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| Sunday, 02 March 2003 |
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Jayasuriya confident of Lanka's chances Sa'adi Thawfeeq reporting from South Africa & Kenya CAPE TOWN, March 1 - Sri Lanka skipper Sanath Jayasuriya praised his bowlers for winning the World Cup Group 'B' match against West Indies under lights at Newlands here on Friday. "Our middle-order batting is not in good form and we need to get more runs on the board. The batting is a worrying factor. We are fortunate that the bowlers have been bowling well," said Jayasuriya after his side's exciting six-run win over West Indies on Friday. Sri Lanka scored 228/6 and restricted West Indies to 222-9. "It was a big game for us after the disappointing loss to Kenya in Nairobi. Although we dropped a few catches our bowlers bowled really well," said Jayasuriya. "It was a pressure game because we had lost our earlier match. This was a must win match and there was a lot of pressure in the middle," he said. "It was not an easy wicket to bat on and the ball was not coming onto the bat. I think 228 was a very good total we were capable of defending with bowlers like Vaas, Muralitharan, Aravinda and me," Jayasuriya said. Left-arm fast bowler Chaminda Vaas was in superb form bowling his heart out for figures of four for 22 off 10 overs which won him the man-of-the match award. Vaas said: "I went back from South Africa and did some home work on my bowling with my coaches. I have got my rhythm going and I am bowling with the seam upright". The 28-year-old is bowling at his best and the wickets he took for Sri Lanka were the big ones of Brian Lara (1), Chris Gayle (55), Wavell Hinds (2) and Ridley Jacobs (0). He ended his first spell with figures of 7-3-14-2 and when the Gayle-Chanderpaul partnership was gaining momentum he returned for his second spell to capture a further two wickets in one over and put the skids on the West Indies. Vaas' four wickets puts him further up the ladder as the leading wicket-taker in the current tournament with 16 wickets from five matches, four more than his nearest rival Wasim Akram of Pakistan who has 12. Jayasuriya said the way Sri Lanka was playing at the moment he was confident they would do well in the tournament. The win has almost secured Sri Lanka a place in the Super Sixes although a win against South Africa in their final pool game would place them on top of Pool B. Sri Lanka and South Africa play at Durban on March 3. "The way we are playing at the moment I think we have a good chance, but we need to hold all the catches and get more runs on the board," said Jayasuriya. "If we can beat South Africa it will be much easier for us in the Super Sixes," he said. When questioned why he brought on Pulasthi Gunaratne to bowl the crucial final over with West Indies needing 14 to win, Jayasuriya said: "We had a chat and most of us felt that Pulasthi was the ideal bowler for the situation. He had bowled at the death in previous international games for us and he had the experience." "We had a lot of faith in him although he didn't bowl well in his first spell. We took a chance with him and it paid off," said Jayasuriya. A dejected West Indies captain Carl Hooper said he was disappointed with his side's batting. "The conditions in the evening was not a factor to our defeat. It is that we batted poorly today. A score of 228, I reckon we should have got," said Hooper. "We hoped that Chanderpaul would come through with Drakes chancing his arm. But Chanderpaul got out and although it was close in the end, the turning point was his dismissal," he said. "Basically we lost this match and I think we are out. But cricket is a funny game and you never know what's going to happen. We've got to win the match against Kenya and obviously get our spirits up. Who knows we could still be in the next round," Hooper said hopefully. "I honestly thought we could do better than this. But to be knocked out is a bit hard to take. But cricket is a game. Cricket is about life. You've got to take it," he said. |
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