Vedam Jaishankar | Saturday, March 26, 2011
In the recent past, chasing a target under lights at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo was a veritable nightmare for batsmen. For starters, the quality of the lights was not up to scratch. To compound this, the pitch and the ground were at a low level and this resulted in extra moisture in the evening.
These provided a twin challenge to batsmen. The moisture in the pitch supported seam bowlers, while the poor quality of the lights made it difficult to track and counter the lateral movement of the ball. Teams batting second almost always ended up losing due to these reasons.However, just before the World Cup tournament, the Premadasa Stadium was given a thorough makeover. The lights were replaced with a more modern state of the art lighting system while the level of the pitch itself was raised by close to four feet. The outfield too was correspondingly raised. Hence, there is reportedly little or no effect of the moisture during the latter part of the evening.
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Sri Lanka, who played Pakistan in the league phase at this refurbished venue, lost by a mere 11 runs while chasing under lights. One other match was played here, between Sri Lanka and lowly Kenya, but no inference could be drawn from it as Kenya were a pushover. Indeed, in the pre-World Cup days luck with the toss was believed to hold the key to a team’s success at the Premadasa Stadium.
Hopefully, that would have changed, if the Pakistan-Lanka game is anything to go by. With both the quarterfinal and semifinal matches slated to be played here, the last thing any team wants is to pin its hopes on a toss!
Sri Lanka are a force to reckon with, the admonitions from their selector and former great Aravinda De Silva notwithstanding, Aravinda came down heavily on the middle-order batsmen, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva and Chamara Kapugedera, and said their inability to score ample runs was severely compromising Lanka’s chances in the World Cup.
What he did not mention was that skipper Kumar Sangakkara and the other veteran Mahela Jayawardene were batting brilliantly and the gifted Tillakaratne Dilshan was not far behind. These three were making up for any deficiencies in the batting lineup. The battle-scarred trio form the core of the Lankans undoubted batting strength and they are the ones who are just as likely to guide and inspire the others to come up with a crucial knock or two in times of need.
Jayawardene when he came to India for Lankans’ league game against New Zealand stated that he was happier playing away from home as there was just too much pressure on them in the island nation. He said that the team felt suffocated by all the attention and fan following and they looked forward to playing in a more relaxed atmosphere.
Well, with two high profile matches to be played at the Premadasa Stadium, Jayawardene might just have to wait a little longer. England, whom they take on in the last of the quarterfinal matches, are an extremely dangerous opponent. They have the flair, depth and experience and it is only a question of all three elements coming to the party together.
England’s off-spinner Graeme Swann is bowling superbly at the moment and along with paceman Tim Bresnan, has been the pick of the bowlers.
Despite losing a few players to injuries, England still have an impressive depth in both batting and bowling. Eoin Morgan, their left-handed batsman can be explosive. Critics describe him as the most talented of young batsmen in world cricket. How well he tackles the wily Muttiah Muralitharan and the slinger Lasith Malinga will determine his team’s fortunes.
In fact, England would be only too aware that their immediate opponents would be in front of solid home support and that they have balance and the right mix of youth and experience.
True, 38-year-old Murali is still recovering from a hamstring injury and that could hamper him somewhat. But nobody, not the England batsmen in the least, will underestimate him. His remarkable mix of off-spin, top-spin and doosra will test any batsman. The pressure he exerts and his matchless results speak volumes for his extraordinary ability.
This will be Murali’s last World Cup. But he will not go silently into the night. That’s not his style. He will strive to leave his mark in every encounter. He is a champion and plays like one. Malinga is another whom batsmen will have to watch all the time.
His slinging yorkers, reverse swing, slower deliveries and bouncers are all delivered with great cunning and deception. He mixes them so well that no batsman is ever comfortable facing him. He can change the complexion of the game in a matter of one or two overs. Such is his skill and impact.
Actually, Sri Lanka have everything going for them: home matches, known pitch conditions, home support, a wonderful team with the ideal mix of youth and experience, match-winning bowlers, good batting depth, etc. They have not attracted quite the attention as, say, Australia, Pakistan or even South Africa. But make no mistake, they will be a serious threat to England or any other team left in the competition.
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