Mahela not taking Zimbabwe lightly

Grameenphone Test Series, Bangladesh-Srilanka
Mahela not taking Zimbabwe lightly
Sports Reporter
“If anything goes wrong against Zimbabwe, you guys will have a lot to write about,” joked Mahela Jayawardene yesterday.
It would be a surprise to hear the Sri Lankan captain speak in such a cynical manner ahead of their match against lowly Zimbabwe in the Grameenphone Tri-nation Cup match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur today.
One can assume the eleventh-ranked team’s recent fight against the Lankans that prompted such a reaction. Even though the Lankans whitewashed the hosts 5-0, Zimbabwe pushed them in the last two one-dayers last November in Harare.
But all Jayawardene explained was the differences in pressure that a team has to take at international level.
“When Bangladesh play against us, they have no pressure but they are in a must-win situation against Zimbabwe. One shouldn’t be shocked since this is a game of cricket but credit must go to Zimbabwe,” said Jayawardene who added that this Bangladesh side is far more improved than a decade ago.
The Sri Lankan one-day side was at practice in the Mirpur indoor facilities when the Bangladesh-Zimbabwe game was going on and the captain said that he did find some time to watch. “We were practicing most of the time but I did see a little bit of the match,” added Jayawardene.
The Tigers’ 38-run loss in the opening match has somewhat taken the sheen off the tri-series and it was quite evident in the Mirpur venue. The sour mood was prevalent across the several groundsmen, security and even the helping hands to the international teams. The Sri Lankan captain has the luxury of heading a team that has great balance between young and the very experienced. On one hand there are men like Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralidaran, Jayawardene himself and Kumar Sangakkara who have done it all in international cricket while the likes of Upul Tharanga, Nuwan Kulasekera, Ajantha Mendis add vitality to the line-up.
One look at their bowling options and one can realise that the think-tank have a tough choice to make when picking three fast men on the grassy Mirpur surface.
“It must be hard for someone like (Farveez) Maharoof because he was probably the best bowler in the world only last year but he lost his place after he took a break due to injury,” said Jayawardene who added that all their bowlers deserved their spot and were doing well enough to keep Chaminda Vaas out of the team. “You can’t actually call them youngsters because they are knocking on the door. Yes we are introducing some of the batsmen but they have all scored some runs recently in domestic cricket,” added the stylish right-hander.
But Jayawardene said that Sri Lanka would not make the mistake of underestimating their opponents for today.
“We have always been careful and we will give them due respect and play accordingly. We do not underestimate any opponent,” said Jayawardene.
His Zimbabwean counterpart Prosper Utseya wanted to carry over the good form his side has shown in their win against Bangladesh.
“We played positive cricket against Bangladesh and we want to play same way against Sri Lanka,” said the off-spinner who took the bold step of opening the bowling on a turning wicket on Saturday.
“We must convert the half chances into full if we want to win. We should make sure that we are consistent,” planned Utseya who added that his side hold little fear against the deadly duo of Muralidaran and Mendis.
 
Courtesy: thedailystar.net