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Who can forget Vaas's return catch to dismiss Robin Uthappa? Young Uthappa decided to go after the slow-bowling ancient, whacked him for a couple of fours and then swatted another ball (that flat-batted straight hit that modern batting brutes so favour) only to have Vaas catch it with both hands on his follow through. Exit, bewildered youth, sent on his way with a few instructions.

If Vaas favours the cold steely look, Muralitharan is the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi of modern cricket: like the giggling guru, he just never stops grinning. Watching him frolic with delight after taking catches in the outfield as the Sri Lankans picked off long-faced Indian batsmen, I wondered why Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar and the rest didn't smile more. Why did they always look like oppressed Atlases holding up a billion people?

And then there's Jayasuriya: he has held Sri Lanka's batting together for a decade now and he has bowled more balls in one-day cricket than most specialist bowlers. But does he go around looking as if he's in the trough end of a manic-depressive cycle? No. He gets hit by Shane Bond (consensually the most fearsome fast bowler on view in this tournament) and then takes the Kiwi attack apart in trademark fashion. I look at him and think, if he can carry on batting exactly the way he has always done at the top of the order, why is Tendulkar batting like a barnacle at number four?

Nor do the young ones show any sign of being mass-produced mediocrities: as an Indian fan I've seen a lot of those in the last two years. Lasith Malinga's so wonderfully strange they should freeze him in his delivery stride and suspend him in formaldehyde for posterity. Chamara Silva is the kind of young batsman Team India would die for. Even the middling Sri Lankans, neither young nor old, are remarkable. Sangakkara is on the brink of batting greatness, he's a fine wicket keeper and he talks such a good game that most countries would have fast-tracked him into captaincy by now. Dilhara Fernando, after years of waywardness is bowling fast and straight again.

They won this one without Malinga, but they'll need him against the Australians. I'll be rooting for the Sri Lankans to win for many reasons and one of them is that Sri Lanka is the only team on show that brings the variety of Test match bowling to limited overs cricket: medium, fast-medium, fast, plus left-arm orthodox and right arm off spin, absurdly unorthodox! Blond highlights, round-arm thunderbolts, leg-spinning off-spinners, deadly old men: weird and wonderful is what they are—it's why we love them.

It is true that the Sri Lankans appear to possess a constant and refreshing enjoyment of cricket - one that seems to be sadly lacking in many of todays cricketers. Their verve and variety will take them a long way in this world cup, but, unfortunately, this enthusiasm doesn't always translate into wins on the board.

I can only hope that they do not face Australia in the semis and get into the final, as the interest would skyrocket if the Sri Lankans were to make it all the way. Asia is, for the most part, behind the Lankans.

Having said that, GO AUSTRALIA

Cannot but agree with Mukul more! There is that freshness, childlike enthusiasm as well as feeling of oneness among the team. Mood(y)'s (namesake) on the cricket field and in the dressing room seems upbeat. I also think the Mahela, Kumar,coaching and support staff combination seems right on course. Come to think of it that Marvan, Malinga Bandara & Nuwan have a fully paid holiday! The Lankans remind us of the West Indiesu of yore under Super cat Clive H Llyold!

If Sri Lanka with a population of 20 million can produce a quality cricket team, there is no reason why every state of India cannot do the same. Yes, I am not talking about single Indian team, but every state - Karnataka, TN, Maharashtra etc with populations 2-4 times that of SL should be producing such teams. After all, these states are no worse than SL in economic parameters or in level of interest in cricket and we are no different genetically/racially either. So why doesn't it happen? Simply because of this stupid nationality based format which allows a Test team for a tiny country like SL but also limits a huge nation like India to one team. So since the requirement is to produce just one team out of a billion population the system has geared itself to produce just one team out of this huge amount of raw material we have. Change the requirement to produce twenty teams instead of one and each state will be turning out a team like that of SL or the current Indian team.

Just goes to show ICC's stupidity - they constrain a huge cricket crazy nation of one billion into producing just one team and then go around desperately trying to create teams in places like Netherlands, Canada, what have you.

Hehe..I don't see how the comparison with the Windies of the 80s is warranted, but I agree on the rest of the counts.

The only thing I want now is for SL to develop some big hitters at the depth. Chamara Silva for all his shades of Aravinda de Silva doesn't possess the big hits. Nor does Dilshan and Arnold.

If we had that - and I hope Moody or the next coach put that as priority after the world cup - then this is just the start.

Happiness in their faces win matches for them, don't really know why they look so happy.

Very good article by Mukul once again. Indeed Sri Lankan team seams to enjoy the game which most sides may be except Australia does not. Also it helps to have probably the best bowling line up inthis world cup so far and 3 great batsmen in Jayasuriya,Sangakkara and Jayawardena. As a Sri Lankan and as an Asian lets hope Sri Lanka continues this way and bring the world cup back to Asia after 11 years. Proud to be a Sri Lankan!!!

THEY ARE GOING FOR IT. ONLY PROBLEM LIES WITH LOWER MIDDLE ORDER. NOT ENOUGH HITTERS THERE. OTHERWISE THEY CAN BEAT AUSSIES.

Mohan,

Your argument is utterly nonsensical. It's not the ICC's fault at all. Do you know what having 20 good teams in one country is called? Its called having a good domestic competition! If India could even manage to muster up 20 good domestic teams then they could pick a super 11 from those 20 teams to represent india. Pffft - the idea of having more than one national team when india doesn't even have a legitimate domestic competition - are u insane?

Please excuse me for straying away from the topic of the day. I want to use your channel to express my view on the selection of the player of the match yesterday.
I want to commend and congratulate the adjudicators for awarding it to Chaminda Vaz. There must have been a huge temptation to award it to Styris for his century. Being from the old school I believe that this award is to recognise the achievements of a sportsman on the day. My emphasis is on the word sportsman and sadly though today, sportsmanship is lacking in this great game of ours. Styris should have walked when he was caught behind trying to paddle sweep the ball to fine leg. Well, I can also accept other opinions that say it is ok to go by the umpires decision (and take advantage of the human aspects of an umpire) but then to turn around and also 'question' why it was not called a wide was really taking sportsmanship to its lowest brink! I am assuming that this was an element that the adjudicators took in to account in awarding it to Chaminda Vaz,acknowledging wholeheartedly that Chaminda Vaz deserved it for his excellent performance. If what I have assumed is correct, through this channel I would like to say 'good on you adjudicators - well done'

What a piece! Your homage to the Sri Lankan team is as joyful to read as they are to watch, and as humourful as the brand of cricket they bring to the world stage. We all know Murali can be an absolute riot and so can Malinga - both so unconventional and unorthodox. Even their captain has been known to display an impish sense of joy on the field. They are a talent-fuelled, joyous brigade led by one to the manner born. For these reasons, I am beginning to think they might even pull it off against the Aussies but would first like to see more metal displayed by the middle order. Should they pull it off however... will it then be the dethronement of disintegration of mind as THE mantra for cricketing success and the enthronement of joie de vivre from the heart? Would be interesting to watch.

Making an example out of them for the Indians though is perhaps a bit unfair to the Indian players. The latter were clearly under different pressures, socio-cultural in origin (i.e. mass expectations, Greg Chappell's cricketing ethos etc). Should the Indian players have comprised the Sri Lankan team, they would probably have not got bundled out of the World Cup. They probably might even win the World Cup.

Great piece on the whole, Mukul.

the difference between the aussies and the sri lankans the joy that they bring onto the field! the glum looked priority focused aussies are gonna gonna be beaten by the antics of the sri lankans!!! they bring so much more colour into the game not jus with their cricket bt with their celebrations as well!!!

WOW Mukul, wat a piece of article. You have written article thinkin SL has already won the world cup. Seems martian forecast coming true. Okay SL are good team, they play SriLankan brand of cricket (What s tht any one knows ? ) and all good things they bring to cricket (fast bowler bowling slow), but comparing them to WI of 1980s is ridiculous and totally hillarious. could u pls list out the achievements of this SL team and compare them to WI team of 80s ? Any comparisons ? They were world beaters, this team has won a few games , they had aggressive batsmen who would hunt you on any day, frightening pace battery to unsettle your nerves when they would start their run up to the poor batsmen, a superb skipper in Clive Lloyd and a master master blaster blaster in King Richards ? Compare them to this Lankans ? Pale. Yes only Muralidharan could find himself in tht team to finish off the spinners slot, but then they dint need any spinner to do the job.

Mukul your support for Lanka is appreciable and you are entitled to do so, but in the process you are going for overdose and minty sweetness of this team, which obviously is not. You have bashed Indians for their exit, you have bashed other teams too for your support of Lanka. Thats very unfair.

And how do smiling and being happy is related to winning most games ? Now you should not caste silly reasons for your support to Lanka. How can you compare India team to Lanka team ? India had one off day and they paid the price. Lanka had luck on their side they got away with some tight games, no doubt they played well against NZ and WI. Slow down Mukul in your childish enthusiasm.

I would have wondered if you had written the same thing about Lanka, had India been too in the SUper 8 s and were winning as they did 4 years back.

Yep that was a very entertaining peice to read coz it is so true. The simplicity of the Lankan team is wonderful to watch because you know they put their heart and soul into it..there is just something extra special about the lankans at this world cup.
The Australians are over competetive and i guess it's workin for them coz they are the world's best atm...but i must say they arn't a likable team and just suck the joy out of the game for me!
None the less may the best team win but here's to the SL team...hope they win coz i reckon they ARE the best!

I have to disagree with Mohan on the basis that it will be unfair to all other nations in the world if teams like India and Pakistan can have multiple teams. That would give them more of a chance of winning.

I can remember a series here in Australia where they trialled having Australia A as part of the world series (which is now the tri-series). The 2 teams in the final were Australia and Australia A.

I think if India and Pakistan have so many people to chose from, then they should be able to chose the best 11 from that. If you have 1 billion people that are potential cricketers, then all the state teams and club teams should produce a great amount of players. I think Cricket India, and Cricket Pakistan should create a format where the best players are chosen from all over the country, and then sorted into a elite league. From there, they can have tournaments and competitions, and have the best 15-20 players chosen on their squads.

Just a thought though.

But as a Sri Lankan, I am glad to see our boys doing well. It has taken a while for the world to stand up and realise that we are genuine contenders, and I think we have the form to beat the Aussies in the final should we progress that far.

Go the Mighty Lion!

Cricket itself has been mass-produced in a twisted effort to force it down the throat of populations that don't really care for it. In the process, the soul & essence of cricket has been lost.

Main culprits of this effort of course -- the ICC and BCCI. How can you expect any sort of emotional enthusiasm to prevail when the interest of the authorities is the protect the commercial interests? Threats of rival leagues? I'm not against commercialization, but you have to understand what the priorities are.

Perhaps the relative small population of 20m in SL is a blessing in disguise, letting the sport thrive with minimal commercial interference.

It is so nice to see all these good comments about the Sri Lanka team. If they make it to the finals (which looks quite possible), positive that they will beat Aussies and bring home the World Cup after 11 years.

One word about Chaminda Vas who is always underestimated and hardly talked about. In world cup matches, he is presently the third in the list of highest wicket takers. Only Mcgrath and Akram are ahead of him and mainly because they have played more matches. His average, economy and strike rates are almost par with Mcgrath and better than Akram. Positive that he will go past Akram before the end of the tournament.

A real gentleman who does his business without any fuss. You hardly see them around these days.

yes I fully agree.They are a joy to watch even if you are not a srilankan.The whole credit goes to 2 men Arjuna Ranatunga&Arvinda de silva.They have seen ups & downs of Lankan cricket and its their contribution by winning the world cup have done wonders for grassroot cricket in lanka.Of course we cant forget jayasurya & murali for maintaining the high standards.

Chris, first of all, cool down. Domestic teams - there is no demand for that. When there is this higher level "national" team called India playing cricket all round the year, no one wants to see domestic teams and hence there is no incentive to improve them. But give them test status and instead of one single Indian team playing tests and odi's let the Karnataka and Maharashatra's start playing and obviously they will start producing teams of the quality of Sri Lanka or the current Indian team. Sure, they won't still be Australia or the old Windies. We don't have the raw material/conditions for producing fast bowlers of that quality. But what we do have is abundant raw material for producing another 20 Indian teams.

Mukul, being from the Pakistan, the one thing that I admire most about SL cricket is the professionalism in the selection of the team. Take any new player, be it the opener, fast bowler or middle order you can sense the MARIT from the very first match the youngster is playing and then the way they groom these talents under the experienced ones is really a treat to watch. One who knows cricket can see an academic activity going on in a test match or a ODI. And the excitement on the faces of both the mentor and the one mentored is yet some thing very different and exciting to watch. All this smile excitement and appreciating each other, gives a feeling of a real team work, the pride of being in the team with head high as if saying proudly WE ARE THE SRI LANKAK CRICKETERS. This is some thing missing in teams from India and Pakistan. Yes its funny, we are from the same Sub-Continent and yet we do not learn from each other.
Irrespective of the result, there ability to fight till the end is yet another ability that I admire about them; yes you can find this ability in Australia, NZ and SA as well, but I don’t think any team has this type or do it the way the Sl do it. They take this as enjoyment and fun with the result that majority of times you will find them as winners in such type of situations. SRI LANKANS one prediction…. 2007 WC is yours.

I think that Sri Lanka is going to win the world cup provided that they do one change to the batting order. They should bring back Marvan Atapattu to open the batting with Sanath Jayasuriya instead of "not that consistent" Upul Tharanga. Then with that power in batting and that powerful bowling they wil be a team to beat Australia. I still cant understand that why they keep a batsman like Marvan Atapattu out. He may be bit slow but he can be the back bone to batting that other batsman can bat around.

Oh Boy! Mukul seems to have touched a nerve of Aussie!!! Well, everybody can't take the reality in the same spirit, that is for sure...lolz

Lanka does a metronomic rise in the world cricket. Good good. Good for them. But the rivalry of the GAME is between INDIA and PAKISTAN. No other rivalry comes close. when INDIA and PAKISTAN play anywhere in the world , there is tension, joy, excitement, every player from both teams gives his best, the cricket is taken to other plane. There is crowd support like never before, equal support to both teams, no music on boring bands, but the chantings for their players asking them for their best , the atmosphere is vibrant, there r lot of appeals, every six or a four is cheered, every wkt is celebrated, the celebrations that follow the victory of either team is simply superb. That is unmatched in the world.. There are nail biting encounters, there are pressures, nerve wrecking tensions all around, everything is just different and its more superb for the tv viewers. No one moves an inch when India and Pakistan play for they bring the intensity and sheer joy to the game. Pity that they are out of the world cup and its the biggest reason for this to be the most boring world cup ever. Crowds r nowhere, the subcontinent hardly discusses the game nemore, and the most awaited match of the tourney -- April 15 b/w India and Pakistan was the sell out, but now left for 2 minnows to fight out. No country can come even close to the rivalry between India and Pakistan, for this 2 countries are the supreme in the Asian cricket.....Our batting vs Pak bowling. Simply delight to watch.

…long live romance in cricket!

I’m worried about future of cricket.
1. Where are the crowds…. Very very few fanatics…? Is it right to blame the organizing and pricing?
2. Too much clinical domination of Australians of the game. (But still the best team shall be the champs)
3. Hope cricket in Subcontinent pull their socks up…and pounce back.
4. Is cricket on the death bed in England? If so it not a good omen!

Thanks a plenty for article and all the notes…. Proud to be a Sri Lankan as we are doing exactly the right thing required to FOSTER the Game.

Very well written article Mukul. But I was disappointed with the manner in which the issue of performance vs style/flamboyance was tackled. In sports I believe, 90% of the joy comes from watching a solid performance, the rest 10% from the extra fizz, joie de vivre etc. that the player brings to the field. Your article assumes that the balance is the other way round.
Yes, the Sri Lankans are performing well (but way behind the Aussies) and are a joy to watch in terms of flamboyance (where the Aussies are way behind). But weight these against the above metrics and you shall see that the Aussies still come out as the team to watch and enjoy.
Not that I am making a case for Australia, but I believe that this article gets its priorities wrong in what constitutes 'the joy of watching sport'.

yeh like whatever dude...it maybe exciting to watch and all..but the whole game of cricket isnt about jus pak and ind!! except commercially rhat is..which is the problem with cricket now..too much money involved!!!

Just one more comment for my Indian and Pakistani buddies. The difference between the sri Lankan team and other two teams from the subcontinent is the attitude. Can you imagine Sachin Tendulcar,as an extra carring water to a junior guy who is batting? I dont think so. But in Sri Lankan team these days Marvan Atapattu, a former captain is doing it. Thats the team sprit. Both Indian and Pakistan teams should learn from the Sri Lankan team. They are a one good unit. Indian and Pakistani seniors should start to do this and should blend with juniors and transfer their knowledge to them just like Sanath Jayasuriya does. It is an obervation. I cant come to a conclusion about other teams being a Sri Lankan but I think most of Sri Lankan see that difference from these 3 teams.

agree fully with vinod marvan shd play instead of tharanga,marvan is still best technical batsman in sri lka and can rotate the strike with sanath.
tharanga has to iron out his technique particularly agst the stronger sides.he needs more time.go with marvan

The reason that most people from the sub continent prefer sri lanka to Australia is simple - the colour of the respective team's skins, ie RACISM.

Love your article about the Sri Lankans. Have played cricket in S/L UK and Aussie. Loved the form of cricket in Lanka and UK. Unfortunately in Aust it is win at all costs, sledging etc exists in even minor club cricket. Played in a S/L team in Melb and were chased off the ground by violent
opposition threatening to inflict injury with the sharp end of the wickets because we beat them "rather badly". Cricket played by the S/L team is a joy to watch
no "f... words" being mouthed every time the opposition hits you for a four. I hope S/Lanka can pull the World Cup off it will be fantastic.

Mukul, Great capture which suits most of us online. No hidings. And, I salute all supporters for SRILANKAN CRICKET and they deserve it.

Aussies, watch out...Missiles are on your way now and start producing some miracle mechanism.

Vinod

Your comments about Tendulkar are incorrect. Attapattu might be doing this, but carrying water for the younger mates isnt what you call a team spirit and Tendulkar has done it quite often. But the fact is Tendulkar has never been dropped in his 18 yrs of career and so no question of him carrying drinks.

The other fact is that when you loose, you become orphan and every tom, dick and harry gives a lesson or 2 to the looser. India unfortunately is paasing thru the same phase. How can you say that India is a team full of divides and differences. In fact India is a team which consists of players from different cultures, different languages, different food habits as it is a huge huge country. To play under 1 common name and 1 captain is a big task for individuals who come from different parts of the country and the remain united. However some fan would contradict this owing to India s failure, but thats hardly true. The trio of Sachin, Saurav and Rahul have constructed this team which is no doubt much better than wot it looks to be, unfortunately our country s media including the writer of this post doesnt feel so, for they have smthin to write for...

And owing to this debacle for 2 subcontinent giants, every one is now tryin to teach them a lesson or 2 about how to play cricket or how to select teams ? Nothing can be more hillarious than this. And India - Pakistan cricket is not about money, its about passion and love of the game. The fans who watch the games do nt do it for love of money but for the joy they get it, and unfortunately we dont get that seeing Lanka play as they have huge array of SLOW bowlers who try to choke the runs -- negative cricket. They have opened bowling with a slow bowler against Aussies in SF, but unfortunately were knocked out.

the reason why india doesnt produce such cricketers is POLITICS. Under 12, Under 14, Under 17 , Cooch Behar, Ranji, Deodhar ...any team selected is not selected on MERIT. It never was and never will be. The well connected ones get through....the ones who know a good coach, who know a minister, who have connections, who belong to good schools ..... whenever some state gets things in order and ensures merit based selection....you suddenly see the pipeline of good cricketers shoot up from there.... look at bangalore.... kumble, dravid, kartik, uthappa would not have got a chance if they were in UP.

Mohan
It is the most insane argument that I have ever heard. Reality check needed dude!!!!
I agree with Mukul on the 'completeness' of the Sri Lankan bowling attack. If you notice that the top 3 contenders for the Cup are also very similar in their bowling attacks.
New Zealand - Left Arm Swing/Seam (Franklin), Right Arm Fast (Bond), Right Arm Fast Medium (Gillespie, Martin), Allrounder bowling options (Oram, Styris etc.), Left Arm spinner (Vettori), Right arm spinner (Jeetan Patel)
Australia - Right arm Fast (Tait), Left arm swing/seam (Bracken, Johnson), Fast Medium (McGrath), Left arm spin (Hogg), Right arm spin (Symonds) etc.
Food for thought but these guys have a consistent bowling attack...The Indian attack also looked good on paper but thats another story altogether

nice article Mukul... Sri Lanka seems to play like you write...

don't necessarily agree with this shady Mohan character, but there is some truth to what he is saying... the sri lankan talent pool is very small (limited population, 20+ yr civil war, blissfully corrupt cricket administration, non-existent domestic comp)... but what it means is that young guys come into the team unpolished and get an extended run, no questions asked... until a Tharanga becomes a Sangakarra who becomes a... (archetype? well we'll find out 20 years from now when the inevitable Gilchrist vs Sangakarra debates unfold)...

Kerala, in theory at least, should be able to produce a similar team (well maybe not as good as this current incarnation of SL, but remember it was 11 years since they were this good)... if Malinga was Indian would he be playing international cricket or selling coconuts?

write on Mukul!! an inspired work of cricketing appreciation... a heady mix of spin, guile and mesmerising poetic drives taking us close to understanding the essence of what pleasure this game can deliver when played without inhibition... it stirs in us memories of our own childhood enjoyment.. barefoot cricket played on dusty gravel pitches late into those tropical evenings; pure pleasure which it seems only some still remember...

hey jeff I have only one comment for you. How can you talk about sub continent RACISM when the aussies are the most racist cricket team in the present.
I hope you remember the BLACK MONKEY issue.

Mohan, Do you need 1000 teams playing in a world cup ?

heyy guys...im a sri lankan..we like 2 see winning.. but any way we are very proud about our team. we dont wont world cup..this is the unity game..& its so nice to see our boys are playing like unit....we have already won what we wont...

I don't get why people say australia have no flamboyance or joy for the game?

Are people just reading anti-australia pieces in papers and not actually watching these guys play?

Sure the sri lankans have shown a lot of flamboyance and joie de vivre.

But have you seen the level of skill and attacking flamboyance australia have shown at every turn for gods sake? ESPECIALLY when they're under the cosh in both test and one day cricket, what other team comes out blazing and wins the game? Remember johannesburg in 2003 or the 2nd VB series final in sydney in 2006? And countless other test and ODI performances.

The flamboyance and flair shown by gilchrist, symonds, ponting, martyn, clarke, warne, macgill, lee, mcgrath, gillespie is quite brilliant to watch especially since they seem to do it when they're under pressure and actually turn the tide by slamming it all back into the other team's face with style.

I think the problem here is that australia have been winning for so long that people don't recognise the flamboyance and just find it "boring" and "the same old result", while SL are relatively new to this.

By the way, I'm sri lankan.

I think our neighbour Jeff is missing the whole point of this article. People in the subcontinent (and even other parts of the world) should admire srilanka because they stand for honest team work and spirit of the game while their subcontinent cousins are corrupt by other things like politics, power struggles and cheating. Cricket in India and Pakistan is far too complicated to be a game. As for us in NZ, we'd much rather see Srilanka win the world cup (only if the Kiwis can't) than see a bunch of badly behaved aussies spoil the party. Why - because everytime Srilanka toured the southern hemisphere, we have seen the best cricket for our buck. Of course we all know that the aussies are going to lose at least twice in this world cup - firstly against NZ in a day's time, and secondly in the finals. See ya later mate!

Loving your country is not Racism my dear Jeff. You must be an Australian, (I assume that, I may be incorrect) if so do you like your country? You should love your country. Australians should back their country. There is nothing wrong in that. We are from the sub continent and we want a sub continent side to win, India Pakistan or Sri Lanka. Now Former 2 are out we want Sri Lanka to win. Apart from that I want Sri Lanka to win since it is my country. If you are so narrow minded to not to understand that you should not write to columns like this.

As per Tony’s suggestion, I also fully agree with him. Marvan Atapattu is the most technically correct batsman that Sri Lanka ever produced. It is really puzzling to understand why they keep him out from the team. Is he still struggling with that injury? I don’t think so. They didn’t give him a single match and also during the entire tour he played only one practice match and scored 25 runs after opening the innings. In my opinion he is still much better than Upul Tharanga to open the innings. Upul Tharanga has to correct his technique as Tony suggests. But here Sri Lanka has a batsman who has average over 43 in 2 world cups with 2 centuries and has a carrier average of 37 not in the side. Can’t understand that. As I mentioned he may be bit slow. But over the last decade he was the backbone of the side. He held the innings together in most instances. He has scored more than 10 centuries and most of they are for the winning side. No one talks about this since Sri Lanka is winning. But most of these wins are not comprehensive wins. Just checkout those two matches against South Africa and England. Sri Lanka didn’t have enough runs on the board. That’s where they need batsman like Marvan. I hope that the Sri Lanka team will rectify this as soon as possible. It is still not too late. But they shouldn’t drop him after giving him one match and if he fails (without any match practice). There are two more matches and they should open with Marvan in these two matches.

seems Mukul has started some censorship and he s not allowing anti - Lanka posts and pro India posts

I agree with you guys and Marvan should immedietly replace Tharanga,and simply looking at the Grenada track Marvan looks the man.Though i am a big fan of Upul Tharanga the problem with him is he relies heavily on driving and slashing and lacks strokes on the leg side and is unable to rotate the strike.

THE BIGGEST PROBLEM OF ALL IS THE COMMENTRIES OF RANJITH FERNANDO WHO LOOKS A REAL JOKER AND MISFIT IN THE PANEL.HE IS A MASTER REPEATER LACKS HUMOR AND INNOVATION,NOT FAMILIAR WITH TECHNICAL ASPECTS AND DOESNT KNOW A HECK ABOUT LBW DECESIONS AND DOESNT LOOK CASUAL OR A PLEASURE TO THE LISTNER,HE JUST HAVE 5 OR SIX WORDS WHICH HE REPEATS THROUGHT THE MATCH AND THAT ALSO AS IF HE IS TEACHING AT A ENGLISH LITRETURE CLASS,LISTINING TO HIM IS A REAL STRESS AND HE SHOULD BE REALY KIKED OUT AND MOST SRI LANKANS SWITCH OFF THE VOLUME WHENEVER HE IS ON AIR.

It’s a very satisfactory win against the Kiwis who have been very consistent in this world cup and have whitewashed the Aussies a few months back. Hats off for Chaminda Vass who has being so successful throughout his career especially in his first few overs of he innings by scalping a lots of quality openers. Yes the Lankans having a well versatile bowling attack and a world class top order. But again the lower middle order and the slog overs is a concern like Aravinda De Silva and few others mentioned before the world cup. But the likes of Dilshan (Vs West Indies) Arnold and Vass (Vs India) has done well in patches. Therefore in this case I think we are missing a Symonds a Boucher or a McCullum for that matter. But I don’t think the Sri Lankan team is feeling the same way coz they have being successful so far without a big hitter and even it was not an issue for the team in the 96 campaign. It must be very difficult to leave a quality batsman like Marvan Atapattu out of the playing eleven. But again Upul Tharanga has been successful at the top in the past year or so specially opening with Jayasuriya. So may be that’s the reason they have given him the nod ahead Atapattu even he’s not having the best of tournaments so far.

But I have a few words to the guy who mentioned that India and Pakistan should be playing on the 15th of April. Please give some credits to Bangladesh and Ireland. I agree with the crowd factor and the Indians and Pakistan have lots of exciting players. I my self is a big fan of likes of Dravid, Ganguly, and Shoaib Akhtar. But if the team is not performing well so there’s no excuse. Those two minnows are well deserved to be in Super eight. It’s not just the Indians and Pakistanis lost to them but they were beaten well against Sri Lanka and West Indies. So they were not at their best of forms. If you think they’re exciting while playing each other they cannot be World champs coz you need to be competitive with rest of the world as well. Look at the Aussies they always want to beat the English in the Ashes and they value that a lot. But does that mean they don’t wanna perform at the world cup and win the title? No.

I believe the Sri Lankans wanna look forward on a match to match basis in this world cup like Mahela mentioned throughout the tournament. So their main concern now should be the game against the Aussies. I still feel there is lot to do before we think about the semis or finals.

Every great side in the history of 1 day international cricket must have at least 3 players who will get into a current world 1st eleven, and 2 additional players who will get into a world 2nd eleven. I feel that Sri lanka currently can contribute Sangakkara, Murali and Jayasuriya and possibly Malinga to a world first eleven, with Vaas and Jayawardene adding to a world second eleven. This makes them extremely potent and probable world cup winners in my openion. I acknowledge the past glories of Australia, but I do not think their new brigade match up to Sri Lanka.

The most reason people (not just Su continent) prefer a sri lankan victory to Ausie one is that sri lankans are gracious winners while ausies rnt..
Pure and simple..

As for the multiple teams for India etc, its impractical to say the least (why dont they try that in football and other team sports as well). Also to say that the world cup would then be long wuld be an understatment..

well Jeff i guess i guess you recognise your own hear hear want a prize??

i do hate aussie maybe i'm racist but i only suopport the all balcks cos they got black in their name.

but what puts me off the Aussie ricket team is their ugly badmouthing attitude towards playing cricket. anyone rememerb all those times McGrath badmouthing countles batsmen for hitting him for 4. and the famous incident with sarwas. and oh poor McGrath he was excused cos his wife was suffereing from canser boohoo but hey its alright to ask sarwan if he sucked parts of his captains body.

oh and by the way has nay asian player ever been fined for racism who was that short ugly bloke with a gotee... oh eyah he wants from the subcontinets was he??

That's wrong. Sri lanka are a great side. Murali is the best of them all. Sanath is the best opener of all (forget Gili), Sanga and Mahela are very special, Chamara is fantastic, and did i mention that Murali was the best!

jeff, everyone would prefer anyone to australia
and as far as racism goes, i think we know where u aussies stand on that...
so just shut.... up and deal with it
almost all white folk would root for any of NZ, ENG, SA, and AUS. Like I care. And Mukul needs to stop this serious brown nosing of the Sri Lankan team. I desperately dont want them to win the competition. I'm tempted to even support ... AUS instead of them. But for now, COME ON IRELAND!!!

WOW! So good to read all these wonderful comments on the Sri Lankan team. Being a Sri Lankan, no doubt reading all yours comments makes me feel so proud, specially considering all the other problems we are faced with on a daily basis.

Just one comment with regard to the force put in by the aging Sri Lankan teams is the sheer commitment they put in to training and the determination they have to achieve the highest to bring glory to the country.

Well keep it up boys. You are certainly making all Asians proud!

On the other side of the coin, please excuse me for going out of the subject, I feel that Ranjith Fernando should retire from commentating and should return home.

Mukul, your article on these tiny islanders is fantastic. They deserve another feather in their hats. They are not only competing with cricket teams but they also have to fight a psychological war waged against them by The Amnesty International.

It is sad that an organization in the caliber of Amnesty International chose the Caribbean as its venue to take advantage of the World Cup to publicize the human right abuses in Sri Lanka between the warring parties using the slogan ‘Sri Lanka - Play by the Rules’. But thank God their attempt did not demoralize the players.

Question in the Diplomatic Quarters is whether Amnesty International plans to take up the issue of human rights violations by the U.S. government in Iraq or in Guantanamo Bay at the Super Bowl match or the National Basketball League championship.

Hats off Sri Lanka. We are proud of you.

Sam, thats rubbish about India v Pakistan being the best rivalry to watch. Whats the point if those two teams only play well when they play each other? Sri Lanka can take it to any team and give them a good match, look at what happened against South Africa, neither India or Pakistan have the heart to do anything like that, unless like you said its against each other. Personally, Im glad they are out of the WC only because now they can take a good look at themselves and learn some humility before they call themselves "cricket powerhouses". Take a lesson from the Lankans, they have won a World Cup a lot more recently than India and some of those players are still in the team.
And Aussie, you need a reality check. India didnt have one bad day and exit, they got smashed and didnt even make the super 8's, get over it dude. They didnt deserve to be there and so they are not. I think what Mukul was trying to say when comparing SL to the Windies of the 80's is that they both brought a good vibe to the game, not comparing achievements.

Excellent read! I love watching Sri Lanka play for their child-like enthusiasm. It's nice to see Murali act like taking his first-ever wicket everytime he takes one!

I hope they will win this World Cup!

Jeff, you've opened a whole new can of worms. While I suspect that is the reason with a quite a few new found Sri Lankan supporters of non-Sri Lankan origin, I don't think you can just attribute it solely to that.

One of the main reasons I think is that people want a change in the game. Do you honestly believe that Australia winning the world cup three times in a row is good for the game as a whole? Heck, even Australian pundits - including Ian Chappel - saying that it would be harmful for the game. I've always conversed with many a Australian supporter who are looking for change, for genuine competition from the rest of the test teams. I recall quite vividly the thoughts of such a friend just after that amazing 2005 Ashes series and, rather than being glum following the Aussie defeat, he was happy that someone had challenged the team.

The support that Sri Lanka, and indeed New Zealand, South Africa and - hell I'll say it - the damn England team, if they can perform a miracle, are receiving now is similar to that I believe.

May the best team win. And if that happens to be the Australian team yet again, then so be it.

No Jeff (1 hour 5 min ago), the reason is not the color of the skin, the Australians are at the moment the No 1 side. Very professional and very cricketing no doubt about that. We Asians like SL mainly because the Sri Lankan now are playing better cricket and a good team challenging the top one is always considered good. I tell you we like the SA as well as the NZ cricketers. No Racism…….come on its cricket we are talking about. See my previous response (2 hours 7 min ago) can you find any thing Racist in it. We love cricket and we love good cricket be it Australia or BD. Pls. stop calling us that. Just to inform you in D.Hear case what ever happened, the way the umpire handled the situation was said to be Raciest by many, but still majority in Pakistan still believe that the way Inzi reacted to what ever it was, was totally wrong and Umpire and Cricket should be respected. So Jeff…we should come out of this and think bigger. It’s a different World now. Hope you are not annoyed.

When you write a blog,speak for yourself. While it is not that I don't like SL, but you should say "I" rather than "we"(Who are the "we" youa re talking about anyway).Are you our official spokesman or what?
As for your comparisons with Ind and Pak,it is completely unfair. If the same players were representing India,they wouldn't have done so well.Firstly,the cultural differences(especially North-South divide)are so strong that it is almost impossible to build up team spirit,so essential to playing cricket with enthusiasm(unless you keep wining of course).And I bet no sportsman in the World gets harassed as much as the Indian cricketers from al quarters-being devoid of heroes in life,every one of the one billion looks up to these 15 players.They succeed,they are eulogised, they fail and they are ostracized.Not to mention the sponsors,corporates,the sensationalist media which you are part of everyone wants a piece of them,even the beggar by the roadside has a opinion on cricket.
Can you imagine Sachin or anyone for that matter,being able to walk on the street anywhere in India peacefully?Are Srilankan cricketers homes stoned when they fail?Do they receive death threats?Are they taken apart by media men and women in spaghetti tops?Are their personal lives scanned with the hysteria which the Indians are subjected to?Would Atapattu received backing in India if he had started as he did-6 consecutive ducks?Would Vaas have been allowed to cut down on pace because it is more effective- Irfan Pathan was pelted from all sides for dropping his pace and ultimately he didnt know what was right.The list is endless.Would any other country face so much scrutiny for a loss(pak have to take math fixing allegations as well)from so many channels, papers,journalists,worthless nincompoops like you and me? The Problem is not the system,not the cricketers,and for god's sake not the pitches.The problem is YOU, ME and everyone of us.For them to play with joy,it is OUR attitude which has to change.They would play for sure and play well, but they should be allowed to.

Jeff your comments are absolutely ridiculous - your an idiot. they support SL because we are their neighbours and while colour of skin might have something to do with it there is nothing RACIST about it - how are they discriminating against other coloured people! im presuming you are another ignorant aussie (oh hang on thats racist!). Im Sri Lankan and while our chances of winning are on the rise i am quite happy if South Africa England or NZ win and knock the Aussies out even if we dont - oh watch out a Sri Lankan going for White teams incase their own team doesnt make it - could be racism against Australia lol get a life dude!

Joanne.. firstly, if the Indian players can't handle the stress, then they really should step down from the side.

I have heard many people refer to the Indian and Pakistan people as very gentle by nature. In all honesty the only people of the sub-continent that seem to really personify this are the Sri Lankans. I believe that it is this true sportmanship and team unit that keeps this team on such a high. I've heard the Aussies and South Africans speak of team spirt, but neither come close to that of the Sri Lankans.

As a captain Jayawardena (hope I spelt that correctly) has done an amazing job. With such a variety of resources at his disposal he rarely under or over uses them.

I loved watching the "minnows" Sri Lanka win the 96 world cup. Watching at Ranatunga and Da Silva picked of the runs with such ease. It was a great day for cricket all round!

I would still like to see South Africa win, I do believe we have been robbed a few times. But could never say that the guys from that little island don't deserve their second world cup!

lol Jeff, if you think the sub-continent is an fraternity based on skin colour, you've severely underestimated how hard the Aussie cricket team has had to work to be universally loathed :)

I forgot to add a few more questions! Many credit Moody for bringing about a change in SL cricket.
Moody talks the same talk as Chappell did.The importance of not worrying about results, putting the process in place,doing the basics right, versatality in bowling,flexibility in batting, improved fielding and fitness,focus on youth.Was he allowed to do what he wanted? A few failures and we were back to square one. People like YOU are happy that Chappell(for all his despicable media management) is gone.Was he allowed the space he needed to implement his plans?Is Moody's every tactic scrutnized as much as Dravids and Chappells? You would like me to believe that Moody is a genius and SL cricketers are from another planet,with a remarkable ability to soak any amount of pressure.To play with joy,you need some mental space which is sorely lacking in India.No wonder idiots like will continue to write whatever they want and idiots like ME will continue to comment because they have nothing to do.No wonder Sachin doesnt smile,no wonder he no longer charges to Mcgrath.

@Jeff

Ya rite... The biggest racists in the world are the brash Aussies...
Read this:
http://sport.guardian.co.uk/columnists/theobserver/story/0,,1843742,00.html

Its amazing how the lankan cricket has touched so many people around the globe.The sri lankan public loves a good game of cricket - yes we are mad when the team looses - but we have the faith in the boys - we back them everytime they are down - the pressure our brothers face across the seas is not there on the srilankan team - this gives them the edge and beleive that the crowd will be behind them come what may - jeff its not racism my friend - its the passion in the game.. well cricket is popular and telecased all over the world - becuse the revenue it generates - we are able to watch the game of cricket where its played these days - i dont need to stress - we all know where the money is coming from !! Aussies are a better side - but remember we had them on the ropes last time around and lost by a whisker - i am sure we can give a run for the money - The cup should come home - to Asia !

Jeff, could it instead be that the Aussies are arrogant, cheat when they can by sledging and over appealing, make a concerted effort to bully teams, exhibit no grace in victory or defeat, and are generally only tolerable when they have been defeated often and badly?

To my good friend Aussy..

Well my son before putting your two sense why dont you first wash your face. As still you are dreaming about India...Hehehe
Like you India has to wake up without day dreaming. YOu say India went out of the supereghts bcos they just played badly in one game. I say your wrong my son India played consistently in WI with their track record over seas. Unfortunately our little friends first Banga and SL where too good for them. This could be wrong if India played in India..

YOu also say SL won with luck. My son your definition of luck needs to be questioned. SL on this tournament played proper professional Cricket same as Australia. The highest score conceded against them was yesterdays 220. Well if this is luck ( too funny) I think they should stop cricket and hit the casinos ASAP. What a joker this guy is....

Now do I have to go to your other points??? well my son wake up its time for a hot milk..
Why is it so hard for these pathetic Indians to give credit to any other team than India???

I think sri lanka & austarlia are the favourites for the final. SL has the edge over the aussies bcas other than lacking in a big hitter in death overs, SL is really strong in the other areas. SL doesnt leak too many runs with their tight bowling, electrifying fielding & very shrewd field placings from Mahela supported by the Brilliant Sangakkara. I agree with you vinod, Marvan is a too good player to be the 12th man. He should be Opening with Jayasuriya. Well then the batting looks equal with the Aussies. Australia is equally tough as sri lanka but their middle order lacks runs, fielding not as sharp as SL, bowling isnt tight as SL & overall Australia lacks a world class spinner. I think Muralitharan will be the key for the different between the two sides. But cricket is a funny game, we've seen so many upsets & i wont be surprised if SA/NZ or ENG win the world cup.

Jeff, I think 'racism' is an incorrect and provocative choice of words. I think our cousins on the sub-continent's mainland will support us out of the positive emotions of regional empathy and brotherhood, rather than the hatred of Australia which your post suggests.

The reason that most neutral cricket fans support SL is that we play the type of cricket that everyone aspires to: effective and entertaining. It is simply a joy to watch batsman like Sanath gleefully dismantling a bowling attack, bowlers like Vaas and Malinga skittling through the top order, Murali tying up the middle order in knots, Sangakkara doing his amazing glove work, and fielding of the highest order. All with smiles on their faces!

It has always been the Sri Lankan mentality that winning is not enough, you have to win with style. In the past Sri Lankan teams have been guilty of forgetting the 'winning' part, preferring to lose with style rather than grind out results but the current team's resilience and attitude have restored the balance.

Australia on the other hand, is such a ruthlessy efficient winning machine, that only Aussies enjoy watching them play. They are a team to respect and admire rather than enjoy.

Hopefully all the neutral support will enable us to beat them in the Final!

ha ha jeff, bit rich for a guy from australian (racist central) knocking on ASIANS supporting ASIANS. there is such a thing as regional identity. typical aussie memory... colonial times,aboriginies, forcible land assimilation, those words ring a bell?

New Zealand had it coming in this match - they aren't playing as good as they were in the last WC - in which i was rooting for them. But they keep being lauded for rolling over some minnows and near minnows.
Me i'm just going to be supporting the other team which makes it to the final - anyone but Australia.

As an England fan I want Sri Lanka to win. Even if it was a Sri Lanka - England final I would want Sri Lanka to win because deserve to.

I am bitterly dissapointed with NZ result today, however i still think we can win this world cup, i think the loss has come at the right time and we were becoming to complacent and we fire alot better when we are underdogs.

SL were the better team today, however i think the NZ team enjoys there cricket just as much as SL i.e the scenes after 3-0 win over aus after every match. I believe NZ is the only team that has the firepower to overcome the aussie in terms of a very deep batting line up with hitters. I am hoping we will play SA in the Semis and Australia in the final, i fear SL the most.

I think Indian team has been overated for years, a good example of a team with a similar amount of pressure and expections are the
All Blacks yet they are able to win at over 75% . I think it is called professionalism something the indian team lacks.

I congratulate the Sri Lankan cricket fans and shame on Indian fans. The reason the Sri Lankans are playing so good is because they are relaxed AND focussed. The reason they are relaxed is that there is no undue pressure from the crowd except that their team plays a good game. Learn it, Indian fans.

dear Aussie and also Jeff........
firsly aussie, u r a typical aussie..... always trying to put the good man down to gain advantage.... this is what ull have been doing all these years.... u guys cant win a match without sledging the hell outta the opposition .. and u do it most against us coz ull r dead scared of us.... its very obvious.... another example is the chucking issue wit murali.... u guys were scared of him (still are) so u try to put him out mentally and literally.... darel hair, then that king size idiot ross emerson who called murali for bowling leg spinners....just shows the plans... not forgetting the child molester steve randell who gave paul reiffel not out when he clearly edged it to the keeper...even the batsman was walking ..... please do not try to dent our pride... futile efforts my friend... us lankan lions win matches clean and also win the respect and hearts of others which is exactly what u aussies cant... so dont even compar the lions to the kangaroos... we`l have u for dinner....

and dear jeff....RACISM HUH....just read the para above...it related to u as well.......u guys are such sore losers...... guess its a white thing...so are SA... never give crdit to a opposition dats doing well........ neway guess dats ur nature.... ex convicts no all of u.... cudn xpect much better frm ull neway..... so keep it dat jeff.... dont go into racism cz dats a term u guys invented and use.... not us pround lankans and asians......

With regards to all the credits and discredits given to the Sri Lankan cricket team, I would like to point out the fact that most, if not all, in the SL cricket team play the game for the sheer joy it brings forth. There are no professional cricketers in Sri Lanka - these cricketers have other occupations and this game is played more of less as a 'hobby'. The technology that is available to SL cricket team and a team such as the Australian cricket team could not be any further apart. It is the talent, the skill, the passion, the enthusiasm and the love of the game that drives these cricketers to great heights. For that and that alone, I bow my head in awe to the Sri Lankan cricketers. Well done boys and the whole team behind the boys. We Sri Lankans are extremely proud of you to say the least.

Being Sri Lankan it is almost embarrasing to read this article by Mukul.
SL have improved their cricket the hard way. While India may be looking for a good domestic competetion to get their cricketers ready for higher levels we have the well structured school cricket set up which produces many test cricketers - eg. Arjuna Ranatunga played in SL's first ever test when he was still a schoolboy!
It also took the 'big' boys in cricket a long time to recognise and incorporate SL into their plans - England only used to give us one off tests until they got thrashed by ten wickets in the 1998 Oval test! West Indies never bothered to play us during their dominant years (80-90's) which have bee mentioned by the readers -look where they are now!!
In this context I would like to applaud Australia who always gave us a run of three tests even when SL were the minnows and used to be regularly thrashed by others. Of course they gave SL a hard time on the field - eg. the Murali-Hair affair which is universally acknowledged to have toughened SL cricket and helped them win the World Cup in 1996. I hope SL will win the World Cup - if we don't my wish would be an Australian win.

lux: exactly. compared to the problems in Sri Lanka, most Indian states are much better off - there is political stability, a cricket set-up and passion for the game going much further back, etc. There is absolutely no reason why each state can't produce a test team given the opportunity.

Alex: not 1000, but 25-30 will be a good start, like in soccer world cup. We can even do away with these Canada's and Netherland's. That is what gets my goat - if you need more teams create teams where there is passion for the game and where it is possible to unearth talent. Why unnecessarily spend effort and money (that too Indian money) in creating teams where there is no interest for the game?

Great and interesting view. My simplecontribution is that Sri Lankans win because of their great attitude towards the game. They are not scared to lose. This I believe give them the fearlessness to play positively and eventually get the result they deserve. Thinking of the Indian Team on the same lines only makes me wonder. Why do they look so tense and heavy faced on the field. May be they should be counselled accordinly.

Jeff, it's not RACISM, it's called BROTHERHOOD!!!

I agree with Mukul when he says that this srilankan team is playing well. But all other adjectives added post that are utterly wasted in an attempt to lengthen the blog. This team is still unidimensional, does not have the wherewithal to play consistently well on seaming tracks. They did square a series against new zealand in nz, but i wonder what the wickets were like. What about their reserve strength, what after the so called Hit Man Vaas retires? Wat about the post Murali era? Comparision to the WI team of the yore is almost apologetic, This team is good, but they are nowhere near being world beaters. There are technical limitations in Sanath's batting(vulnerable against short fast stuff)Mahela(Likewise)Chamara(What??who??)T Dilshan(there are so many hard to fit in here). they are a good team now because they are surviving on the freakish nature(bowling action) of their bowlers. This wont last too long...

I am Indian living in Lanka . Yes its true that the Lankan team is playing brilliant and joyful cricket , but alls well when things are on a roll . Those suggesting that Lankan cricket system is natural, less political etc need to just take a look at the local newspapers. Sri Lanka no doubt is a more gentle place than the rest of the sub-continent but the influence of politics is everywhere ( Asantha De meL is chairman of the Petroluem Corp) . A few things to jog people's memory :
a. Sanath retired due to politics ; was recalled due to intervention from the highest level and also because the results without him were not great !!
2. Selection nepotism- Anyone remembers Jehan Mubarak !! He perhaps was the reason Chamara was out of the team for such a long time
3. 9 months back Sri Lanka was on the brink of "ordinariness"....had they lost the 1st test to england things would have been different ..all credit to them on how they turned ir around...

In summary , a combination of good leadership ( Moody , Mahela, Kumar) , unified team , good work ethic, less pressure ( unlike Indian and Pak) and all key guys hitting top form has led to the strong world cup performance till now . However to suggest that the India /pak system is rotten while all is well in Lanka is naive . Take 3 players out of this lanka side and the side struggles ( as we saw in the ODI series in India ) . Let them first be as consistent as the Aussies since Border , TAylor, Waugh and now poting and the windies of 70,80s .

HAving said that , I would love them to WIN and bring the cup back home . Its a great country with great people !!!

Really! It is 'to the manor born'...not manner!

A brilliant article Mukul, I am in complete agreement with you (not that my agreement should mean anything to anyone). The Sri Lankans are indeed a delight to watch. Jayasuriya is a dream proffesional; he has served his country for 15 years and delivered the goods whenever he's been called upon without a fuss. He is a match winner unlike some of the other so-called 'greats' of this era. Not enough can be said about this man who does great things with such wonderful humility and this is what allows him at 40 to play better all round cricket than 99% of the cricketers around him.
Similar sentiments can be shared about the other vets on this team, Vaas and Murali. Theie physical ability may have been diminished after years of service but their mental strength has never been more apparent. They are using all their experience to outsmart the opposition.
The youngsters are dynamite and together with the likes of Jayawardena and Sanga they create a beautiful concoction of experience, skill, passion and energy.
I am rooting for them to go all the way even if I don't believe they have what it takes to beat the almighty Aussies.

SL is one team I admire and support after Pakistan. In 1996 when both India & Pakistan were out, SL had support at least for whole Pakistani nation and I support them again for this year's win. Right they are from sub-continent, but my vote for them is mainly because of their professionalism and fighting abilities. Go SL Go!

A very good team under a very good coach. Chaminda and Jayasuriya, particularily the latter has revolutionised one day cricket. It will be interesting to see what happens post era of these two. Will Sri Lanka produce a successor to "King Chuck" who should be competing in the Olympics as a javelin thrower, rather than in the World Cup of cricket. Shame on the ICC for allowing this to continue.

If there is a side that can beat Australia, it is Sri Lanka. I agree with many of Mukul's points but I disagree with one point. The comparison with the West Indies. Flamboyance and that flair might make us believe that Lanka looks like West Indies. But don't forget that the West Indies were World beaters on all kinds of pitches and countries. Sri Lankan bowlers, unfortunately, on the wickets get a bit more true, suffer badly. Their batsmen haven't shown the same class on the bouncier and grassier wickets.
Also, their strength for long had been slow bowlers. Its now only they've come up with someone like Malinga. So, I think the difference is like chalk and cheese.
I guess the conisistency factor, as I've mentioned earlier is key. Also, their batting, when it comes to openers is not quite in the same league as that of Greenidge and Haynes.
And their middle order and the lower order is not that certain and sure. It has not been that steady for so long as West Indies' of those times had been.
Sri Lanka are good but not great. West Indies of those times were great. Just watching them perform well in a tournament and getting carried away should be avoided. Let's wait for another five years.

Oh by the way to whoever spoke about ranjit fernando i second that pls pls spear us the torture of ahving to listen to him.

I fully agree with Desmond. Styris should have walked when he was caught behind the wicket. He knew he was out, and so did everyone else. If he had any respect for himself or the game of cricket he would have walked. He would have been a bigger and better man if he did.
Well done to Chaminda for this well deserved award of the Man of the match, and well done to the adjudicators for the correct selection.
Go Sri Lanka go!!

To Lalit Mohan:

"To the manor born" is a corruption of the correct expression "to the manner born". It is also the title of a UK sitcom.

Hey guys, Mukul only paid a compliment to the Sri Lankans and the way we play our game. We Lankans, by nature, take life easy and bounce back from reversals. That is how we have been surviving a 20 odd years old civil war and an almost on the brink of a collapse economy. We know how to look at the brighter side of life whilst doing the serious things. Mukul's point was not that the way the Ausies were playing was wrong, but how we were bringing color to the almost one sided contests. No Ausie or Sri Lankan final win will be worth the money spent if the two sides involved do not give it a fight to remember. That is where Sri Lanka can come in with the lateral thinking to win the world cup. Whether they win the cup or not, we love the way they play. For us, Sri Lankans, it is not the end that matters, but the means of (playing by the rule......and having fun)

Go Sri Lanka....get the mighty Ausies down not once but twice over.........

This is for Mohan,

1 Billion can't make up a team to beat BD or SL. And you honestly think a state can make up such a team..lol. They should have good state teams to have a good domestic tournament. May be you dont know that, because it seems they pick players for the india team on a state basis, not talent..

SL can win this all the way..!! good luck..

Nice article about Sri Lanka, but I don't agree with the Windies team comparison.
It would be great to see SL win the world cup again, but even if they don't, we will still be very happy about the performance they've put in thus far. They've played with a lot of heart and character and have given us something to cheer about.
Personally, I'd rather see SL in games with a close fighting finish than to see them dominate like Australia do - it makes it more entertaining.
Win or lose SL, as long as you give it 100% - we'll still love to watch you time and time again.

Mukul Sir,I am an avid reader of your blogs but the way u have respected some bowlers of lanka needs a lot of correction i guess. first things first vass is never a gr8 bowler, he is another limited bowler who on freindly tracks can take wickets and be a miser. look on his records away from home and that would tell the story. Murali is a old war horse and one bowler who wud never equal warne's capabilities. lastly yes jayasuriya is a gr8 guy but the exaggeration u put in is too much.

I love reading Mukul Kesavan's articles. Because it is amazing how one guy can take a topic and change it into a lets-beat-the-Indian-team-with-a-stick story. He never, ever fails to do that!!

If the Indian team does not smile it is because they are one of probably only two teams in world cricket which go into a match with the fear that if they fail, their homes and families would be attacked. When you have such wonderful "fans" who needs opponents?

Such "pressure" makes fans look bad, but when you have educated people like Kesavan ready to needle the team at every available opportunity, how can one expect moderation from an average out-on-the-road fan whose sense of proportion was killed by such media ages ago?

It brings to my mind how other teams have dealt with such pressure. Faced with having to play in Sri Lanka in the '96 World Cup, teams like Australia, England etc opted out for fear of being "bombed", despite the fact that other teams - notably India and Pakistan - played there just to prove it was safe to play there, AND despite being promised the best available security. There was even an article by Neil Manthorp which argued how such security would make the South African team a target during their last visit to SL. Or remember how Fleming and his team fled Pakistan not so long ago?

Imagine what these teams would do if this kind of fear of actual (and not imagined) bodily harm were to follow them out onto every cricket match. For example, remember how South Africa lost a few quick wickets against India in an ODI not so long ago? The provocation? Hall had been picked in place of Nel, Smith did not like it, lost his concentration and lasted three balls (or was it two?).

Kesavan writes rot!

Ravi Kumar

thats the way srilankan team has been and will always be....the total allround team.......

thanks mukul, it is always refreshing to see lankans play. cricket afterall is great leveller and great mind game.of course you need to enjoy the game no matter what the out come is about, we play to win of course. given current sri lankan situation, War and modern day pestilence,terrorism, we have single and simple thiongs to enjoys that is luvrly cricket!
i think that is why sri lankans are smiling a lot and we do not want lots of things to happend to smile and party, a simle reason is enough to do that, as saying goes we do feel happy with just rice and pol sambol and we do not complain much about it. We do enjoy fair bit of democracy and fairplay most of the talented has the opportunity to rise to any level if they want. personaly we have free health and education up to post graduate level and if you are government servent your pension check once you retire. as Richard Layard elequently explained people do enjoy those securities more than people who are looking for more money, big sposorships and bussiness deals. that is the sri lankan spirit.i personnaly believe that has lead to their success as well>
cheers and be happy!
happy to be sri lankan no matter what

One can not help loving the Team Sri Lanka. The major difference btw Indian players & Sri Lankan players is: Sachin wears Indian colors but plays for BIG money contracts from MRF, ESPN and other BIG Biz Houses: Ganguly is worried and concern, how to again become captain, Dhoni is more concerned and interested in his hair style ( which has won BIG endorsements for him ), Shehwag think, he is playing on streets of Najafgarh and throwing his bats at ball !!.. These Playes in Indian COLORS DONOT play for India and Indian pride..

Sri Lankan players PLAY for Pride of SriLanka, and they all 2gether play for the country who has given them the honor and platform to EARN Price and Glory for Sri Lankan ppl.

Unless Inidan plyaers start playing for Pride & Honor ( not for money ), India can not become a good Cricket playing nation.. PERIOD.

Indian Players can DO Biz endoresements, BUt the Money should not be paid to DIRECTLY. All endoresement money should be PUT in some of 'Funds' that should be used for life long welfare of Players and developing Cricket in places other than major cities.. After all the Cricket is providing the platform for these players to eran BIG money...

Criekct in India SHOULD not be run and managed by politicians !! Anything they touch, it gets messed up :(