COLOMBO: Without an iota of doubt, Sri Lanka will go into their quarterfinal match of the World Cup against England as out and out favourites.
They don't quite have a very superior pace attack as compared to England but Lasith Malinga adds a bit of edge. Not that England don't have quality spinners but Sri Lanka have Muttiah Muralitharan.
Without doubt England have a batting line-up that has shown some amount of resilience but Sri Lanka have Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene who are kings in their own backyard.
England are a good team to have made it to the last eight but at the R Premadasa Stadium, on Saturday evening, they will be up against a side who know very well what it takes to win here and certainly have the right ingredients to make that happen.
If England can defy this odd and come out trumps, it is fair to say that they will go on to create a major upset in the subcontinent. The math is as simple as it can get for Andrew Strauss' men. Handle three bowlers - Malinga, Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis - well and get rid of two batsmen - Sangakkara and Jayawardene - as soon as possible. How well England manage this will eventually tell whether they're moving any further in this tournament or not.
No prizes at all for guessing what the wicket is likely to have in store for the two teams. A clean shave, less water, more roll. The ball is most likely to turn as soon as the match starts and slow while coming on to the bat - that is how the captains see it. However, unlike most similar subcontinent wickets, Premadasa's still a bit different. Chasing under lights is as tough as it can get and while Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss says that it has eased out considerably in the last two to three years, those even slightly foreign to the conditions here have a lot to worry about.
Afternoon onwards, the weather can get very sticky and sweaty here in Colombo and under lights, when the ball happens to be slow off the wicket and doesn't come on to the bat, things can get messy for those chasing.
A good example of the same was Sri Lanka's own defeat at the hands of Pakistan batting second. Bayliss, in fact, says Sri Lanka actually did well in reaching almost 260 runs under lights. Strauss certainly would've made note of that.
The one thing that will not trouble the batsmen and bowlers under lights is dew. It is the weather again that assists this factor and therefore, players with soft hands will make a huge difference when the going gets tough.
Expecting such situations, Strauss & Co are wary about Murali no doubt. "His record speaks for itself. He is still bowling well. In these conditions in particular, he will be a big challenge for us.
Quite a few guys have played him a fair amount now and we have got our own individual plans on how we are going to counter him," he says. How well England manage to live up to these words will decide their fate.
toi
They don't quite have a very superior pace attack as compared to England but Lasith Malinga adds a bit of edge. Not that England don't have quality spinners but Sri Lanka have Muttiah Muralitharan.
Without doubt England have a batting line-up that has shown some amount of resilience but Sri Lanka have Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene who are kings in their own backyard.
England are a good team to have made it to the last eight but at the R Premadasa Stadium, on Saturday evening, they will be up against a side who know very well what it takes to win here and certainly have the right ingredients to make that happen.
If England can defy this odd and come out trumps, it is fair to say that they will go on to create a major upset in the subcontinent. The math is as simple as it can get for Andrew Strauss' men. Handle three bowlers - Malinga, Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis - well and get rid of two batsmen - Sangakkara and Jayawardene - as soon as possible. How well England manage this will eventually tell whether they're moving any further in this tournament or not.
No prizes at all for guessing what the wicket is likely to have in store for the two teams. A clean shave, less water, more roll. The ball is most likely to turn as soon as the match starts and slow while coming on to the bat - that is how the captains see it. However, unlike most similar subcontinent wickets, Premadasa's still a bit different. Chasing under lights is as tough as it can get and while Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss says that it has eased out considerably in the last two to three years, those even slightly foreign to the conditions here have a lot to worry about.
Afternoon onwards, the weather can get very sticky and sweaty here in Colombo and under lights, when the ball happens to be slow off the wicket and doesn't come on to the bat, things can get messy for those chasing.
A good example of the same was Sri Lanka's own defeat at the hands of Pakistan batting second. Bayliss, in fact, says Sri Lanka actually did well in reaching almost 260 runs under lights. Strauss certainly would've made note of that.
The one thing that will not trouble the batsmen and bowlers under lights is dew. It is the weather again that assists this factor and therefore, players with soft hands will make a huge difference when the going gets tough.
Expecting such situations, Strauss & Co are wary about Murali no doubt. "His record speaks for itself. He is still bowling well. In these conditions in particular, he will be a big challenge for us.
Quite a few guys have played him a fair amount now and we have got our own individual plans on how we are going to counter him," he says. How well England manage to live up to these words will decide their fate.
toi
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