Sri Lanka to go 'all out' for victory

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Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene has urged his team to go flat out in Wednesday's final Test against India at the Brabourne Stadium. More... Monday 30th November 2009 Sri Lanka to go 'all out' for victory Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene has urged his team to go flat out in Wednesday's final Test against India at the Brabourne Stadium. India crushed Sri Lanka by an innings and 144 runs in the second Test in Kanpur and are poised to go top of the International Cricket Council's Test rankings if they win again in Mumbai. Mahendra Singh Dhoni's side battled back from a massive first-innings deficit to draw the first Test in Ahmedabad and have a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series. Former captain Jayawardene, however, has exhorted his teammates to ensure their goal of achieving a first Test victory in India is reached. "Our goal when we came to India was to win our first Test here," Jayawardene wrote in a column. "But the reverse in Kanpur brings our goals into sharp focus. "We now have to go all out to win the final Test in Mumbai and square the series. "The way forward is to not think too much about the defeat or over-analyse what happened but to pick ourselves up and perform as a group." Sri Lanka's decision to field three specialist spinners in Kanpur came in for severe criticism, but Jayawardene believes the collective failure of the batsmen led to defeat. "We took a tough call with team composition and it did not work for us," Jayawardene said. "Over the last couple of years our batting has been reliable and we had the men to put the runs on the board. "It just didn't happen in Kanpur and this, rather than composition was why we lost." Sri Lanka's fast bowlers Dammika Prasad and Nuwan Kulasekara are available for selection having recovered from minor injuries and showed no signs of discomfort as they, along with Dilhara Fernando, were put through an extended session in the nets. Master spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has struggled on this tour, the world's leading bowler only managing five wickets at an average of 79.20. Captain Kumar Sangakkara, however, has kept his faith in the off-spinner. "He is still the best bowler that's played the game," Sangakkara said. "You still have to have faith in him and trust him and back him 100% to do the job because he is going to do it at some point. "Having said that, we could do with a bit more penetration with spin." India will be without opener Gautam Gambhir but Dhoni believes his replacement - Tamil Nadu batsman Murali Vijay is expected to fill in - will step up to the plate. "It is difficult to say how much the team will miss Gambhir," Dhoni said. "We are a side that depends greatly on a good start and whoever opens with (Virender) Sehwag should be able to do that. "Whenever Gambhir and Sehwag give us a good start, the run rate is pretty high and that makes it easier for the batsmen to follow." India also have the option of opening with Rahul Dravid, their top scorer in the series so far, and could pick an extra bowler in Gambhir's place. This is the first Test at the Cricket Club of India's home in over 36 years and 11 of the previous 17 matches here have ended in draws. Milind Rege, secretary of the CCI, however, has promised a good wicket. "There is a bit of moisture and that will help the bowlers in the first hour," Rege said. "But it's a good wicket to bat on and it will assist spin on the fourth and fifth days. I expect a result." Players spend time with underprivileged children It turned out to be a memorable evening for underprivileged children from 'Make A Wish Foundation' as they got to spend some fun moments with members of the Indian and Sri Lankan cricket players here today. The occasion was a fun fair at the G D Somani School in south Mumbai, organised by the Yuvraj Singh Foundation. While Zaheer Khan, S Sreesanth, Pragyan Ojha and Yuvraj were present from the Indian team, the Sri Lankan team was represented by skipper Kumar Sangakkara and ex-captain Mahela Jayawardene. The children, many of them suffering from life threatening diseases, had to wait for over two hours from the scheduled time but the cricketers made up for the delay by handing them gifts of their choice, besides taking pictures with them. "It's a great opportunity to make a few wishes of these kids possible," Yuvraj said on the occasion.

[Jersey #10]

That's what we want... We want SL to get 'all out' for our victory :yay:

[SachDan]

That's what we want... We want SL to get 'all out' for our victory :yay:

:haha::haha:

[champ]

:nervous:

[bhanu]

i heard in bombay sachin make less runs so it be interesting to see how many runs he makes...i want sri lanka to win

[Celeste]

i heard in bombay sachin make less runs so it be interesting to see how many runs he makes...i want sri lanka to win

same here :--D

[Karan114]

i heard in bombay sachin make less runs so it be interesting to see how many runs he makes...i want sri lanka to win

same here :--D

Keep dreaming dudes...India will thrash Lankans while your sorry team gets ***** slapped by the Kiwis B->

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Lankans to miss Dammika due to injury Sri Lanka will miss the services of injured paceman Dammika Prasad in the third Test against India in Mumbai. More... Tuesday 1st December 2009 Lankans to miss Dammika due to injury Sri Lanka will miss the services of injured paceman Dammika Prasad in the third Test against India in Mumbai. "Dammika has not yet recovered from the hamstring injury and he wouldn't be available for the third Test," Sri Lankan team manager Brendon Kuruppu said. Prasad, who has taken 13 wickets in four Tests, returned figures of 2-106 off 22 overs in India's first innings during the first Test in Ahmedabad but could bowl just 13 overs in the second essay. He did not play the second Test in Kanpur, which the Lankans lost by an innings and 144 runs inside four days. His injury may lead to the inclusion of either Nuwan Kulasekara or Dilhara Fernando in the Sri Lankan team.

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Murali to play despite side strain Sri Lanka suffered an injury scare on Tuesday when Muttiah Muralitharan was taken to hospital after complaining of side strain. However, he was ruled fit for the third Test against India, in Mumbai, starting on Wednesday. More... Murali to play despite side strain December 01, 2009 16:45 IST Sri Lanka suffered an injury scare on Tuesday when Muttiah Muralitharan was taken to hospital after complaining of side strain. However, he was ruled fit for the third Test against India, in Mumbai, starting on Wednesday. The veteran spinner has struggled to make an impact in the series, conceding 396 runs for a haul of five wickets in the first two matches of his last Test series on foreign soil. The 37-year-old complained of pain in his side and was taken to hospital for X-rays, which revealed that the injury is not that serious to keep him out of the Test. Muralitharan currently sits atop of the wicket-takers' list in Test cricket with 788 victims from 131 Tests and Sri Lanka are hoping he can add to that tally in the upcoming Test. Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara said despite the poor run in the previous two matches, they never even thought about dropping the off-spinner. "We just want him to enjoy himself in the side, feel that he is a valued member for as long as he wants to be with us. We really respect and enjoy the fact that he is with us in the dressing room and on the playing field," he said. Frustrated with his poor showing in the series, Muralitharan recently hinted that he could quit international cricket before the 2011 World Cup. "I am 37 years old and I can't bowl as much as those days because I get tired after 15-16 overs. But I will try and play a little bit of one-day cricket -- that's only 10 overs to bowl. If I find everything is not going well I might retire from both forms of the game before the World Cup," Muralitharan told Cricinfo recently. However, Sangakkara believes that Muralitharan still has the winning ability and it will be a challenge for him to get the better of the Indian batsmen in Mumbai. "Murali has been talking about retirement for about two years. I think he is very realistic about himself and his career and that's one of the things we respect. But I think there is a lot more left in him to help us win Test matches. I think he realizes that. As for the frequency with which we play the Indians, of course the fact that four of the Indian batsmen have played against Murali for about four years continuously does help. "But even if you know how to play a bowler, you still have to play him on match day and that challenge is still there; that motivation to try and do better than the opposition is still there for Murali. "He is still hungry, so I don't think there is anything to be concerned about when it comes to Murali," Sangakkara added.

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Mendis misses out on Mumbai Test Spinner Ajantha Mendis has been axed by Sri Lanka for tomorrow's decisive Test against India in Mumbai. More... Mendis misses out on Mumbai Test Spinner Ajantha Mendis has been axed by Sri Lanka for tomorrow's decisive Test against India in Mumbai. Mendis burst onto the scene with 26 Indian wickets in three Tests last year but has taken only a further 18 in seven subsequent appearances. The Sri Lankans fielded a three-pronged spin attack last week in the second Test in Kanpur, where they lost by an innings to trail 1-0 in the three-match campaign. Requiring a first win on Indian soil to avoid a series loss, Sri Lanka are intent on drafting in another paceman at the Brabourne Stadium. "Mendis will have to sit it out," captain Kumar Sangakkara confirmed at the pre-match press conference. Sri Lanka will recall either Nuwan Kulasekara or Dilhara Fernando, with the former favourite to make the tourists' XI.

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Sri Lanka hoping to exploit Gambhir's absence The biggest positive for Sri Lanka since the crushing defeat to India in the second Test could perhaps be the unavailability of Gautam Gambhir for the third Test, in Mumbai, beginning on Wednesday. The left-hander hit back-to-back centuries in the first two Tests of the series but was forced to opt out of the third because of his sister's wedding. More... Sri Lanka hoping to exploit Gambhir's absence December 01, 2009 19:35 IST The biggest positive for Sri Lanka since the crushing defeat to India in the second Test could perhaps be the unavailability of Gautam Gambhir for the third Test, in Mumbai, beginning on Wednesday. The left-hander hit back-to-back centuries in the first two Tests of the series before opting out of the third because of his sister's wedding. For Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara [ Images ] and his struggling bowlers, his absence is certainly welcome relief. "We hope to exploit Gambhir's absence. He is the batsman in form, he has scored a lot of runs this year, two hundreds against us in two Test matches," replied Sangakkara, when asked about the same. After all, Gambhir is India's top Test batsman over the last 12 months or so, having hit four centuries in successive Tests. His innings of 114 helped India save the first Test in Ahmedabad and the smashing 167 in the next in Kanpur was instrumental in setting up the huge victory. Sangakkara is hoping his bowlers will exploit the situation and put his replacement, Murali Vijay, under pressure. The Tamil Nadu batsman has played just one Test. Incidentally, he had replaced Gambhir after the left-hander was banned for elbowing Shane Watson in the Test series against Australia last year. "The absence of a quality player like that leaves a gap, but it also means the new guy coming in will be really hungry to make a mark. To exploit that is our responsibility; we will try and do that," Sangakkara said. Indeed, the void left by Gambhir will be hard to fill. In his last nine Tests since last October, the Delhi left-hander hit seven centuries, including a double hundred against Australia that went along with four half-centuries. It clearly underlines his contribution to India's recent success and their elevation to the top of the Test rankings. Not surprisingly, his Delhi team-mate and opening partner Virender Sehwag declared that he is one of the best openers the country had produced after the legendary Sunil Gavaskar.

[bhanu]

Keep dreaming dudes...India will thrash Lankans while your sorry team gets ***** slapped by the Kiwis B->

hmm over confidence ehh..well wait and see ok bub

[Lord]

Wat Oher Option Do They Have?

[DomainK]

hmm over confidence ehh..well wait and see ok bub

Not over confidence, just a matter of fact. We are good!!

[Karan114]

Wat Oher Option Do They Have?

:giggle: Yeah they are hardly going to go "all out for defeat"

[vvvslaxman]

hmm over confidence ehh..well wait and see ok bub

This is called over-confidence :cantstop: http://www.indiancricketfans.com/showthread.php?t=188017