vvvslaxman Posted March 30, 2011 Posted March 30, 2011 http://blog.mahelajayawardena.lk/index.php/2011/03/through-to-the-finals-a-fitting-and-emotional-farewell-to-murali/ Through to the Finals – A fitting and emotional farewell to Murali Wednesday March, 2011 | All Entries, World Cup 2011 | Mahela | Comments Reaching our third final in five World Cups since 1996 and two in succession is a fantastic feat by Sri Lanka and one which all Sri Lankan fans can take pride in. Winning last night against New Zealand was a truly great feeling in front of what was another amazing crowd and brilliant atmosphere at the R. Premadasa Stadium. As we expected, New Zealand were not just going to just lay down and die and made us fight for victory. It was a semi-final after all and these tend to be the toughest matches that World Cups throw up. Once again, our bowlers did a really fantastic job, especially at the death where we did very well to restrict New Zealand by taking regular wickets. It was also a very special and emotional night as it was our greatest champion’s last match on home soil and as usual, Murali played such an important role inspite of his injuries and pain. Dismissing Scott Styris in his last over was a vital wicket and it was also a dramatic and emotional moment. Chasing 218 for victory on a good wicket would normally be a canter for most decent teams but the enormity of the occasion can have a bearing and make totals bigger than they actually are. Once again, it was the free flowing stroke-play of Upul Tharanga that got our run-chase off to a solid and confident start. Stepping out to Nathan McCullum in only the third ball of the innings to send the ball soaring over the bowler’s head for a sweetly timed six laid the platform for yet another good start by our openers. After Upul was brilliantly caught by Jesse Ryder, two of the most prolific batsmen in this World Cup, Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan batted quite superbly to put us in a winning position with a 120-run partnership and to take us to within just 58 runs away from a win. The fall of Dilshan’s wicket, followed immediately by mine rejuvenated the Kiwis and when Kumar fell with us still requiring 49 runs to win, they certainly were on a roll. I think it is fair to say that there was a great deal of tension and nervousness at this point but that was more so to do with the fans who were envisioning the most disastrous of losses, especially given what New Zealand succeeded in doing to South Africa in their quarter final. While we too were certainly tense, the reality to us was that we had six wickets in hand to score under 50 runs with more than 80 balls left and we just needed to weather the Kiwi’s immediate storm and not panic. Thilan Samaraweera and Chamara did just that and despite the restlessness around the ground and perhaps every TV set in Sri Lanka, these two stemmed the fall of another wicket for six overs after we had earlier lost three wickets in four overs. Under the circumstances, it was an important period of play which in the meantime had also brought us to within just 33 runs of our target. When Chamara fell, the equation was still very much in our favour with 5-wickets in hand and Thilan and Angelo Mathews then guided us to victory with no further hiccups and our much maligned lower middle order had delivered when it counted. It was a fitting farewell home match for Murali and the reception he received from the massive crowd as we accompanied him on his lap of honour is something that will always remain with me. We have one more match to overcome which would be the ultimate of farewell gifts to the great man and we have already taken flight and are in Mumbai. Despite the injury Angelo sustained while fielding, he is still with us, though on the face of it he would need a miraculous recovery to be able to play on Saturday in the Final.
Karan114 Posted March 30, 2011 Posted March 30, 2011 Is it that serious? If he doesn't play, definitely a huge loss - apart from being a dangerous middle order hitter, he is a very useful bowler and would have enjoyed the swing at Mumbai
vvvslaxman Posted March 30, 2011 Author Posted March 30, 2011 chances of Vaas playing as Matthews might not play :woot:
Cricket Tragic Posted March 30, 2011 Posted March 30, 2011 They'll get Perera in. He bowled well in Australia and is a good striker of the ball.
21cent Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 I have been hearing newsabout Vaas or Jayasurya making an appearance. Probably BS about Jayasurya. Vaas is possible. We'll see.
girishk14 Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 Vass, Randiv on standby The Sri Lankan cricket team arrived in Mumbai yesterday for the ICC 2011 Cricket World Cup final with doubts hanging over the injury of dynamic all rounder Angelo Mathews. The 24 year old suffered a minor injury while fielding during Sri Lanka’s five wicket victory over New Zealand in the semifinal match and later batted with a runner in the day night encounter played at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Tuesday. A team spokesman stated that Mathews will need at least a couple of days to recover and will be working along with the physio in a desperate attempt to be fit for the important World Cup final encounter on Saturday at the Wankhede Stadium. Meanwhile selection committee sources revealed that former Sri Lanka fast bowler Chaminda Vaas has been kept on standby as a replacement for Angelo Mathews. In addition Suraj Randiv is likely to be the replacement as an emergency in case off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is also declared unfit for the World Cup final. Sri Lanka will be making their second successive final appearance and the third in all in a World Cup event after having finished runners-up to Australia four years ago in the Caribbean. The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup final will be of great significance as the high profile summit clash on Saturday would be the first-ever all-Asia final in the history of the tournament. The champions of this flagship event of the game would receive a cash award of USD 3 million, while the runners-up would take home USD 1.5 million out of the total prize pool of USD 12.52 million. Sri Lanka have played four One Day Internationals at this venue, including a league match in this tournament against New Zealand. Out of those four, they have won two and lost two. Vaasy! :yay:
Ramzz Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 Randiv not in the squad? That is surprising. Well our team can't be too bothered about Lanka's injuries or look too much into it. We have to beat whichever 11 they put out on the field.
akshayxyz Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 I hope vaas makes a come back and Sehwag sends him back.
achilles Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 Budhu bana rahe hain. Sangakarra isn't as stupid as he wants us to believe he is.
Feed Posted April 1, 2011 Posted April 1, 2011 Suraj Randiv replaces injured Mathews More... Angelo Mathews ruled out of final IN ASSOCIATION WITH Friday, 1 April 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup final: India v Sri LankaVenue: Wankhede Stadium, MumbaiDate: Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews has been ruled out of the World Cup final with a thigh injury, while India seamer Ashish Nehra is a major doubt. Mathews has been replaced in the squad by off-spinner Suraj Randiv. Nehra is likely to miss Saturday's Mumbai showpiece after injuring the middle finger of his right hand in the semi-final win over Pakistan. Spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is set to defy injury in the hope of a fairytale ending to his Sri Lanka career. The 38-year-old, who has a record 1,331 international wickets, has been struggling throughout the tournament with hamstring, knee and groin problems. But there seems little chance of him missing out on the opportunity to bring the curtain down on his international career by helping his country win the World Cup for the first time since 1996, when Sri Lanka stunned the cricket world by beating Australia in the final in Lahore. "Chances are good that Murali will play," said Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss. "He completed 10 overs in the semi-final, and such is the character of the man that he will play even with discomfort." Muralitharan, who claimed a wicket with his last international delivery on home soil in the Colombo semi-final, needs three more to equal former Australia fast bowler Glenn McGrath's World Cup record of 71 wickets. Mathews, 23, suffered a right thigh injury while fielding during Tuesday's semi-final win against New Zealand. Batting with a runner, he helped Sri Lanka clinch a five-wicket victory with an aggressive 14 not out. "Angelo is one of our very important players," Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara said on Friday before Mathews was ruled out. We are not thinking about tomorrow's game as a final, for us every match is a challenge and just as important "But if he's not there he's not there. The player who replaces him will consider it a big opportunity to do well for his country on this magnificent occasion." His replacement Randiv has 22 wickets in 21 one-day internationals and could provide spin-bowling cover for Muralitharan. Meanwhile, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said no decision had been made whether Nehra would be replaced in the team by an additional seamer in Sreesanth or a second spinner in Ravichandran Ashwin. "The Mumbai wicket usually has a bit of bounce and a third seamer gives me the option to manoeuvre the attack," he said. "But if we feel there could be turn in the wicket as the game progresses, Ashwin will come into the picture. It helps to have such good options." Dhoni said left-hand batsman Gautam Gambhir was fit to play after recovering from a minor hamstring strain he developed while fielding against Pakistan. In the first all-Asian final, all eyes will be on India batsman Sachin Tendulkar who is targeting his 100th international century in his home city. The 37-year-old is playing in his sixth World Cup, and will be desperate to help his team land the trophy it has only captured on one occasion, in 1983. The "Little Master" scored two hundreds in the group stage and looked on course to reach the 100 century landmark in the semi-final before he was dismissed for 85 following an uncharacteristically scratchy knock. "Going back to Mumbai, especially for this event, is a wonderful occasion," said Tendulkar. "All I want to say is, we want to be calm, focus on our job and get the job done." With India the marginal favourites to win the trophy, Sangakkara is hoping the weight of expectation could tell on their players. "Everyone in the world expects (India) to turn up tomorrow and win this game," he said. "We have to understand the fact that India for the last year or two years have been tagged as the favorites by almost everyone to win the World Cup. "I'm sure they'll be looking at themselves as favorites too." Dhoni is playing down the pressure on his team. "We are not thinking about tomorrow's game as a final, for us every match is a challenge and just as important," he said. "These matches are called by different names like quarters, semis and final. In the end you have to play the same way and do the right things to succeed. "Of course we realise this is a World Cup final. It can't get bigger than this, but our preparations have to be the same." A massive security operation has been mounted for the highest-profile sporting event to take place in Mumbai since the November 2008 terror attacks, in which 166 people died. "We will be overdoing it a bit," said Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik. "Bit it's better to be on the safe side. The stakes are high." India (from): Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Dhoni (capt & wk), Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Sreesanth, Yusuf Pathan, Piyush Chawla. Sri Lanka (from): Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Lasith Malinga, Rangana Herath, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Chamara Kapugedera, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dilhara Fernando, Suraj Randiv.
girishk14 Posted April 1, 2011 Posted April 1, 2011 This REALLY screws up their balances, they'll have to make at least 4 changes to their side cos they lose a solid batsman and the only pacer other than malinga.
kabira Posted April 1, 2011 Posted April 1, 2011 Kulashekara will probably play along with perera. they will drop Mendis and Herath
Ramzz Posted April 1, 2011 Posted April 1, 2011 I think they will play Herath or Mendis...one of the two. Probably Herath. Anyways, whichever 11 they put out...we have to beat them.
CoverDrive Posted April 1, 2011 Posted April 1, 2011 With their Middle order weak as it is this poses some challenges. Chamara Silva (or was it Kapugedera I cant separate the two) played horribly in the Semis. Samaraweera is misbah of Lankans (hope he stays that way :). Taking Perera for Matthews is not a automatic choice in that case. They would ideally want to replace matthews with a batsman and make do with Dilshan etc. as bowler. but with no big talent waiting out here is what I think will happen. Play both Kulasekara and Perera (two half decent bats) and chuck out herath.
kabira Posted April 1, 2011 Posted April 1, 2011 Kula will be dangerous in Mumbai. The bowl will swing there for sure atleast under lights.
riwi999 Posted April 1, 2011 Posted April 1, 2011 Mathews and Perera have been considered interchangeable earlier too. It will be a straight swap. And Kulasekara will come in place of one of the spinners. Perera can be an explosive bat too, so India should not underestimate the Sri Lankan line-up.
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