Sri Lanka showed Ireland who the boss was with a display that would have also rung alarm bells for New Zealand, whom they clash with next week for a place in the final of the 2007 World Cup. After beating Pakistan in their group match and Bangladesh in the Super 8 encounter, Ireland may have thought that sub-continental teams are easy meat, but the Lankans demonstrated to them that they are temperamentally far stronger than the other sub-continental teams.
The Irish team has shown a lot of spark in this event, but the clobbering that they have got from the teams that have qualified for the semifinals will have no doubt conveyed the message that they still have a long way to go. Still, it is exciting to see a non-regular one-day team playing with this refreshing eagerness, and it reemphasizes the point that it is only regular match-play that will help them grow and get better. The Irish team also has plenty of youngsters unlike the other minnows, who had players over 40 or nearing that age, rather than youngsters who would take this participation experience and use it to develop the game in their countries. India plays three one-day matches against South Africa in Ireland in June, and if both teams go earlier and play a couple of warm-ups against Ireland, it will certainly boost the game there.
The Sri Lankans certainly did not want to waste too much time, and though Malinga was still not picked, the attack, with Vaas and Muralitharan back in the side, looked far more menacing than in the previous game against the Australians. What Vaas and Murali bring to the table, apart from their undoubted skills, is experience, and though Vaas was not among the wickets, he did not give anything away. Murali was just too good for the Irish, who had little idea of what was coming at them. Maharoof picking four wickets will have given the Sri Lankan team’s think tank a pleasant headache, as to who to pick for the semifinal. Malinga will be back for sure, and with Fernando having kept his nerve in the tight last over against England, the fight for the third seamer’s spot may well be between him and Maharoof. The latter, who is a handy bat and definitely a better fielder, may well get the nod ahead of the quicker Fernando.
This is the kind of dilemma selectors love to have, but don’t often get. The other problem area for Sri Lanka is the form of Upul Tharanga. He has a good one-day record, but in this tournament, he has found ways of getting out even to bad balls. The experienced Marvan Atapattu is in the reserves, and has not played a single game. It is unlikely, with just two matches left, that the Lankans will bring in the former skipper. If anything, they had a chance to get him some match-practice by playing him against Ireland and resting Sanath Jayasuriya. Perhaps they did not want the same pleasant headache for their batting line-up that they have for the new ball. The skipper Jayawardene has batted well in the last couple of games, but the lack of runs from Tharanga and Sangakkara will be a worry, as they prepare to tackle the in-form Kiwis in the semifinal next week.
