‘Don’t get carried away’

Chris Dhambarage

Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara warned his team not to get carried away after their emphatic ten wicket win over England but to focus more on the vital semi-final fixture against New Zealand at the R. Premadasa Stadium today.

The Sri Lankan skipper said that his team will have to ensure that complacency would not creep into the side despite the huge victory they had at the same venue a couple of days ago.

“It is important to be confident but we should be realistic. New Zealand will be hungry for a place in the final and so are we. Every day we cannot have such partnerships so we must ensure a good team effort in our next game.”

“I expect the semi-final to be a tough and a close game. We can’t take anything for granted. We have to work hard and should not think too far ahead and overestimate ourselves.”

Sangakkara said that several of his players were tired, including spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and fast bowler Lasith Malinga who have played a significant role in helping the side to reach the semi-finals.

“It is a difficult two month period for the team but we have to forget that. We are playing a World Cup and we have to get ready and be prepared for anything. Murali is going to be okay, he pulled up stiff and you know he’s had a tough couple of weeks.”

Sangakkara noted that they have some good replacements in the side but is determined to play the best eleven for the semi-final game.

“We have enough cover for everyone. We can’t get too far ahead of ourselves. We just have to keep our heads down and feet on the ground.”

“For us we’ve basically moved on from league games, we have to move on very quickly from this game. We have to go forward looking at the semi-final and get our mindset fresh.

The Sri Lankan captain also called his teammates to produce an improved performance on the field after they were guilty of dropping three catches in the quarterfinal match against England.

“We’ve got brush up on our fielding and make sure that we don’t give the opposition that many chances, especially one batsman and one of their key players,”

“If you miss a catch you should not let your body language go negative but stay positive and look for the next opportunity and keep charging in and stay in the game,” added Sangakkara.