With one victory away from qualifying for a place in the Emerging Team Trophy final, Sri Lanka make two changes for their return clash with India at the P. Saravanamuttu Stadium today.
The good news for Sri Lanka is that Sahan Wijeratne is likely to get his first game. A knee injury kept him out of the first two matches, but coach Champaka Ramanayake said that a scan taken on Monday did not show anything serious and that he was able to move without any restrictions. Wijeratne is likely to replace Jeevan Mendis.
The other change is Farveez Maharoof, the talented allrounder, coming on for one of the three fast bowlers. Maharoof, who bowls medium pace, could easily fill the slot as the third seamer. Sri Lanka's success has been largely based on the way their fast bowling trio of Tharanga Lakshitha, Nuwan Kulasekara and Lasith Malinga have bowled in the tournament so far. They have accounted for 15 of the 19 wickets that have fallen to bowlers.
The Sri Lankan batsmen, meanwhile, led by the durable opener Tharanga Paranavitana, have shown good form which has enabled them to emerge as the hot favourites for the title. Paranavitana, who plays in the Premier championships for SSC, has already notched up two consecutive half-centuries and it is around him that Sri Lanka built their match-winning totals. Paranavitana's opening partner, Upul Tharanga, is the other batsman to score a half-century for Sri Lanka.
For India, this game will decide their fate in the tournament. It is a must-win game for them if they are to remain in contention. A loss could make their chances of qualifying very slim and even put them out of the tournament, making the remaining two games only academic. To keep the tournament alive, India, with as many as six A-team players in their side, must fashion out a win of some sorts. With the eventuality of rain interfering play today, India will be hoping at least the gods will smile down upon them.
Pakistan, on the other hand, are nicely placed after their win against India in their first match since the two countries played in the 2003 World Cup. They felt the effects of playing back-to-back matches on hot steamy conditions and after beating India so convincingly, being woefully out-of-sorts the next day against Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka also have back-to-back encounters today and tomorrow against India and Pakistan. They need to win only one of these two games to qualify for the final on Sunday. But coach Ramanayake warned: "We must not be overconfident with our victories. Cricket is such an unpredictable game that anything can happen."
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