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Keep it up boy’s
It made us all feel proud to be Lankans. They amply proved that they have the necessary grit in them which is a very vital ingredient in big time cricket.
This type of fire sprouting out of the amber generally comes from the mighty Australians. This has made them great. Their chips may seem to be down with the so called run machines back in the deck. But there is always a Martyn, a Langer or a Symonds who comes out and does the rescue act to see them out of trouble.

Likewise at Dambulla it was a refreshing sight. All in all there was a show of professionalism. In the first game it was the elder statesman of Sri Lanka cricket Sanath Jayasuriya who braved his way in spite of an injured shoulder to guide the tail and run home. In real terms one thought that the time is ripe for Jayasuriya to do a Clive Lloyd and come down in the order so that he being the most feared in the Lankan line up can keep the opposition under stress a little longer and at the same time give more inspiration to the lower order batsmen.

Then twice it was Upul Chandana who made full use of his stint in the English county circuit and gave that extra sparkle to the lower order. In the game against the West Indies he along with Russel Arnold moved the score from a tentative 6 for 205 to a controllable 241 for 6. At the end the Windies too reached 191 after losing five of their top order batsmen cheaply. Then in the very next game he was there once again. Once again when Sri Lanka had lost their top order leaving out a struggling Mahela Jayawardena at 95 for 6. But, once Mahela saw the ease with which Chandana was batting at the other end, he broke his shackles, came out into the open and the rest was history.
If the Lankan batting grit came from the top drawer the bowling too could be explained to be on the same lines. In all three games they did not have the services of the experienced duo Chaminda Vaas and Sanath Jayasuriya who generally account for twenty well controlled overs.

Thereafter in the third game against India they had to fill the gap for thirty overs as the puppeteers decided to also rest champion spinner Muralitharan. But, the young guns stuck to their task. It was a refreshing sight to watch youngsters Mahroof and Lokuhettige getting into the shoes of Vaas and Zoysa and bowling as if they had been performing in big time cricket all their lives. Their bowling corridor was more than impressive and they did not hesitate to hit that seam on the deck and extract that little extra life out of the dead Dambullla wicket.

In the spin department, especially in the game that Murali did not take part, while Chandana went on with his business as usual, Tillekeratne Dilshan came with his tot of extra special and covered the void of the master more than sufficiently.

The only area seemingly was not on par was the fielding. However it was a grand show of a team that has matured. But even if it is a hackneyed cliché it must be said yet again. One swallow does not make a summer. It’s time that we converted Lankan cricket into this mould and keep on performing at this level. It’s only then that you can instill genuine fear into any opposing team however strong they are. This advice goes especially to the emerging duo in Sri Lanka cricket --- Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena who are fast becoming the next combination like Arjuna and-Aravinda who held the backbone of Sri Lanka cricket for about two decades. These two must understand that they will be responsible for Sri Lanka’s fortunes in the future and their consistency will be of the utmost importance.

The only disappointment in the whole episode was young opener Upul Tharanga. On both occasions he opened he gave a very brief glimpse of a classy entertainer, but poor shot selection early in his inning brought forth his demise. However he is worth another try.

True Arnold has forced his way back into contention. That alone proves that he is a fighter. But once he comes into big time what he has to do is believe in himself. He does possess the class that needs to be up there, but, if he fails to believe in himself he is not going to remain there for too long.

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