Injuries are a let down but we have to move on
It hasn’t been the most convincing performance by the boys in the qualifying round of the T20 World Cup in Australia but the good thing is that we are in the Second Round. T20 cricket is such an unpredictable game and even little mistakes that you make can come back to hurt you. Take a look at the West Indies, two time champions and they are not even in the Super 12s. It was good to see the way we fought back after a shocking start in our first game and I hope the team goes from strength to strength in the second round.Although many had predicted that Sri Lanka are the dark horses, I don’t see them saying the same thing in the lead up to second round. This is mainly because of injuries. What the team needs to do is to stop worrying of all these things and put their best performance. Losing Dushmantha Chameera was the biggest blow as his pace and bounce can be unsettling for batsmen and with the new ball he always claims couple of early wickets.
I remember one tour of Australia when I was captain. We played a practice match at Adelaide Oval against Australia ‘A’ and we lost that game very badly even before the lights came on. Then the CEO of South Australian Cricket Association came and met Dav Whatmore, our coach and me and requested whether we could play an exhibition match. There were some spectators and they didn’t want to disappoint the fans. We didn’t like the idea of an exhibition match. It was embarrassing. But nevertheless we agreed to play another practice game. And we lost that too.
But by the time we went to Sydney for the opening ODI of the series against Ricky Ponting’s side, we wanted to let aside that disappointment. We just did that and played a terrific game and beat them by quite a margin. Everyone was surprised how we turned things around. Nobody gave us a chance against the Australian side after the beating we had against the ‘A’ team, twice in a day. If you believe in yourself, you can turn things around. As captain it was my duty to cheer up the boy and I was over the moon with the way they responded. We had a terrific tour on that occasion. I am sure Dasun is cheering up the boys and we will put up a good show.
In the second round our batting is key. I am glad someone like Kusal Mendis has turned things around and he is batting with more responsibility. He was one bright talent when he came into my cricket academy as a 13-year-old. We were all in awe of his exceptional talent. Now that he has got his temperament right as well he can be a deadly player. I am sure we are going to see lot more match winning knocks from Kusal.
The conditions that we played in Geelong weren’t ideal for batting. But when you move onto established cricket grounds like Hobart, Perth, Sydney and Gabba, the batters will enjoy the conditions. I am looking forward to the exploits of Pathum Nissanka, Dasun Shanaka and Bhanuka Rajapaksa in the Super 12s. Just play your natural game as you have nothing to lose and when you trust your instincts, more often than not things fall in place.
The most worrying factor for me has been the number of injuries that we have carried in this tournament. After just three games, five players to be injured is not a good thing. We need to find out why this keeps happening in big tournaments and need to find remedies.
We will be playing our first game today in Hobart, a ground where we have lots of fond memories. Every time we come to Australia, we are sure to get a game there. I’m sure the boys will love Tasmania and it’s a lovely place. Soon after the Sri Lanka game, I will be also keenly watching the biggest game of the tournament – India versus Pakistan. The atmosphere for this high pressure game has always been tremendous and there have been some superb games over the years.
I am told that within minutes the tickets went out for sale they were sold out. That’s the passion for India versus Pakistan. And mind you MCG is no small ground. It’s a ground that can host 100,000 fans and the atmosphere tomorrow will be electric.