After an embarrassing 163 run loss to Bangladesh on Friday, Sri Lanka is on the verge of going out of the tri-nation series which has Zimbabwe as the third team. The result has raised questions about the credibility of the new coach Chandika Hathurusingha, while all-rounder Thisara Perera defended him and said that the coach can’t perform wonders.

Speaking after the defeat, the left-handed batsman said, “Having Chandika Hathurusingha is a plus point for us because he is one of the best coaches in the world. Previously I have worked with him in the Sri Lanka A team as well. But he needs time. No one can do miracles. I think it is time for the team to step up, with this new coach.”

Sri Lankan team led by Angelo Mathews, Sri Lanka lost their opening game of the tournament to Zimbabwe by 12 runs and are likely to crash out earlier than they would have liked. When asked about the results, Perera pointed out that the side struggled to achieve the batting plans against Bangladesh.

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Describing his point further, the southpaw said, “This is definitely a 300-run wicket – our batting just didn’t click. When we look at the last match against Zimbabwe, we have a lot of positives to take from our batting, but in this match, we couldn’t execute our batting plans. Again we didn’t execute our bowling plans in the match, but we came back strong after Shakib and Tamim batted well. It looked like a 350 score but it came down to 320. Our bowling unit is also doing well in the first 10 overs.”

Perera reckons that the Lankans have all the guns in their armory to make a comeback, but also said that “Think we should keep our heads up because no one should underestimate us. No one can say when we will rise up. I have faith that we can go far with our new coach.”