Lankan cricketers regaining confidence (31 March 1999)

31 March 1999

Lankan cricketers regaining confidence

Elmo Rodrigopulle

The Sri Lankan cricketers who lost their first two games to Pakistan and India in the Pepsi Cola tri-nation tourney now in progress in India, rallied magnificently to keep their hopes alive of figuring in the final by dumping the Pakistanis in the third game.

When this is being read, the Lankans would have confronted the Indians in a crucial fourth game and heres hoping that they would have beaten the Indians and are alive in the tournament.

To the credit of the Lankans it must be said that they gave a much improved allround display in the game they won against the Pakistanis. The cricketers have been the whipping boys for their lackadaisical approach where their fielding especially had been very poor. They seem to have regained their lost confidence.

But against the Pakistanis they held their catches and would have realised that catches win matches. In this aspect Mahela Jayawardena, Marvan Atapattu and Upul Chandana grabbed some not too easy catches and this catching went to rub off on the other fielders who too responded with good catching.

In the recent past how the Sri Lankan fielding, especially the catching dropped alarmingly cannot be explained. At one time they were the most eye-catching fielding side, which aspect went a long way in helping them to bag one-day cricket's most coveted prize the World Cup.

Anyway one hopes that the Lankans have now got their fielding act together and will continue that way what with the World Cup tournament in England a few weeks away and Sri Lanka having to defend the World Cup.

The vital aspect in fielding is to watch the ball into the hands and not take one's eyes off it till it is safely cupped in the hands.

While congratulating the Lankans on their victory against the Pakistanis which was possible due to a fine allround-team effort, it will not be fair if we do not comment on the outstanding efforts of Mahela Jayawardena who made a century, Upul Chandana who excelled this time with the bat and catching and Pramodya Wickremasinghe for a superb effort with the new ball which broke the back of the Pakistani batting.

It is time that Jayawardena realised that he has the makings of being one of the best batsmen in world cricket. What he has to do is to believe in himself that while he is at the wicket there is no bowler capable of getting him out. He must not play rash strokes and gift his wicket.

I was privileged to watch him make a scintillating century against England in Adelaide when the Lankans were chasing over 300 to win when they had their morale shattered with the unwarranted calling of off spinner Muthiah Muralitharan by the stress struck Ross Emerson. That was an innings that was lapped up by all watching it and which made an impossible victory possible for the Lankans.

Leg spinning allrounder Upul Chandana is continuing to grow in stature with each outing. Continuity is what he requires and if he is given this he will surely turn out into being one of the best allrounders of the game where Sri Lanka cricket is lacking in cricketers of this type.

Although carrying a slim frame, he has immense power coming from his supple wrists and strong forearms and he showed this by smacking three grand sixes which helped add respectability to the Lankan total.

Then his catching too was sure and he kept his cool to comfortably take Wasim Akram's catch at a time when the Pakistani captain was threatening to take the game away with a belligerent innings.

If Chandana is persisted with in the World Cup he has the makings of turning out into being one of best allrounders in the tournament.

Pramodya Wickremasinghe once again rapped his critics on the knuckles with a well controlled and penetrative new ball spell which had the early Pakistani batting in tatters from which spot they failed to recover.

Wickremasinghe must also realise that in addition to his bowling he is also a capable batsman. Although he bats in the tail, he is a more than ordinary batsman and contributions with the bat from him will not only be a bonus but also most welcome.

Source :: Daily News (https://www.lanka.net)