JOHANNESBURG, 14 March 2003 — Sanath Jayasuriya’s Sri Lanka face an agonizing wait till today evening to know if their World Cup campaign is still alive. All they can do till then is pray — for India’s success. Sri Lanka’s only hope of staying in contention for the semifinals is if India continue their good form and crush New Zealand in their last Super Six game at Centurion today.
If the Kiwis win, the Sri Lankans may as well not take the field against Zimbabwe in East London tomorrow. For Stephen Fleming’s men would already have taken the fourth and last semifinal spot after Australia, India and Kenya.
Sri Lanka’s agony is both of their own making and Kenya’s surprise entry into the last four after defeating Zimbabwe by seven wickets at Bloemfontein on Wednesday.
“There is little we can do, but wait and see how our luck holds,” Sri Lankan coach Dav Whatmore said. “We’ll obviously have an eye — probably both eyes — on the India game today, but there’s no question we also have to train for the game the next day. It’s the last throw of the dice, isn’t it....then we’ve just got to then win tomorrow and get through to the semis,” he said.
If India oust the Kiwis, Sri Lanka will have to beat Zimbabwe to qualify for the semifinal against reigning champions Australia at Port Elizabeth on Tuesday.
Whatever the outcome, skipper Jayasuriya knows he will have to play the rest of the tournament with a broken thumb, the legacy of a Brett Lee special last week. “Sanath’s forearm is not a problem but the left thumb is broken right at the tip and he will only fully recover after the World Cup,” said team physiotherapist Alex Kontouri.
“He is taking mild pain killers but can manage the pain for the time being.”
To add to Sri Lanka’s woes, Jayasuriya was also suffering from a bout of tonsillitis and did not train at the Buffalo Park yesterday.
But the inspirational captain is expected to be fit for tomorrow’s game, Kontouri said. Batsman Hashan Tillakaratne will also be available after missing the 183-run defeat against India on Monday. But it may already be too late for Sri Lanka after they lost to Kenya in the preliminary league and went down in both Super Sixes games to Australia and India.
