Sri Lanka determined to capture World Cup again
 

by A. C. De Silva

World Cup cricket is with us and the big question is whether the 2007 Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene can match the deeds of the 1996 World Cup winner Arjuna Ranatunga?

The Sri Lankans will be playing the 2007 version of the World Cup in a better frame of mind, as at the present moment when the Sri Lanka team left for the tournament a week or so ago, there were not so much riots, boycotts and an unsatisfactory format.

Skipper Jayawardene had confidence in him when he declared: "I am confident that our chances are very good in the World Cup" before the team's departure from Colombo.

It was somewhat quite the opposite in 1996 when Arjuna Ranatunga's men had to face somewhat of a riotous crowd when they confronted India in the semi-final when the crowd at Eden Gardens in India threw missiles on to the field and lit fires in the stands, forcing match-referee Clive Lloyd of the West Indies to award the game to Sri Lanka.

India then had lost not only a game of cricket, but also much of their reputation as a sporting nation, because that was the first match in the World Cup history to be abandoned due to riots.

Sri Lanka were somewhat shaken, but recovered well enough to be on cloud nine when that explosive batsman Aravinda de Silva cracked a classy century to pave the way for a seven-wicket victory over Mark Taylor's Australians in the day-night final at Lahore.

Sri Lanka, on that occasion, were assured of winning two matches before the first ball had been bowled as both Australia and West Indies refused to come here to play their opening matches, citing security reasons.

Minor incidents

The riots in Sri Lanka were somewhat minor incidents compared to the riots at Eden Gardens during the semi-final between India and Sri Lanka.

India were facing defeat at 120 for 8 wickets, chasing 252 when disturbances began. So, when Sri Lanka were awarded that semi-final against India due to the riots, the format then was such that the qualifying chances of Australia and the West Indies were not affected after forfeiting the opening games.

Australia dismissed the Sri Lankan openers cheaply in the final, but Aravinda de Silva who scored that classic century had good support from Asanka Gurusinha (65) and Ranatunga himself (47 not out) to steer Sri Lanka to victory. Jayasuriya hit a blazing 44 ball 82 in the first quarter-final against Mike Atherton's Englishmen at Faisalabad and that was the first time that England failed to reach the semi-finals.

Jayasuriya will be the man to watch this year as well, as he has all the experience, playing in his fifth World Cup at the age of 37. In 379 limited-over matches, Jayasuriya has scored 11,538 runs - the third all time highest total behind India's Sachin Tendulkar's 14,783 and Pakistani Inzamam-ul-Haq's 11,665. Jayasuriya has also captured 285 wickets with his left-arm spinners.

Sri Lanka who have participated in World Cup cricket since the event's inception in 1975, rose to the highest pinnacle with Arjuna Ranatunga's effort in the World Cup in 1996 and now it is the turn of Mahela Jayawardene to try and emulate Ranatunga's effort.

Lankans prepared

To help Mahela Jayawardene along, there will also be vice-captain Kumar Sangakkara - the wicket-keeper batsman who was the world's leading limited-over scorer in 2006 with 1,333 runs in 36 matches.

Then there is that mercurial off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan with 432 wickets in one-day matches - second only to Pakistani paceman Wasim Akram (502) in the list of wicket-takers in one-day cricket.

There is also that hard trier - Chaminda Vaas - the left-arm seamer who is the third player along with Jayasuriya and Muralitharan remaining from the 11 that played in the unforgettable final against Australia in 1996. Vaas had taken 370 one-day wickets in 290 matches and is currently the fifth leading wicket-taker.

Much hope is placed on this duo - Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan who have been bowling well in recent matches. Muralitharan feels that Sri Lanka's chances lie on their bowlers at this year's World Cup tournament.

There are two youngsters who have worked well into the side. They are: 22-year-old Upul Tharanga - the left-hand batsman who has a lot of talent in him. He has played in 43 matches and scored 1,416 runs inclusive of six centuries.

To give Chaminda Vaas all the push he needs from the other end, there is that energetic youngsters Lasith Malinga who is rated as the fastest in the team and he has taken 39 wickets in 29 matches.

Sri Lanka, however, has dropped one place in the International Cricket Council's limited-over ratings after a 2-1 series loss against India recently. Last year, Sri Lanka won 19 matches and lost 15 while two matches ended without a result.

High pedestal

Sri Lanka has participated in World Cup cricket series from the inception of the contest in 1975 and rose to the high pedestal of being champions in 1996 under the captaincy of Arjuna Ranatunga. In 1999, however, though having almost the identical Cup winning team of 1996, it failed to qualify even for the second round.

Then in 2003, Sri Lanka reached the second round, but lost to Australia - the present title holders.

Sri Lanka's coach Tom Moody has high hopes on the team performing well. Moody was in the West Indies to have a good look at the wickets. He says that Sri Lanka is going for the tournament with a positive frame of mind.

Sri Lanka's first match in the tourney will be against Bermuda on March 15 at Queen's Park Oval. The Lankans should have no difficulty in getting through the preliminary round with the only threat in group 'B' being India.

Bangladesh is the other team in the group. The match against Bangladesh is on March 21 and the one against India on March 23.