'Asia Cup is just a title For us'- Dasun Shanaka more focused on taking Sri Lanka to 20-20 World Cup Super 12

Dasun Shanaka (source: Twitter)

The Asia Cup 2022 champions, Sri Lanka, find themselves in a tough spot where they have to win their last match against table toppers, Netherlands, on Thursday to ensure their place in the Super 12 stage of the ongoing 20-20 World Cup. According to Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka, the Asia Cup title is now a thing of the past, and their only focus right now is to produce a flawless performance in their must-win match against the Netherlands.

After being stunned by Namibia in their tournament opener, Sri Lanka came back strongly to defeat UAE by 79 runs in the first round of Group A. However, with a third-place finish in Group A, Shanaka's men must now win their final match against table-toppers on Thursday.

"I think Asia Cup champions is history, so it's just a title for us. There is no pressure at all. We just need to concentrate on our own performances and what we need to do to make sure that we get into that second round after the next game.

"We know our strength. The first game we didn't execute in that match, so we got beaten by Namibia. But we are a far better team from the team we performed in the first game," Shanaka said ahead of the match against the Netherlands.

I think we need to have myself and Bhanu needs to kick on: Dasun Shanaka

The captain praised Pathum Nissanka (74) and Dushmantha Chameera (3/15) for their performances against UAE. He also stated that it is past time for him and power-hitting Bhanuka Rajapaksa to score some runs.

"I think we need to have myself (score runs) and Bhanu needs to kick on in this tournament, as well.

"Pathum Nissanka, he really played throughout, and it was an outstanding innings. And Wanindu and Dushmantha and even Maheesh Theekshana, we know how good they are when it comes to these kinds of games. They were performing well. You saw from the time they started their careers," he said.