Jayasuriya looking for early upset against Aussies

Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya is confident that his side can upset Australia in their first Super Six match at Centurion on Friday and book an early berth in the World Cup semi-finals.

"We need to pull off one of the big games either against Australia or against India to make it more easier for us before we come up against Zimbabwe. We are taking it one by one," said Jayasuriya after the team's morning practice.

"Australia and India are two of the strongest teams and we'll have to play very good cricket to beat them. We need to get on top of them early.

"If you go down in the game, you cannot come out on top of these teams. They are very good in both departments batting and bowling. If you are batting, in the first few hours you have to put some runs on the board, and when you bowl, you have to bowl well to tie them down," he said.

"If our batsmen can show the same form they had shown against West Indies and South Africa, we will be able to put up a good total for our bowlers.

"We have been working really hard at our cricket after losing to Kenya. We had to win the last two games against West Indies and South Africa and on both occasions we did really well. I am very happy the way things are at the moment, but there is a lot of hard work ahead of us."

A big bonus is the form shown by veteran Aravinda de Silva.

The 37-year-old, the architect of Sri Lanka's 1996 triumph, has struck form at the right time scoring a scintillating 73 and taking two crucial wickets against South Africa.

"Aravinda's presence in the team is a big factor and serves a lot of purpose. He can bat and also bowl. He is in the runs at the moment and it is a huge advantage for the team. He is an experienced campaigner and his presence on the field is helpful to me. When things aren't going right he can tell me a few things and put us in the right direction," said Jayasuriya.

Sri Lanka's problems lie with the poor batting form of Mahela Jayawardene and the inability of the other seamers to support strike bowler Chaminda Vaas. Jayawardene has yet to get into double figures in the tournament, accumulating just16 runs (avg. 4.00) with a top score of nine.

"We pushed him up the order in the last match to enable him to get some runs, but he failed. He is too good a player to be dropped," said Jayasuriya.

"Mahela has a lot of potential and we still have faith in him. He is a player who can change a match with his batting. Unfortunately, he is not in the runs. But he is too good a cricketer to keep failing for a long time.

"Any batsman who goes through a bad patch like Mahela will think of so many things. I went through a similar period in the first few games in Australia. I think you have to be simple and only think of the basics. Mahela should play his natural game and not think of anything else. He is in a shell at the moment and he has to come out of it very quickly," he said.

Apart from Jayawardene, wicket-keeper/batsman Kumar Sangakkara is also short of runs making just 52 from five innings (av. 13.00) and a top score of 24.

He said that Pulasthi Gunaratne and Dilhara Fernando were struggling as Vaas' support bowlers.

"Pulasthi is coming out of an hand injury and Dilhara is not hitting the right areas. They are working hard at their game," said Jayasuriya.

"At Dilhara's pace he is unable to sometimes control the line and length. What we want him to do is to get us some wickets. If he can get one or two early wickets, that's what matters," he said.

One thing that will be to Sri Lanka's advantage is the absence of fast bowler Jason Gillespie who was forced to return home after straining a tendon in his heel. He has been replaced in the squad by left-armer Nathan Bracken.

"I think it will be a big loss for Australia, Gillespie not being there. He is one of their best bowlers. It is an advantage for us that he is not there," said Jayasuriya.