Vital match for India, Sri Lanka today (25 August 1999)

25 August 1999

Vital match for India, Sri Lanka today

Sa'adi Thawfeeq

Sri Lanka will be looking to their injured skipper Sanath Jayasuriya to lead the way with the bat when they meet India in a vital Aiwa Cup tri-nation one-day match at the R. Premadasa Stadium under lights today.

Both teams will be looking for their first points in the tournament after losing their opening games to world champions Australia.

Jayasuriya proved his worth as captain taking five wickets with his left-arm spin and affecting positive field changes in the opening match against Australia at Galle which Sri Lanka lost by 51 runs.

What the left-hander needs to do today is to show more responsibility in his batting and lay a good platform for a match-winning total.

There's no doubt that it was the failure of Sri Lanka's top order batsmen that resulted in their loss to Australia after they had performed magnficently on the field to restrict the world champions to a total of 205 for 9.

Jayasuriya will play despite having two stitches inserted to the web of his right forefinger and thumb after attempting to stop a hot drive by Ricky Ponting. He did not bat at practices yesterday, but team physio Alex Kontouri said that Jayasuriya should be 'okay' and that he will bat with a bandaged hand. The stitches which are holding the injury together are expected to remain till the end of the tournament.

"We will know for sure on the morning of the match when Jayasuriya actually holds a bat. It's a superficial skin injury and it is not a big worry," said Kontouri.

The positive aspects to emerge out of Sunday's game was the batting of debutant Indika de Saram, the bowling of Nuwan Zoysa, and the all-round contributions from Suresh Perera (thigh strain but expected to be fit) and Upul Chandana.

If Sri Lanka are to get the better of the Indians, established players like Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu, Romesh Kaluwitharana and Chaminda Vaas along with Mahela Jayewardene, who is still learning must contribute lavishly.

Russel Arnold replacing Avishka Gunawardana in the openers slot maybe the only change the team will undergo for today.

India on the other hand are also struggling to get their act together.

"Our players looked totally out of touch and they need to adjust very quickly," said Indian coach Anshuman Gaekwad.

"We needed that long lay-off after the World Cup and we had only four-days of training at Chennai before coming here. Our players are certainly rusty and it showed in the match against Australia.

"We didn't bat well and we bowled too short. Overall, it was a poor performance," said Gaekwad.

The intermittent rains have resulted in the two games played in the competition so far failing to go the full distance of 100 overs. With heavy overcast skies there is the likelihood of the Duckworth and Lewis rain rule coming into force in this game as well.

Sri Lanka (from): Sanath Jayasuriya (captain), Russel Arnold (or Avishka Gunawardana), Marvan Atapattu, Mahela Jayawardene, Indika de Saram, Romesh Kaluwitharna, Upul Chandana, Suresh Perera, Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa, Muthiah Muralitharan.

India (from): Sachin Tendulkar (captain), Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Ajay Jadeja, Amay Khurasiya, Robin Singh, Mannava Prasad, Nikhil Chopra, Anil Kumble, Venkatesh Prasad, Javagal Srinath, Laxmi Ratan Shukla.

Umpires: DN Pathirana and Asoka de Silva TV umpire: TH Wijewardene

Australia 2 2 0 0 4 +1.15
Sri Lanka 1 0 1 0 0 -1.04
India 1 0 1 0 0 -1.33

Note: 2 points awarded for a win, 1 point for a tie or no-result.

In the event of teams finishing equal on points the right to play in the final will be decided by the most wins in the preliminary matches or, when teams have both equal wins and equal points, the team which was the winner of the preliminary match (es) (played between them) will be placed in the higher position or, if still equal, the higher net run rate in the preliminary matches.

Highest individual score: 68* - Andrew Symonds, Australia v India at Galle Stadium

Fastest fifty: 47 balls - Andrew Symonds, Australia v India at Galle Stadium

Best bowling: 5/28 - Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka v Australia at Galle Stadium

Highest innings total: 205/9 (43) - Australia v Sri Lanka at Galle Stadium

Lowest innings total: 160 (43) - Sri Lanka v Australia at Galle Stadium

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