Shot at redemption for Sri Lankan finalists

Kuldip Lal 11:16 06/04/2014
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  • Sri Lanka face a daunting test of nerves from dominant India in today’s all-Asian World Twenty20 final in Dhaka that is rich with incentives.

    Sri Lanka will seek an end to an inexplicable losing streak in title matches, after being beaten twice in World Cup finals in 2007 and 2011 and the World Twenty20 finals in 2009 and 2012.

    A fitting farewell to veterans Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene in their last T20 international game and $1 million (Dh3.6m) winning bonus offered by officials back home will further inspire the Sri Lankans.

    Sri Lanka reached today’s final with a 27-run win over defending champions West Indies through the Duckworth/Lewis calculations in a rain-hit semi-final on Thursday.

    The West Indies, chasing Sri Lanka’s 160-6, were 80-4 in 13.5 overs when a heavy downpour forced the match to be abandoned at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Dhaka.

    It was undecided if Sri Lanka’s T20 captain Dinesh Chandimal will again opt out of the final, as he did on Thursday, to allow the winning combination to stay with pace bowler Lasith Malinga at the helm.

    On his part, Malinga said he was determined to give Sangakkara and Jayawardene a winning send-off.

    “We all know that they are not just great Sri Lankan cricketers, but great cricketers,” he said. “We all want to do our best for these two. It’s a special day tomorrow and we have to do something special.”

    As regards tackling the Indian batting line-up, especially Virat Kohli, Malinga said his team will look to keep it as simple as possible and try to bowl 20 good overs.

    “We all know Virat is a great player. But even the greatest player needs only one ball to get out. I have a good feeling that someone from my side can bowl that one good ball tomorrow,” said Malinga.

    “We have to plan for all 20 overs. They have six or seven good batsmen. We don’t think only about getting one particular batsman out. We have to focus on bowling 20 good overs.”

    On a personal front, Malinga has endured a tough time against India’s batsmen, who have seen a fair bit of him as a result of the frequent bilateral ODI encounters between the sides and also due to his regular participation in the Indian Premier League where he plies his trade for the Mumbai Indians.

    However, the pacer was keen not to think about his own record too much.

    “I never go into a match trying to prove myself. There are other bowlers in my team who can do the job for the team as well,” he said. “As I said, anyone can produce a good ball and pick up a wicket.”

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