Sri Lanka scored a major victory when they entered the final of the Commonwealth Bank Series Tri Nation cricket tournament here edging out world champions India but their battle is far from over as injury worries have cropped up to bother the rejuvenated Sri Lankans just as they entered the final against Australia.
 Having been devastated by off the field controversies and a string of poor performances for nearly an year, Sri Lanka had been given very few chance of performing well in the tournament, but completed a stunning turnaround under the inspirational leadership of Mahela Jaywardene when they finished the group stage of the tournament at the top of the points table above strong Australia and India teams defying all odds in sensational style.
But the price they had to pay for it was heavy as all three all-rounders of the side who have been performing key roles with both bat and ball were hit by injuries before the important best of three finals which are to be finished within a mere four days from today.
Thisara Perera who sprained his back on Friday in their key match against Australia has already flown home from Australia as he had been ruled for at least a week by the doctors last morning while his replacement Chamara Kapugedara arrived in Brisbane yesterday.
Farveez Maharoof who missed the game on Friday due to a back injury he sustained in last Tuesday’s match has recovered satisfactorily and is likely to be in the starting XI today, while vice captain Angelo Mathews who suffered a calf strain in Friday’s match has also recovered significantly to claim a possible place in today’s team.
“Maharoof and Mathews seem to have recovered enough to be able to play tomorrow, but Mathews will only be playing as a batsman even if he is picked. This is my personal view. Anyway the final call will be taken after a further assessment of their fitness tomorrow morning,” said team manager Charith Senanayake.
Senanayake also said that Kapugedara might not be considered for today’s match as he has just arrived in Australia but added that the decision on the final XI will only be taken today after a team discussion.
Sri Lanka will have a huge struggle to strike a balance in the team as their all-rounders are fighting to regain fitness. The inability of Mathews to bowl today means they will require an extra bowler while his ability to bat would mean no change in the batting line up till number six.
Mahela Jayawardene who has been lauded heavily in Australia for his excellent captaincy which was a remarkable factor in Sri Lanka’s fortunes on field, acknowledged the task ahead was no easy one.
“We played some really good cricket and we just need to continue to do that, but it is a best of three finals and I am sure the Australians will come really hard at us,” said Jayawardene.
“We just need to play the brand of cricket we have been playing and try and improve on that,” he added.
Jayawardene also revealed yesterday his theory on how to confront the home team in the finals.
“We know it will be tough to beat Australia in the finals but we will go in confidently because we have beaten them in the past three matches. To beat Australia you have to compete with them. You need to fight with them for each and every run, each and every wicket,” Jayawardene wrote in a website yesterday.
“That's what we have been doing and we have handled some situations better than them. We haven't let them take the game away from us. It's very important when you play Australia that you don't let them loose. You have to keep at them all the time” explained Jayawardene.
Jayawardene felt the three consecutives wins Sri Lanka posted over Australia, coming into the finals was a morale booster but knew Aussies could not have lost heart by it as all three matches were close affairs.
“I think they will still be confident because the matches have been closely fought. They haven't been big wins for us. In any format, the start is very important - that's when the platform is built. We've managed to keep Australia's openers quiet so far and hopefully we can do that in the finals as well. We have kept our plans to their openers nice and simple - bowling straight and adapting well to different surfaces” Jayawardene stated.
Shane Watson who captained Australia in the match on Friday felt the Brisbane wicket where Sri Lanka have never beaten Australia in a ODI in history will give them the edge with its pace and bounce.
"I think that playing on the Gabba will be a big advantage for us with the pace and the bounce that is there," Watson said.
However he was quick to point out the downside of it as his opposition has in their ranks the world’s most feared pace bowler. "Playing against Sri Lanka, we know how important Malinga is," he said. "If he performs well, they will go very close to winning the game."
Jayawardene also noted the importance of the lethal and unorthodox slinger who is now the tournament’s highest wicket taker. “He is a class act and I have got a lot of confidence in him,” Jayawardene said.
'That day (in Hobart) wasn't great, but today he came back strongly and that is the beauty of the game,” Jayawardene said adding: “He doesn't leave anything out there, he gives everything and I can't praise Lasith enough”.
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