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Kumar Sangakkara and his merry men are just one game short of creating history in the T20 world cup! Yes Sri Lanka is in the final and against Pakistan and mind you neither team was pre tournament favourites either. Sri Lanka yes would have been spoken of as a top team but Pakistan was in nobody’s book to get as far as they have got. This confirms the fact that the T20 version is unpredictable some times beyond cricketing logic and of course the ability of Pakistan to rice to the occasion.
But what about our own team? The Sri Lankan lions! They have made the nation and a fast number of supporters in England and around the world proud! They have kept the lion flag flying high and above every other flag. It’s a tribute to a nation which was until recently battered by a separatist war, plagued by unfavourable economic conditions, and subjected to enormous pressure brought on by the Western world.
The fact that the Sri Lankan cricket team was booed and demonstrated against by a small section of people in the UK and also with the ICC being pushed to take the Lankans off the T20 world cup and the UK government being told that the team should be prevented from coming in to the country, would have only strengthened the Sri Lankan resolve and the manner the team as a whole has risen above such things, prevalent outside the game is a testimony of their commitment, courage and their determination to succeed. It has been a fantastic performance and it appears that Sri Lanka will continue to be in a mould of celebration with this performance.
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| Lankan cricketers even had to face the wrath of these anti social elements |
Now to the tournament itself! The Sri Lankan performance of reaching the final whilst being appreciated should be mostly attributed to the bowling and that man Ajantha Mendis! Virtually unknown around one year ago he has shot to fame with his brilliant bowling and he couldn’t have hoped for a better stage to show case his ability!
The world of cricket though aware of his capabilities as a bowler, has been now made to understand why he so highly spoken of and special! Skipper Sangakkara to the credit of the young man gave him the ball at difficult times such as the power plays and when the opponents have looked to dominate and hasn’t he responded? The rest of the bowling with young Isuru Udana using his great skill of unorthodox slower balls have confused the batsmen, whilst fast bowler Lasith Malinga back at his prime has given the Lankans the cutting edge in pace. Of course Muralitharan who has been the main stay of the Lankan bowling for almost 15 years has been ever present and created the pressure which has made the Sri Lankan attack the most varied, unpredictable and the best in the tournament. And don’t forget young Angelo Mathews. What about what he did to the West Indies in the semi final?
Whilst the bowling and the fielding has been just superb, the worrying factor for Sri Lanka has been the batting! With only Tilakaratne Dilshan standing out! And what a tournament it has been for Dilshan? Some times taken for granted and also not taken seriously in the past, Dilshan has been the batsman of the tournament by far. With Jayasuriya not firing in his usual style in this series, Dilshan has given Sri Lanka the much needed aggression and stability and the confidence with his stroke play at the top which has been a treat to watch! However as far as the rest of the batting it has only fired in patches. Jayawardane, Sangakkara and Jayasuriya have all had their moments but unfortunately not consistently enough and if not for Dilshan Sri Lanka would have struggled to make it this far.
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| Mendis is a soldier in its true sense |
The lack of runs and the lack of form with the bat in the top and middle order have been very well compensated by the bowlers of Sri Lanka who have risen so brilliantly to the occasion.
Another important factor which can never be ignored has been the inspiring leadership of Sangakkara. Always thought to be a brilliant academic with his studies in Law, Sangakkara has shown the world what a great cricket brain he possesses. His canny bowling changes and some time out of the box approach, opening the bowling with Jayasuriya or bowling Malinga in the death, has shown the world that he is special as a captain. I am sure our readers will agree that being the Captain is tough enough. But imagine combining it with wicket keeping which is never easy and requires so much of concentration in any form of the game and then to also play an important role in the batting department? It has to be a special person to do it, and Kumar Sangakkara has provided that special quality.
So Sri Lanka is just one game away from the cricketing glory the country enjoyed in 1996 when they won the Wills world cup. Let’s hope our boys under the dynamic Sangakkara will be able to repeat this performance and show the entire world that Sri Lanka is special and no situation be it either a war at home or the recession in the world or even a terrorist attack on them as it happened in Lahore could deter them from success. Good luck to Sanga and the boys!
Roshan Abeysinghe is a leading cricket promoter and an international cricket commentator |
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