Australia’s ouster from the T20 World Cup has delighted the Englishmen who in the Ashes year are hoping that it will make a dent in the confidence of the tourists.
The Australians have not yet mastered this ultra quick format of the game and so haven’t managed to get the combination of their playing XI right. Their speed bowlers have conceded runs and as has been the problem with all teams, the wides have been simply too many to get away with.
The Lankans were playing a big game for the first time after the horrific day in Lahore and so could be forgiven for being a bit tentative. That their arrival at the ground was delayed because of a demonstration against them which saw them reach the ground just minutes before the toss would also have been disturbing but they kept their composure and went on to win the game.
They have some experienced heads in Sangakkara and Jayawardene and in Muralitharan they not only have the world’s greatest spinner but also a real character who keeps the team and dressing room buzzing with his non-stop jokes and chatter. They would have needed all that as they took on a formidable team like Australia. Eventually it was the calm Sangakarra who got them through and added to the joy of not only the huge Sri Lankan fans present but also the Englishmen.
While the Australians will stay on for the Ashes, the Bangladeshis will be on the plane home after a disappointing performance against Ireland. India played better cricket than Bangladesh so it was understandable to lose to them but the shots seen in the first few overs against Ireland made one wonder if the Bangladeshis thought that it was a five-over game. Against inexperienced sides like Ireland the pressure has to be put by making the asking rate look impossible but when you ask a team to score at less than 7 runs an over in this format then its hardly a challenge.
What that has done is to make the West Indies-Sri Lanka game and India-Ireland games academic in nature. All four teams are through to the next stage so can use the games for resting some players with niggles and experimenting a bit with the batting order and bowling combination too. Players like Raina who hardly got to bat in the first game could be promoted up the order and R. P. Singh and Praveen Kumar could get a look in.
The best part is that knowing that the teams have gone through to the next round the supporters too can watch without any tension and simply enjoy the game.
