Must wingame for Sri Lanka
Will Murali be third time lucky?:
Elmo Rodrigopulle
The Sri Lankan cricketers should not be downhearted, but go hard at
the Indians when they take the field in the third of five one-day
internationals is called play in a day-nighter at the R. Premadasa
Stadium today.
True they have already lost two. But that does not mean that
everything is lost. They have it in them to come back and undo the
opponents like they did in Pakistan. This is a must win game for Sri
Lanka.
The Lankans showed better improvement in the second game, and now it
is up to them to take heart from that and move ahead. What they must do
is believe in themselves and then the pieces will fall right.
Not only will the Lankans be looking for a victory, they will also be
hoping that champion spinner Muttiah Muralitheran will get it over and
done by scalping two Indians and pocketing the one-day bowling record.
He now has 501 and it would be interesting to see who the Indians
batsmen he will scalp because they too will go into the record.
In the first two games the Indians looked determined not to allow
Murali the record, like did the Aussies in Australia when he was looking
to go past Shane Warne’s Test bowling record.
In the first game he had one and went wicketless in the second
although he gave the batsmen many anxious moments in bowling his ten. It
is hoped that he will make that dream a reality today. And when that
happens all hell will break loose, like when he went past Warne.
To the game and Mahela Jayawardena would be asking the one above to
help him beat Dhoni to the toss. The toss is very vital because the team
batting first will have the advantage of being able to dictate terms.
One-day cricket is all about bowling wicket to wicket, fielding
brilliantly and batting sensibly. Pacemen Kulasekera and Dilhara
Fernando who replaces Thilina Thushara Mirando should not pitch too
short or overpitch and give the width for the Indian openers to thrash
them.
Sachin Tendulkar has been cruelly undone by some poor umpiring. He
must see that ball hits bat and not pad. He is due for a big score and
this could be it. Virender Senwag, Gautaum Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj
Singh and captain Dhoni are all terrific batsmen if allowed to prosper.
Early wickets are what is important for Sri Lanka if they are to stall
the opponents from making a formidable total. Grabbing the half chances
and restricting the batsmen are very important.
Spinners Muttiah Muralitheran and Ajantha Mendis have bowled the
middle overs very economically. The same is required from the pacemen.
As for the Lankan batting, openers Tillekeratne Dilshan and Sanath
Jayasuriya must be a wee bit cautious early on until they get a feel of
the pace of the wicket and the movement. They must be watchful of the
traps in the field placing.
Now that Jayawardena has found touch, it will do his game and lift
the spirits of the batsmen following if he bats in his normal number
four slot.
Kumar Sangakkara and Thilina Kandamby will come good. In the previous
game had Kandamby been a bit more enterprising, he could have notched up
his maiden one-day hundred and also steered Lanka to victory.
It is inexplicable the failures of Chamara Kapugedera and Farveez
Maharoof. Kapugedera can be devastating, but seems to be taking it a bit
too easy.
With several other batsmen nudging the selectors, especially Indika
de Saram, another failure and the selectors will not be playing fair if
they persist with him. Maharoof has the ability of turning out into
being one of the best all rounders in both versions of the game.
Why he does not believe in the tremendous potential in him and play
that way will always remain a mystery. Someone ought to tell him.
A nauseating aspect in both teams Sri Lanka and India, is the
fondness for batsmen to get run out. Batsmen get run out because they
tend to lose their mental faculties for a moment.
Batsmen look stupid when they are run out.
The wicket looked a good one in the first game and it is hoped that
this one too will play true giving batsmen and bowlers equal
opportunity.
Also if the game is to be competitive then good umpiring is
essential. |