The Dav Whatmore column: Deep desire was the key

Sharjah was a very satisfying and pleasing tournament. I was delighted with the team effort and particularly the deep desire that was evident in the players right from the beginning. The fielding was consistently superb, the bowlers bowled as a unit, regularly taking wickets, and the batting, led by Sanath Jayasuriya, was reliable throughout.

The decision to leave early to get sufficient practice, because of the wet weather in Sri Lanka, proved to be a real bonus. We were able to get in four practice sessions, two of which were under lights and therefore had some first hand knowledge of the local conditions.

Crucially, there was a chance to get first hand experience of the dew factor. We thus made precautionary plans, but, in the end, the dew became less of a problem as the tournament progressed. Fortunately we bowled first in the first two games, when the dew was at its worst.

We began the tournament with an excellent bowling performance and, despite a century from Sachin Tendulkar, were able to restrict the Indian side to a modest total. In the end, with the Indians struggling to get to grips with the dew, we won easily thanks to a good fourth wicket partnership between Russel Arnold and Kumar Sangakkara.

Thereafter the team went from strength to strength. When the tournament began India may have been clear favorites, but after the first two games, I thought we took on that mantle and played accordingly.

To me, the key to our victory was the deep desire that was evident in the players. It showed in our batting when we struggled in the first 15 overs. The middle order never wilted and battled hard to produce a competitive total. You could see that the players really wanted to win.

The deep desire could also be seen in the fielding, which was the most impressive aspect of our performance and was consistently excellent throughout the tournament. That pleased me no end because that is the area in which you can really put pressure on your opposition. Other teams showed glimpses of fielding form but none eclipsed our standard. To maintain that intensity over 50 overs in every single match was fantastic and all credit goes to the team

He bowlers deserve great credit for the manner in which they operated as a unit. There may have been two players to get hundreds against us, ironically enough in the first two matches, but as a group they contained, and, crucially, picked up wickets at regular intervals.

Chaminda Vaas, who has been a bit unlucky in recent times, was revelation. He appeared more relaxed in his approach. As a result his rhythm, pace, swing and change of pace was a joy to watch. In the past, Vaas may have been burdened by the pressure of spearheading the fast bowling, but in recent times, Nuwan Zoysa has become a terrific allay. He continued his fine form from Kenya and once again proved difficult to hit because of the awkward bounce that he generates.

The pair was well supported by the likes of Muralitharan, Weeraratne, Jayasuriya and, interestingly, Arnold. Russel has come on leaps and bounds in his bowling. His off-spin has really developed in terms of his guile and the subtle changes in pace. He has reached the stage where we can look to use him much more and then safely use seven batsmen.

Muralitharan was outstanding. Bowlers don't return those sort of figures every day but he always gives himself the chance of achieving them because he doesn't just run in a turn his arm over and hope. When Murali bowls, he is convinced that he is going to get you out. I think that his performance in Sharjah will now encourage him to attack more in one-day cricket.

Enormous credit also goes to Sanath Jayasuriya. He never failed in his batting and contributed in every match. With his fielding he was responsible for running out at least three batsmen and took one magnificent catch that will stay in my memory for a long time - diving full length to his left.

Moreover, his leadership skills are always improving. He is a likable character and has the full respect of the players. Nevertheless, leadership is a lot harder than batting. When you can absorb the extra pressure of leading the side, and still perform with the bat, then you are doing really well. Tactically, he made the right changes at the correct time and set good fields for the bowlers.

His innings in the final ensured us victory. At one stage, when we lost our fourth wicket, we had some anxious moments. However, Russel, who bats in the hardest position in the side at number six, came in and helped turn round the game with Sanath.

I felt the game really shifted in our favour in the 31st over. Sanath hit Robin Singh for six and then took a good single. For the first time the Indian players realised that they could be chasing a large score and you could almost see them begin to fret.

In the last ten overs Sanath went absolutely berserk. He hit short and full deliveries alike to both sides of the ground. He hit the ball with immense power and it was frightening to watch the manner in which he tore apart their attack. All the while, Arnold was quietly working the ball into the gaps and then hitting the occasional boundary. We had batted them out of the game.

To successfully chase 299 was an enormous task. The Indians desperately needed to capitalise on the first 15 overs. However, they lost early wickets and the pressure mounted on each new batsman. They collapsed like a deck of cards and the game became one of the most one sided in history.

Whilst some may belittle the value of such one-day tournaments, I believe that Sharjah represents an important milestone for the Sri Lankan team. It has given us with a good foundation for the future and the players will have grown in confidence. Now we have to start focusing on the South African tour.