstanding bowling performance, they fell short by 79 runs.
When fans asked what was going through Dasun Shanaka's thoughts as he prepared to face the hat-trick ball and became its victim, former England chief coach David Silverwood replied, "First of all, congrats to him (Meiyappan). A hat-trick in a World Cup is an incredible accomplishment for anyone. Something he will never forget "Just that Dasun was a part of a hat-trick is regrettable. However, we were aware that we had players on hand who could bat. We were certain that we had a solid basis. And after seeing the first game, we felt that anything sort of above 140 would be a great score "Silverwood said.
Pathum Nissanka, Sri Lanka's opening batsman, earlier built a strong platform with a 60-ball 74 to lead the defending Asia Cup champions to a difficult 152/8.
In addition, Silverwood admitted that his team was a little uneasy about adjusting to the cold because his players are from tropical climates and are not accustomed to it.
"The boys are probably not used to the temps we're experiencing. So I do get the impression that this isn't Colombo. I'm cold even. says a small amount. However, you can't help but watch it because of the excellent preparation, facilities, and assistance we received for arriving early.
"I find nothing wrong with any of that. The boys have prepared as much as they can. Before actually flying here in an aeroplane, we had a great camp. Therefore, we really did our best with what we had. The guys have received some quality training, "Silverwood added.
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