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| Friday, 20 February 2004 |
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Lankans will not have it easy by Chris Dambarage RAJSHAHI, Bangladesh. Thursday. Sri Lanka will face a tough challenge when they confront the defending champions Australia in a key ICC under 19 Youth World Cup cricket tournament group 'A' match at the Rajshahi Divisional Stadium here tomorrow. Sri Lanka have maintained an unbeaten record in the tournament winning both games against Zimbabwe by two wickets and Canada by nine wickets. The Lankans now have a very good chance of coming out on top of their group and also making it to the Super League tournament which begins on February 22. In contrast the Australians are fighting for survival after having suffered a shock defeat to Zimbabwe. The Australians are now in danger of being knocked out from the Super League with just one victory to their credit in group 'A'. They are also far behind in the net run rate with minus 0.518 points against Sri Lanka's tally of plus 2.108 points. Australia's task of making it to the second round was made even more difficult with Zimbabwe pulling off an eight wicket win over Canada today at the Bogra Stadium. Even if they win the net run rate will come into effect with all three teams having the equal number of points. The Lankans are a confident lot and they are determined to complete the group stage with an unbeaten record. Sri Lanka had their final preparations at the Rajshahi Divisional Stadium today and all the players looked quite fit and in good form ahead of their vital encounter. The only concern for them is the middle order batting line up which has yet to make any significant contribution. In the first outing they collapsed to 61 for 6 before Kosala Kulasekera and Gihan de Silva rescued them with a matchwinning partnership. In the second match the Lankans cruised towards a convincing nine wicket win with only Damindu Kularatne and Harsha Vithana making use of the opportunity. In fact Harsha Vithana seems to be reaching top form and he did make his presence felt with an unbeaten half century against Canada. Sri Lankan coach Somachandra de Silva said that although they have won two games they are very much keen to make it a clean sweep and to emerge champions from their group. He said that tomorrow's game is completely a new fixture and the boys are really determined to continue their excellent form. The Australians are faced with a situation where they should win this game if they are to stay in contention to retain the championship for the second successive year. They looked quite vulnerable against the moving ball in the match against Zimbabwe where they were bundled out for just 73 runs in 19 overs. They will face an acid test once again when they will be up against the pace of Kosala Kulasekera, Farveez Maharoof and Manoj Chanaka. Incidentally right arm paceman Kulasekera is having a superb tournament so far having won two man of the match awards in successive outings. Even then his services as a bowler will be of great importance for Sri Lanka as they will be hoping to restrict the Australians for a low score. The track at the Rajshahi Divisional Stadium has helped the stroke makers and winning the toss will be crucial for both teams. |
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