We won't play like India: Muralitharan

[DesiChap]

Sydney: Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has said that Sri Lanka had no intention of following India's aggressive tactics. Speaking at Queensland Cricket's annual Test match luncheon in Brisbane, Muralitharan, who is only eight Test wickets away from Shane Warne's world record of 708 wickets, said: "(We want) to play decent cricket and not (approach it) like the Indians. We'd like to play our game. The challenge is not to think about the end results." His teammate and fast bowler Chaminda Vaas said: "We are not Indians. We are not going to play like the Indians did. But when it comes to cricket you have to play aggressive cricket. We are here to play good cricket and play smart cricket, and we received the spirit of the game award, so we want to play good cricket and prove we can do something." Meanwhile, reports in the local media say Muralitharan was taunted "chucker" during the recent practice match at the Adelaide Oval in south Australia. He told the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH), "Some people have just asked for autographs and have been nice, but there have been one or two people who have shouted 'chucker' in the street and during the game in Adelaide. They are just younger guys, and I don't really pay much attention to it." According to media reports, Muralitharan has discussed security measures with Cricket Australia officials. Uniformed officers will be positioned near the boundary rope and there will be plain-clothes policemen in crowd trouble spots. "I don't care if people say things to me during games, but it is a problem if they are throwing things. I met some of their (CA's) security people and I am happy with what they told me. Hopefully, it will be a good series," he was quoted as saying in the SMH. http://sify.com/sports/fullstory.php?id=14556294

[Lurker]

I expect all IndianMurali supporters to do mea culpa now. :marchmellow: Murali does seem to have something against India. Not sure if Bishen bedi got into his mind or being the lone Tamil in SL team has something to do with it. I hope it is the former and not the latter.

[kablooee87]

*hands Murali a flame shield*

[Zap_Brannigan]

Sreesanth Defense force assemble

[Mr. Wicket]

The last time India were in Aus, India drew 1-1. The last time Sri Lanka were in Aus, SL lost 0-1. Whichever way works for Murali, I guess.

[Ram]

"We want to play decent cricket and not approach it like the Indians. We'd like to play our game. The challenge is not to think about the end results." I guess he means this when he says decent cricket, Aus- 527/9 Sri Lanka - 281 all out and 190 all out. Sri Lanka lose by innings and 46 runs. Its better to die in a blaze of glory like India did , rather than die wondering like you are going to do.

[Guest Hiten.]

SL received spirit of the game award ???? What were the basis of this award ?

[Feed]

We won't play like the Indians: Muralitharan Sri Lanka would not emulate India's ultra-aggressive tactics against Australia during their upcoming two-Test series, ace off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan said. More... Sri Lanka [Images] would not emulate India's ultra-aggressive tactics against Australia during their upcoming two-Test series Down Under, spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan said. The off-spinner and opening bowler Chaminda Vaas [Images] said the tourists would focus on playing smart, positive cricket in the true spirit of the game during the series starting on Thursday. Muralitharan, who needs nine wickets to become the most successful Test bowler upstaging Shane Warne's [Images] world record of 708 wickets, said in Brisbane that Sri Lanka had no designs on following the Indian example of 'fighting fire with fire' during the recent ODI series in India, which the Aussies won 4-2. "[We want] to play decent cricket and not [approach it] like the Indians," Muralitharan said at Queensland Cricket's annual Test match luncheon, Australian newspaper The Age reported on Tuesday. "We'd like to play our game," he said, adding: "The challenge is not to think about the end results." Recognised as the team which played the game in the best spirit at the ICC's [Images] annual awards in September, Sri Lanka have a fine on-field reputation. Vaas said they would ensure their reputation is retained but would not take a backward step against the hosts. "We are not Indians. We are not going to play like the Indians did," he said. "But when it comes to cricket you have to play aggressive five-day cricket," he said. "We are here to play good cricket and play smart cricket, and we received the spirit of the game award so we want to play good cricket and prove we can do something," he added. Sri Lanka have registered only one series victory over Australia in 25 years and have never won a Test match in that country. Muralitharan is not thinking about the prospect of breaking Warne's record and says he is more concerned about proving himself in Australia. The 35-year-old averages 32.47 for his 67 wickets against Australia in 15 Tests, well down from his career mark of 21.33, but his record in Australia is much worse with eight wickets in three Tests at 63. He has also been no-balled on two separate visits for 'bowling with an illegal action', suffered verbal crowd abuse and been pelted with fruit as well as heard Prime Minister John Howard brand him a chucker. "I had a bad tour in 1995 and I want to forget that. That's when it all started,' he said. "I want to prove myself this time and show before I retire I can do something," he said. Meanwhile, Australian opener Matthew Hayden [Images] suggested it would be another tough tour for the spinner as none of his teammates harboured any Murali "ghosts." "We have played him in his conditions and in our conditions, we've seen him across pretty much all parts of the world and I think we've handled him very well," Hayden said. "Our job is to keep him out of play and I think we've definitely got the skills to do that," the left-hander added.

[King]

Not bad... now India is thought of as an aggressive unit. This is good news for India.

[Holysmoke]

http://www.indiancricketfans.com/showthread.php?t=60866 Already discussed, you might wanna merge it ..

[Gambit]

Yeah, you cannot playing like India you javelin thrower. Try and spear chuck to see if you can even win a test in Australia, something your team has never managed to achieve. :bird:

[zubinpepsi]

This chucker and the whole of Sl team has smthign against India.. Even sanga had said the samething weeks ago.. what is with this pu.ssies?? prolly scared of getting thrashed by Aus team and the audience.. scared that the oz supporters mite mistake them for India and will boo them all thru the match.... first try give a fight to aussies, then u can think of abt winning the matches.. this bunch of overrated pus.sies cant even get past queensland.... shame on u lankans!!!!!!..

[coffee_rules]

Yeah right, they will not play like Indians. They will cheat and chuck. That's what he actually meant.

[Ram]

"We want to play decent cricket and not approach it like the Indians. We'd like to play our game. The challenge is not to think about the end results." I guess he means this when he says decent cricket, Aus- 527/9 Sri Lanka - 281 all out and 190 all out. Sri Lanka lose by innings and 46 runs. Its better to die in a blaze of glory like India did , rather than die wondering like you are going to do.

Actual match scores, Aus - 551/4 decl Sri Lanka - 211 A.O and 300 A. O Sri Lanka lose by innings and 40 runs. :haha: Nearly got my predictions right. Murali was right, the lankans arent going to play like India, after all , we played brilliantly last time.

[Bongosamaj]

This chucker and the whole of Sl team has smthign against India.. Even sanga had said the samething weeks ago.. what is with this pu.ssies?? prolly scared of getting thrashed by Aus team and the audience.. scared that the oz supporters mite mistake them for India and will boo them all thru the match.... first try give a fight to aussies, then u can think of abt winning the matches.. this bunch of overrated pus.sies cant even get past queensland.... shame on u lankans!!!!!!..

They are talking in relation to the most recent India vs Australia series, where Indian team led the way on 'how to be a hooligan on cricket grounds'. And i don't fault Murali/Jaya for making the statement they did- watching Sreesanth's antics was pretty embarassing a time to be an Indian IMO. PS: Anyone who considers Murali a chucker either knows zero about the finer details of chucking or is purely carrying an agenda.

[fineleg]

Actual match scores, Aus - 551/4 decl Sri Lanka - 211 A.O and 300 A. O Sri Lanka lose by innings and 40 runs. :haha: Nearly got my predictions right. Murali was right, the lankans arent going to play like India, after all , we played brilliantly last time.

MM, With India tour to Aus around the corner, are we confident we will do better than SL in Aus? (talking abt TEST matches)

[Donny]

Why are you asking mm ?

[King Tendulkar]

They are talking in relation to the most recent India vs Australia series, where Indian team led the way on 'how to be a hooligan on cricket grounds'. .

Rubbish! The aussies have been clear leaders in this field for decades!

[Gambit]

The chucker's comments have fallen flat and history will remember all the bravado shown by FTB #1 Jayawardhene in pre match comments as a hilarious prelude to the massacre that took place at the Gabba. SL have won a grand total of 1 test match against Australia in their history. Some nerve these chumps have. :hysterical:

[zubinpepsi]

Australia v Sri Lanka, 1st Test, Brisbane, 5th day Failing to walk the talk Peter English at the Gabba November 12, 2007 It would not be a surprise if Mahela Jayawardene spent time each day looking into his hotel mirror chanting the line "We believe we can beat Australia". Like The Little Engine That Could, Jayawardene must hope that if he says something often enough it will come true and mountainous tasks will be conquered. Over the past two weeks he has used a lot of lines about challenging Australia. He has never been boastful or confrontational, but at first he was mildly convincing even when his team was struggling for runs in the final warm-up. When he repeated the message after the innings-and-40-run Test defeat at the Gabba it sounded more like an empty promise. "We need to believe in ourselves that we can beat Australia," he said quietly. "If we don't have that belief there's no point turning up in Hobart. I firmly believe that we've got the personnel to do that and we just need to back our ability ... Our all-round game needs to improve and I believe we can do it." The motivational mantras must be swapped for on-field toughness in Friday's second Test and the tourists require more than a good talking over the next couple of days. Methods to deal with Australia's suffocating bowling line and restrictive fields need to be found along with tactics to stifle the hosts' powerful batting order. Trevor Bayliss, the coach, will have a busy few days and the team will be desperate for the return of Kumar Sangakkara to provide some backbone. Sri Lanka may have arrived in Australia with a balanced squad but that changed when Sangakkara's hamstring tore in the first week of the tour. Ricky Ponting, who recognises the threat of the wicketkeeper-batsman and has caught glimpses of his training and net sessions during the match, expects Sangakkara to play along with Lasith Malinga, who was left out in Brisbane. Jayawardene was too cautious to predict the return of either, but Malinga's cause was helped by Ponting's local knowledge. The ball did not swing when Ponting scored 96 and 124 in the Pura Cup match at Bellerive Oval two weeks ago and the lack of movement will boost Malinga's chances of inclusion. Vaas was picked at the Gabba because of his swing capabilities and he may have to wait until Sri Lanka face England next month for his 100th Test. It would be brave if the visitors dumped such an experienced performer for a vital game, but they need to have their most potent combination available if they are going to create any Australian cracks. Their tactics in the first Test were conservative and they were beaten easily despite the public mutterings of self-belief. Attacking actions must replace the words on Friday. Peter English is the Australasian editor of Cricinfo ----- nice rubb :hysterical: