Two days before the big final against India, Sri Lankans take it easy
in nets; bring in Vaas and Suraj Randiv as cover for
injured Muralitharan and Angelo Mathews .
Two days before, arguably, the biggest day in their career, the Sri Lankan squad exuded a sense of calm. Coming to their second consecutive 50-over World Cup final, the visitors took it easy on a sweltering Thursday afternoon at the Wankhede Stadium here.
After arriving in the Maximum City on Wednesday to play India in the World Cup final, the Sangakkara-led side did not come out in full capacity to practice as Muttiah Muralitharan, Angelo Mathews, and Lasith Malinga were not seen on the ground.
And for obvious reasons vice-captain Mahela Jayawardene and coach Trevor Bayliss addressing the media faced questions over the missing few. Mathews and Murali, with minor injuries, were missing from action and the Lankan think-tank called out for veteran left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas and off-spinner Suraj Randiv as their back-ups.
While Mathews has a quadriceps muscle injury, Muralitharan has been struggling with a knee injury that he sustained in Mumbai against New Zealand in their last league game on March 18 as well as a hamstring problem that has been plaguing him for a while.
But the coach isn’t too worried about Murali. “He bowled his 10 overs in the semifinal and came through that OK. He is obviously a bit stiff and sore. He has the character and the will to win the World Cup and I will not be surprised if he plays,” the Australian-born coach said.
It wasn’t the first time that the Lankans were dealing with the pressure of playing the biggest game of the tournament. Jayawardene had led the Lankan team to the final of the last edition in the West Indies, where they lost to Australia.
“In the 2007 World Cup final, Gilly did play that brilliant knock and we never had the opportunity to get into the game. It was an unfortunate episode. We have put it behind and moved on,” the 33-year old said.
In his usual calm way, Jayawardene also assured that his side was confident going into the game on Saturday. “We batted brilliantly and were positive in our approach (in the semifinal at Colombo), but we had wobbled in a couple of overs where they put some pressure on us,” he said.
“The guys came out very well, but you need that kind of games under your belt going into the best part of the tournament,” said Jayawardene ahead of the first all-Asian final in the tournament’s 36-year-old history.
The former skipper also pointed out that the Lankan team have had a good chat on how to approach the big game. “For a lot of players, it was a dream to play for Sri Lanka and now they are on the verge of winning the World Cup,” the stylish batsman remarked.
Going by what Jayawardene is saying, it looks like the Lankans are prepared this time to fulfill their dream. Or is taking it easy during nets on Thursday, the calm before the storm?
Taufel, Dar to officiate in final
Australia’s Simon Taufel and Pakistan’s Aleem Dar will officiate in the World Cup final at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. Taufel was the on-field umpire for the India-Pakistan semifinal on Wednesday while Dar officiated at Tuesday’s first semifinal between Sri Lanka and New Zealand. The ICC announced the names of the match officials on Thursday. England’s Ian Gould will be the third umpire while Steve Davis of Australia will be the reserve umpire. Jeff Crowe of New Zealand will be the match referee.
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