If it's World Cup, count Lanka in

Place Sri Lanka in a World Cup and they will punch above their weight. Three final appearances, though unsuccessful, in the last four World Cups – two 50-over and two T20 - confirm their love for the grand stage. And hosting one this time in their backyard, they will have that extra motivation to break the final jinx and come up trumps.

That they are playing at home makes them serious contenders for the title. There is probably no other team that uses home conditions as well as Sri Lanka. Even though the wickets aren't as low and slow as they were a few seasons back, when a certain Muttiah Muralitharan would work his magic on them, Sri Lanka could still be the team to beat in home conditions.

Apart from home advantage, the side could also gain from the recently held Sri Lankan Premier League. Apart from some fresh faces it threw up, the team will be in the T20 mode and ready for the challenge.

Besides, the experience and stability will also stand this team in good stead. With skipper Mahela Jayawardene holding the batting together, and the likes of Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan and all-rounders like Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera to follow, the batting looks decent but not without a chink. In between these three and all-rounders, they look a bit short on firepower.

But as in the past, the X-factor of this Lanka side will be their freakish bowlers. While the world knows what Lasith Malinga can do with his slingers and Ajantha Mendis with his mystery balls, the Lankans have picked up another of their ilk, Akila Dhananjaya. The unknown youngster  can reportedly bowl every conceivable ball in a spinner's repertoire. If he turns out as good as he's made out to be, opponents will have one more reason to worry about.

DILSHAN & DILSHAN TO OPEN IN WT20 FOR SRI LANKA

Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardena has hinted few changes in the batting order in an interview with Sri Lankan newspaper - Divaina.

"Probably I will have to bat in the middle order. Dilshan Munaweera is in a great form, so he deserves that opportunity I think. And few other youngsters are also in the team. They need to be settled in their positions."

So according to Mahela, T.M. Dilshan & Dilshan Munaweera will open the innings for Sri Lanka in the World T20 & skipper is ready to give up his position for the sake of team (Country) and youngsters.

Munaweera has been the highest run getter in recently ended SLPL with 212 runs at 35.33. His strike rate of 144.21 is the highest among top 5 run getters. He was the best batsman in Inter-Provincial - 4 day tournament, best batsman & man of the series in U23 - 2 day tournament and best batsman in U23 - One Day tournament.

     

Allrounders provide cushion for Sri Lanka - Jayawardene

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has said a phalanx of allrounders will be his side's biggest strength in the upcoming World Twenty20, because of the balance and flexibility they afford the team. Angelo Mathews and Jeevan Mendis are in Sri Lanka's squad as batting allrounders, while Thisara Perera's forte is with the ball. Nuwan Kulasekara has also batted well in the last eight months in addition to opening the bowling, and opening batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan has contributed reliable offspin as well.

"[The allrounders] give us a lot of options in our team combination, so we can pick more batsmen or more bowlers to suit conditions and opposition, and still have a balanced team," Jayawardene said. "They give me options, because if you have some guys who aren't hitting their stride, I can keep rotating the bowlers and one bowler having an off day won't hurt us. Likewise, if someone who wouldn't be a first-choice bowler is going really well and getting wickets, you can get four really good overs out of him. If your bowlers can bat as well, that gives you the depth in your line-up."

Mathews and Dilshan scored heavily during the recently concluded SLPL, while Perera also struck form with the bat. Mathews' average of 70.33 was the highest in the league among batsmen who had scored more than 100 runs, and his aggregate of 211 put him at second in the top run-scorers' list. Dilshan finished two places behind, having made 195 in one fewer innings.

Jayawardene said the progress of Mathews and Perera had been particularly encouraging, given their performances over the last 18 months. "[Perera] has worked on his bowling and he has seen the results of that in the last year, where he picked up a lot of wickets for us, and there's a lot to like about how he goes about his game. We've all seen what [Mathews] can do as well. He played an amazing knock in the SLPL final, and he's been playing those back-against-the-wall kinds of innings for Sri Lanka in the past, so those two look very promising for us. "

Jayawardene said that despite several players being called upon to contribute in both disciplines, they are each aware of not neglecting their primary skill. "I don't think there will be a problem with that, because everyone knows what they have to do and what their focus is," he said. "We have a unit that has been together for a while, and everyone knows their role in the team."

Sri Lanka made the final in three of the last four limited-overs World Cups, but Jayawardene said his side's inability to convert those chances into titles was not the result of a lack of mental fortitude. "Getting ourselves into the semi-finals and final means that we are doing most of the things right, but perhaps we need to push a little bit more in a big game, like a final, to win it," he said. "I've always said that playing in big tournaments and playing well is a big plus. Yes, we've stumbled in a few finals in the last five years, but I look at it in a positive way and say, 'We're getting there and doing the right thing'."

Sri Lanka have picked 18-year-old spin bowler Akila Dananjaya in their World Twenty20 squad, despite him having played only six professional games in his career, all during the SLPL in August. Jayawardene said the team management was mindful about exposing Dananjaya to international cricket too early, but will not hesitate to play him, should he respond well to being in the international side. "We have to see how he reacts and handles himself around the squad. From what I've seen in the provincial tournament, he doesn't look scared at all. We've got two senior spinners [Rangana Herath and Ajantha Mendis] in the squad who can do the job, but if Akila is up to the task, we will use him."

(c) Crickinfo 

Sri Lanka will be one of the favourites at the upcoming World Twenty20- Sangakkara

Kumar Sangakkara has said that Sri Lanka will be one of the favourites at the upcoming World Twenty20, despite Sri Lanka's pitches having become less spin-friendly. Pitches at Pallekele and Hambantota - stadiums built for last year's World Cup - have suited seam bowling, while the relaid square at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo has also seen bounce and carry in the last year. No team breached 200 in the Sri Lanka Premier League played in Colombo and Pallekele in August and four of the top five wicket takers in the tournament were seam bowlers. 



"Our sides have changed a little bit," Sangakkara said. "We don't depend on spin alone anymore or just one fast bowler in Chaminda Vaas. We have different sets of fast bowlers and different sets of spinners. With the change in conditions our sides have changed, but home advantage is not only about wickets. It's about playing in your country, playing in front of the people who cheer and love you."



Sangakkara said the Premadasa pitch changed after the ground was renovated, and that winning the toss held no obvious advantage as it had once done. Fifteen of the 27 matches in the World Twenty20 will be played at the Premadasa, including both semi finals and the final. 



"When the wickets were relaid, in the first few games there was a lot of turn and now they've settled down into beautiful wickets where batting first or second you have an equal chance of winning. Batting under lights has become so much easier that some sides now prefer to chase," he said. 



The wickets at Pallekele and Hambantota also offer challenges not traditionally associated with Sri Lankan venues, Sangakkara said.

"Pallekele seems to have a lot in it at night. It seams and swings around and that will be an interesting challenge for us being a Sri Lankan side playing in our conditions to encounter those conditions. Hambantota is completely different. There is quite a strong wind from one side and the pitch can be a bit up and down. The vicious turn that [Sri Lankan pitches] used to have is no more, so sides have to adjust accordingly."



Sangakkara said that in addition to a home crowd that will give Sri Lanka "a massive advantage", the team's recent history of good performances at ICC events would also be a source of confidence. Since 2007, Sri Lanka have been runners up in successive World Cups, and were finalists in the 2009 World Twenty20 and semi finalists in the 2010 tournament.

"Sri Lanka have always been favourites in my view in any tournament that we play because we've been able to rise to those big occasions really well as a unit and adjust accordingly. If you take our last 4-5 years, it's been an amazing run in big tournaments. We just need to believe in ourselves and believe in that fact and keep playing."



Sangakkara missed the SLPL due to a fractured finger, but is expected to be fit for the World Twenty20 which starts on September 18. Sri Lanka play Zimbabwe in Hambantota in the tournament opener. South Africa is the other team in their group.

(c) Crickinfo 

PAKISTAN ARRESTS MASTERMIND OF LANKAN TEAM ATTACK

Pakistan on Thursday arrested the head of a banned Sunni extremist group accused of inciting sectarian hatred and masterminding an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in 2009, police said.

Malik Ishaq, leader of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) which is said to have links to al Qaeda, was arrested in the eastern city of Lahore after his return from a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, police spokeswoman Nabila Ghazanfar said.

“I can confirm his arrest,” she said, adding that Ishaq will be produced in a local court on Friday.

Police had registered a case against him after his “provocative speech to spread sectarian hatred” at a religious gathering in Lahore earlier this month, police official Liaquat Ali said.

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, regarded as Pakistan’s fiercest Sunni extremist group, was banned more than a decade ago by former president Gen Pervez Musharraf.

It is accused of killing hundreds of minority Shia Muslims after its emergence in the early 1990s.

Ishaq was arrested in 1997 and is implicated in dozens of cases, mostly murder. He was released on bail in July last year after serving a jail term of nearly 14 years.

Since his release he had been frequently put under house arrest as his sermons raised sectarian tensions, officials said.

Ishaq was also accused of masterminding, from behind bars, the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, which wounded seven players and an assistant coach, and killed eight Pakistanis.

The attacks saw Pakistan stripped of its right to co-host last year’s cricket World Cup. - AFP

SLPL has given Lanka edge ahead of T20 WC: Malinga

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka pacer Lasith Malinga feels that his side will have a distinct advantage over other countries during next month's Twenty20 World Cup as most of the island nation's players have prepared well by competing in the Sri Lanka Premier League.

"SLPL is a good preparation for the Twenty20 World Cup. All the Sri Lankan players know the conditions very well and we have a chance to win the Twenty20 World Cup," Malinga, who captained Ruhuna Royals in the SLPL, told reporters after his side's match against Wayamba United.

"It is advantage for us and we are ready for the Twenty20 World Cup," he added.

Ruhuna crashed out of the SLPL after losing to table toppers Wayamba by 12 runs and Malinga said that his players were their best as many youngsters have are not used to such T20 leagues.

"It's the first year of SLPL and the local players are yet to adjust to T20 leagues. They don't know how to play T20 cricket. They will learn and get better in future. It's a good thing for Sri Lanka," he said.

Malinga was not satisfied with his own performance in the SLPL but said that he hoped to do well in the Twenty20 World Cup.

"Definitely, my performance was not up to the mark. But I am hoping that I will do well in the Twenty20 World Cup," said Malinga who took seven wickets from six matches.

Malinga's side lost four matches out of the six in the league phase of SLPL to end the tournament at fifth spot.

Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene also backed Malinga's views.

"In a way it was a good preparation but I was a bit worried that injuries might happen to the players just so near the Twenty20 World Cup.

"We had some injuries to players but fortunately they will be OK for the T20 World Cup. In all, there were more positives from the SLPL than the negatives," he said.

Malinga Toe Crushers :)

Malinga the mascot for T20 World Cup

With his distinctive hairstyles and sling-shot bowling action Lasith Malinga is one of the most marketable cricketers in Sri Lanka. Add to that his success in the Twenty20 format – he's third in the all-time list of T20 wicket-takers and has just come off a successful IPL season – and it's a no-brainer that the ICC has made him the event ambassador for the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka this September. “Lasith is a special player and one of the most recognisable cricketers in the world. Whenever he runs in to bowl with his distinctive action there is a thrill in the game,” it said.

Malinga’s rise to stardom from a fishing village has made him a role model for several young cricketers – more so in a cricketing culture that, like the Twenty20 format, embraces unorthodoxy. As the face of the tournament, he'll be a popular choice – just don't ask the batsmen!