Generalissimo Jayawardena’s orders will be to be RUTHLESS:

Revenge series to avenge previous defeats

First of two Twenty20 games begins today:

The first of two Twenty20 games between Sri Lanka and Pakistan beginning under lights at the lovely Sooriyawewa Stadium today will be a cracker as both teams will be looking to draw first blood for inspiration.

As usual Generalissimo Mahela Jayawardene’s orders to his troops will be to be RUTHLESS against Pakistan from ball one and stay that when till the final ball is bowled in the final Test at the Pallekelle Stadium on July 12. This approach paid dividends against England and if the Sri Lankans take the field with that second to none feeling, not only the Twenty2,the 50-over, but also the Test series could be theirs to savour.

The Pakistanis after a dip in their game, were put on the victory trail by skipper Misbah Ul Haq and former coach Pakistan stylish opening batsman Mohsin Khan and will be looking to give continuity to the success they achieved against Sri Lanka in Desert Country.

Looking to dominate

While Pakistani will be looking to dominate, for Sri Lanka it will be a series to seek revenge to avenge their previous defeats against Pakistan. Under new skipper Jayawardene they have it in them to succeed in their mission that is not impossible.

The Sooriyawewa Stadium which was built for the 2011 World Cup looks a picture. The weather has held and the curators have done a good job in producing a wicket that looks ideal for this style of game. It looks as though there will be even bounce.

But predicting how a wicket will play is guess work. The true nature of a wicket could be gauged only once the game is in progress. Captains must not read much into what the TV experts reading or rather misreading the wicket predict. Both teams have cricketers who are adept in this style of bash.And the limited versions of the game require that runs be made off every ball. Technique and copy book strokes are forgotten.

Weird of strokes

With runs being the need, batsmen are excused for playing the weirdest of strokes. It is only the bowling and fielding that stands to gain. Sri Lanka has fronted up their best men for the first two games. With the squad oozing with talent, skipper Jayawardene will have a tough time picking the playing eleven. Mahela Jayawardene is likely to open with Tillekeratne Dilshan followed by Kumar Sangakkara, Dinesh Chandimal, Upul Tharanga, Angelo Mathews and probably Thissara Perera and Chamara Kapugedera. Bowling will be in the capable hand of Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekera, Thissara Perera, Angelo Mathews and Sahitra Senanayake. It is the style now to open bowling with a spinner. So that job could go to Dilshan.

Blaze of glory

Jayawardene finished the IPL in a blaze of glory with a scintillating half century. He will be looking to add to that success if he opens.

He will always have fond memories of this stadium, because in the2011 World Cup he christened the venue becoming the first century maker on this ground. Pakistani has brought out a squad under new skipper all rounder Mohammed Hafeez. He will be looking to have a successful outing, now that he has taken over from Misbah.

They have some exciting stroke makers in skipper,Umar Akmal, Sahid afridi, Shoaib Malik, Ahmed Shahzad and wicket keeper Shakeel Ansar. The bowler to watch will be Umar Gul, Sajeed Ajmal and Sahid Afridi.

Off spinner Ajmal with his clever variations of the many varieties he bowls is the hottest selling product at the moment. But four overs would not be sufficient for him to spin his magic at the Sooriyawewa Stadium.