‘We have the wherewithal to pull it off’ says de Mel
The Lankan chief selector Asantha de Mel feels that Sri Lanka has the wherewithal to pull off a finals victory against the West Indies this evening. He says, “Now that we have gathered the momentum, we must continue with it. The whole team has blended into a single unit and is playing with a very good understanding.”
De Mel feels that skipper Mahela Jayawardena is leading the side admirably. “He has been reading the situations admirably and has taken certain gambles which have paid off handsomely. That is the hallmark of a good captain.”
He does not believe that the team is top heavy. “Yes, the three experienced guys are there on the top of the order and they have been building up. But, the middle order also has contributed fittingly with Jeewan Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera and Lahiru Thirimanne playing according to the situations. Ironically I feel that what we are missing at the moment is a big one from Kumar Sangakkara. I know he has been getting the fifteens and the twenties, but a good knock of 50 plus is due from him and I hope that he will come up with it today.
To combat the West Indian batting machine de Mel thinks that the Lankans have the plans. “What we have to do is to get our bowlers to work according to plan. We will have to throttle their run making chances to the maximum and keep looking for even the half chances. With these guys we can’t afford even to miss a half chance.
“Besides that statistically we have the psychological advantage. In 2009 we beat them at the Oval, in England. In 2010 we did the same on their home soil in Barbados. We beat them here in the warm up game and then we also beat them in the Supereight stage. So in the last four occasions that we have met them in the T-20 form of cricket we have beaten them. Then to our advantage we are playing at home in front of our local fans who are very vocal. “Then in a lighter note he added “May be Chris Gayle had his day on Friday and on Sunday it will be ours”.
“Besides the batting our bowlers also have been doing their part very well. In the semi-finals it was a big decision to leave young Akila Dhananjaya, who has been bowling very impressively, out and bring in left-armer Rangana Herath. We brought Rangana in knowing that the Pakistani batsmen don’t play left arm spin very well.”
The Lankan chief selector feels that the Lankans must treat this game as another match without getting overawed by the situation and putting pressure on themselves. “When you put pressure on yourself your faculties do not function cohesively. When asked about the wicket, de Mel said “Unlike the two semi-finals the wicket for the final may be a new one. So we can not depend on that aspect. T-20 cricket is the trickiest form of the game. It is very impulsive, but you cannot afford to make mistakes. If you make even one mistake there is no time to recover”.”
Continuity is another aspect that de Mel believes in. He feels that to build a good unit they must keep playing as a unit. He pointed out that although young Dilshan Munaweera was forced to be left out of the playing eleven, he should not be forgotten. He said, “I have always held the opinion that a player should be given a chance as long as he proves that he has potential. It does not mean that he can fail forever, but as selectors we must keep continuity on track with a purpose. However winning the toss also will have a big say in the final outcome of the game.”
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