5 Days to World Cup 2015
Sri Lanka : Team Analysis
Sri Lanka has never been the favourites before aWorld Cup started. They have always been the good team which is capable of doing even better things. They always allowed the likes of India, Australia and Pakistan to hog the limelight. But, once the tournament started, they always meant business and in the last twenty years, more often than not, have done exceptionally well.
They have been the losing finalists in the last two editions but those tournaments were played in low-bounce, batting friendly tracks. This time the pitches will be a bit different and therein lies Sri Lanka’s biggest challenge- to adjust to the conditions and at the same time play their brand of cricket.
Their batting order is top heavy but that ‘top’ is the best in the world. Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara will bat in the top four and all of them can win matches on their won, against any opponent, in any country.
Dilshan has been in fine form of late and he will look to set the tempo at the start of the innings. Sri Lanka will hope that Dilshan stays there for the first twenty overs and if he does so, he will take them to a very strong position.
Kumar Sangakkara is in the form of his life and one can expect him to score heavily in the World Cup. Jayawardene can be unpredictable but there is little doubt that he will perform in the big matches, he always has done so in the past and no reason to think that he will fail to do so this time.
The duo of Thisara Perera and Angelo Mathews makes this Sri Lankan team a very balanced one. They can both score runs consistently and at the same time can pick wickets with the ball in hand.
Lasith Malinga is the key for his team’s success in a limited overs match and there is no exception in this case. A lot will depend on how well he comes back from the injury which kept him out of cricket for months. Nuwan Kulasekara is perhaps the most underrated ODI bowler in the world over the last few years. He will like the conditions down under and should do well. Suranga Lakmal and Dhammika Prasad needs to chip in and support the two opening bowlers, provided they get a chance to do so.
Rangana Herath is a world class performer and has the skill and guile to deceive batsmen on any surface. Sachithra Senanayake has made a comeback after correcting his bowling action and Sri Lanka must play him in the World Cup. They should not fall prey to the popular theory of loading the team with fast bowlers in Australia. They, or for that matter any team, should play with their best bowlers in the team.
It might well surprise many if Sri Lanka once again manages to reach the final but that is not very improbable. They have the team to do so. The only thing that might bother them is the conditions. If they adjust to the alien conditions pretty quickly, they will look good to book a place in the semi finals.
The island nation is hoping that it’s third time lucky for them.
Squad : Angelo Mathews (captain), Lahiru Thirimanne (vice-captain), Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Rangana Herath, Mahela Jayawardene, Dimuth Karunaratne, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Jeevan Mendis, Thisara Perera, Dhammika Prasad, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Sachithra Senanayake
Batting and bowling potential charts indicate the percentage contribution of each player in the team.
Key Batsmen : Angelo Mathews, Tillakratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara
Key Bowlers : Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal, Rangana Herath
Big Hitters : Thisara Perera, Tillakratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara
Most Experienced Player : Mahela Jayawardene
Darkhorse : Dimuth Karunaratne
Last 10 Matches : Won 5, Lost 5
Team Average Age : 31 years
Oldest Player : Tillakratne Dilshan (38 years)
Youngest Player : Dinesh Chandimal (25 years)
Sri Lanka will be playing two warm-up games against South Africa and Zimbabwe at Christchurch and Lincoln on 9th Feb and 11th Feb respectively.
Fixtures for Sri Lanka in World Cup 2015 :
| Date & Time |
Match Details |
Coverage |
| |
Sat Feb 14
22:00 GMT (prev day)
11:00 local | 03:30 IST |
1st Match, Pool A - New Zealand v Sri Lanka
Hagley Oval, Christchurch |
  |
| |
Sun Feb 22
22:00 GMT (prev day)
11:00 local | 03:30 IST |
12th Match, Pool A - Afghanistan v Sri Lanka
University Oval, Dunedin |
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| |
Thu Feb 26 (D/N)
03:30 GMT | 14:30 local
09:00 IST |
18th Match, Pool A - Bangladesh v Sri Lanka
Melbourne Cricket Ground |
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| |
Sun Mar 1
22:00 GMT (prev day)
11:00 local | 03:30 IST |
22nd Match, Pool A - England v Sri Lanka
Westpac Stadium, Wellington |
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| |
Sun Mar 8 (D/N)
03:30 GMT | 14:30 local
09:00 IST |
32nd Match, Pool A - Australia v Sri Lanka
Sydney Cricket Ground |
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| |
Wed Mar 11 (D/N)
03:30 GMT | 14:30 local
09:00 IST |
35th Match, Pool A - Scotland v Sri Lanka
Bellerive Oval, Hobart |
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