Sri Lanka confident of beating India today (26 May 1999)

26 May 1999

Sri Lanka confident of beating India today

Sa'adi Thawfeeq

TAUNTON, Tuesday - Having overcome their first hurdle of beating Zimbabwe to survive in the competition, defending champs Sri Lanka face their sternest test when they meet Asian neighbours India in a World Cup Group 'A' match at the County grounds here tomorrow.

The most interesting aspect of this contest is that both teams have to win to remain in the competition. Whoever comes out winners will have a chance of qualifying for the next stage - the Super Six where only the top three teams in each group go through.

Of the two countries, Sri Lanka have the best chance of getting through, for if they beat India, their final group game is against non-Test-playing nation Kenya. India have a tough game against England to complete their group fixtures.

Sri Lanka manager Duleep Mendis said the victory over Zimbabwe came at the right time before the important fixture against India.

"I am sure the players are a bit relieved. It is good the win came before the big game against India, it has given them a lot of confidence. The win came at the right time," said Mendis.

"Our main worry is the top order batting. The big guns are not firing. It is just that the ball is moving around and the sooner the batsmen get used to it they will start scoring. Taunton is generally a fair track. We've got to put everything into this game. It is important that we win it," he said.

Cricket manager Somachandra de Silva said: "We are not under any pressure at all going into the match against India. We know that Kenya is not a very strong side. Just because (Sachin) Tendulkar got a hundred it doesn't put pressure on our team. We know that he is a good player, but when you play a side like Kenya you don't have much pressure, unlike when you come up against a disciplined attack".

"We have done our homework on the Indians. We are not under any pressure or anything like that. The bowlers have been shown videos of the Indian batsmen and told where to bowl at each of them," said de Silva.

Since de Silva took over as cricket manager their has been a marked improvement in bowling and fielding (where he has been assisted by former Australian cricketer Trevor Chappell, who is the fielding coach). Sri Lanka have been able to whittle down the persistent bowling of no-balls and they are doing their best to control the swing of the white ball which has led to a staggering 527 wides being bowled by the 12 teams in the first 18 matches of the competition.

New Zealand are the most disciplined side bowling only 15. They are followed by England (20), Sri Lanka (25), South Africa (30), Bangladesh (32), Australia (48), Kenya (50), Pakistan (51), India (55), West Indies (65), Scotland (66) and Zimbabwe (70).

"Our fielding and bowling is spot on. There has been a big improvement in these two areas. The batting is the problem. Sanath (Jayasuriya), Aravinda (de Silva), and Arjuna (Ranatunga) must make runs if we are to do well in the tournament.

We are aware of the problems facing the top order batsmen. With the extra movement of the white ball in the early overs, it is not only us but the top order of other teams are also undergoing similar problems," said de Silva.

"We have given Sanath a free hand to play his natural game. He has been very unlucky so far. We are not really worried about his batting, I think he will come good any moment. The important man is Aravinda, he must make runs. That position is very, very important," he said.

Sri Lanka are not likely to make any changes to the side that beat Zimbabwe on Sunday.

India's concern is just the opposite. While their batsmen led by the master Tendulkar has been in the runs, their bowling and fielding has not been upto the mark.

"We've done a lot of talking. It is not the case of not doing enough or lack of commitment. It all boils down to big match temperament. We have been getting the early breakthroughs, but seem to let slip the vital ones which really matter to win a big match. We showed that we are getting back into form. You need just one good match like the one against Kenya. It was a far more satisfying effort than the previous two," said Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin reflecting on his team's chances.

India lost their opening two games to South Africa and Zimbabwe, before beating Kenya on Sunday by running up a massive 329 for 2 off 50 overs to become the first team to top the 300-run mark in the tournament.

"Fielding has always been the weakest part of our game. We had been working on it before we went to New Zealand last year. It has improved, but not 100 percent. There's a lot more work to be done. Practice makes perfect, but what we have to learn is to perform under pressure," said Azharuddin.

Speaking on Tendulkar's contribution to the team, Azharuddin said: "Sachin is a team player. When someone like him gets runs at the top, it is easy for everyone to bat around him. We don't have pinch hitters in the side, all of them have good technique. Our batsmen play both Test and one-dayers, unlike most other teams," he said.

Azharuddin requires only 20 runs to become the first batsmen in one-day history to top the 9,000-run mark.

"It will be good if we can win against Sri Lanka and get the monkey out of our backs. I am sure it has haunted every member of the team since," said the Indian captain referring to the two defeats suffered by his team at the hands of Sri Lanka in the last World Cup at New Delhi and Calcutta.

Sri Lanka (from): Arjuna Ranatunga (captain), Sanath Jayasuriya, Roshan Mahanama, Aravinda de Silva, Mahela Jayawardene, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Chaminda Vaas, Erik Upashantha, Pramodya Wickremasinghe, Muthiah Muralitharan, Upul Chandana.

India (from): Mohammed Azharuddin (captain), Sadagopan Ramesh, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Ajay Jadeja, Nayan Mongia, Javagal Srinath, Ajit Agarkar, Debasis Mohanty, Nikhil Chopra, Anil Kumble, Venkatesh Prasad, Robin Singh.

Umpires: David Shepherd (England) and Steve Dunne (New Zealand), TV umpire: Ray Julian (England), Match Referee: Cammie Smith (West Indies).

Source :: The Daily News (https://www.lanka.net/lakehouse/)