JOIN USTriple 'M' factor in Lions' favour
Malinga's knack of churning out yorkers at will, coupled with wily Muralitharan's ability to keep a tight lid on the scoring rates, might tip the scales in Sri Lanka's favour at key times during the Feb 19-April 2 World Cup.
Add to that Mendis and Sri Lanka have a bowling attack that can make life miserable for any batting line-up. “In our bowling attack, we have so much variety. It's important to keep other teams off balance when they are batting and we can achieve that with our attack,” said Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara.
“Having Lasith and Murali in the side is a huge privilege and it takes a lot of pressure off the other bowlers.”
Sri Lanka, the 1996 champions and finalists in 2007, play all but one of their Group A matches on home ground.
The selectors, led by former cricketer Aravinda de Silva, had some hard choices to make and found no place in the squad for De Silva's team-mates from the 1996 side, Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas. “Unfortunately we had to make some very tough decisions concerning some of the newer players like (Suraj) Randiv and some of the older players like Vaasy and Sanath,” Sangakkara said.
“Those were extremely difficult decisions but had to be made to have the right combinations for the World Cup.”
Jayasuriya's place at the top of the order has gone to another left-hander, Upul Tharanga who, with the explosive Tillakaratne Dilshan, forms an attacking opening pair.
Dilshan, the author of the famous scoop shot over the head of the wicketkeeper, has often thrown away his wicket trying to hit almost every delivery for a boundary. On paper, the Sri Lankan lower middle order looks a bit light. Thilan Samaraweera, with an ODI strike-rate of 68.67, and Chamara Kapugedera, who averages a mere 22.85, have failed to dispel doubts about their power-hitting abilities during the late stages of the innings.
“Sri Lanka has built a good team but my only worry is their middle order,” World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga said recently. “We had a strong middle order in 1996 but this team has better bowlers and both Muralitharan and Malinga are match-winners.”
The onus of scoring quick runs during the slog overs will invariably fall on supremely talented all-rounder Angelo Mathews. Mathews, who bowls medium pace and averages more than 35 with the bat at a strike rate of almost 83.07, is deemed to provide the necessary balance in the team.