Sri lanka Aims to SMASH Aussies !

Sri lanka Aims to SMASH Aussies !
World Cup Super 8, Grenada: Australia v Sri Lanka
Match starts 1430 BST Monday
 
Sri Lanka will take no chances with Lasith Malinga's fitness


Sri Lanka hope to end Australia's incredible World Cup winning streak when the two sides meet on Monday.

The holders have not lost since Pakistan beat them by 10 runs at Headingley in May 1999, registering 24 wins and a tie since then.

All-rounder Shane Watson (calf) is out for the Aussies, while Sri Lanka are missing paceman Lasith Malinga (ankle).

"It's an ideal time to play them because we are very relaxed," Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene commented.

"It is an important game for us, but I don't think it's that important for us to risk Lasith if he is not 100%.

"We've got guys who can step up to the plate and deliver for us, so I'm not very concerned about his fitness right now."
    PAST WORLD CUP MEETINGS
1975, The Oval
Aus 328-5; Sri 276-4
Australia won by 52 runs
1992, Adelaide
Sri 189-9; Aus 190-3
Australia won by seven wickets
1996, Lahore (Final)
Aus 241-7; Sri 245-3
Sri Lanka won by seven wickets
2003, Centurion
Aus 319-5; Sri 223
Australia won by 96 runs
2003, Port Elizabeth (Semi)
Aus 212-7; Sri 123-7
Australia won by 48 runs (D/L)


Sri Lanka believe one of the keys to success against Australia is to break the opening partnership of Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist early.

Veteran Chaminda Vaas dismissed two batsmen for nought at the start of the last game against New Zealand and Australia will treat him with a degree of caution if the ball is swinging.

Sri Lanka have only lost once in the Caribbean - against South Africa - and Jayawardene said it was important to continue the winning habit ahead of the semi-finals.

"Winning matches is a good thing to do, especially against Australia who have been setting the trend in this World Cup," he said.

"I've played against them the last eight years and every game has been tough. It's always a great challenge to play those guys, you have to compete with them all the time."

Australia have won 41 of the 62 one-day meetings between the sides and four out of five at previous World Cups - the one notable exception being the 1996 final which turned out to be the greatest day in Sri Lankan cricket history.
 
Glenn McGrath aims to add to his 18 wickets in the tournament


They may recall Nathan Bracken after resting him against Ireland, which would probably mean Glenn McGrath reverting to first change with the ball.

Australia skipper, meanwhile, said his side would treat Sri Lanka's bowling attack with respect, despite Malinga's absence.

"Chaminda Vaas is a class player as well and has been a great bowler for them for a long time," said Ponting.

"What they have done, both Malinga and Vaas, throughout this tournament is take early wickets.

"They've had opposition teams a couple down early on and that makes Muttiah Muralitharan more effective through the middle of the innings. "Our plan will be to get through the new ball as well as we can and keep wickets in hand for the middle part of the game when they slow things down with their spinners, Murali, Sanath Jayasuriya and Tillakaratne Dilshan."


Australia (from): R Ponting (capt), A Gilchrist, M Hayden, M Clarke, A Symonds, B Hodge, M Hussey, B Hogg, N Bracken, G McGrath, S Tait, S Clark, M Johnson, B Haddin.

Sri Lanka (from): M Jayawardene (capt), S Jayasuriya, U Tharanga, K Sangakkara, C Silva, T Dilshan, R Arnold, C Vaas, F Maharoof, D Fernando, M Muralitharan, M Atapattu, N Kulasekera, M Bandara.

Umpires: A Dar (Pkn), B Doctrove (WI)😳

But Ausis Aims TO Smash Event Foruth TIme........ may be they GOt it, bcoz no one is there to beat theem Exept Black Cats.......

Originally posted by: Lovers Ka Love

But Ausis Aims TO Smash Event Foruth TIme........ may be they GOt it, bcoz no one is there to beat theem Exept Black Cats.......

no i dont agree...any team in the current world cup can beat dem...its just dat dose teams havent really got going since dey came to the carribean..england have smashed aussies in dere homeland some couple months back...SA do can just beat any1 on a particular day....i rally have a srong feeling dat th e aussies wont win this wrld cup... 😃

I hope SL wins today!
All the best to them! 😛

Gonna be a really good game. Hard to call whose gona win.

wel i hope they do coz no 1 else has lol

well I too wanted SL to win but they look over confident today . I mean why rest vaas and Murali in such a crucial match which would give them a confdence and momentum . That was a ridiculous move and somehow i see it as overconfidence .Now they are struggling with 3 wickets down for just 33 .

someone said england and SA came close but thats not the point is it . The winner is the one who finishes the game and credit to the aussies who took wickets and stopped their opposition from winning . Thats why I feel they are a great team .

My bets are on the black cats as well to beat australia.

every team comes close but that doesnt matter , the winners always finish the game andnot choke midways like england and SA did.

it luks like Aus r smashing SL! 😆

as much as i want SL to win, it kind of luks impossible at this point!.... ... no malinga, vaas, or murali... 😕 malinga, is out due to injury... but wat about murali and vaas????? 😕 seriously wid a score like 227 to chase, and wid three bowlers out, how on earth can one seriously call it a challenge for austrailia?... i dont know, but maybe SL is experimenting out there wid their bowling options, but that against the wrong team..... hope SL wins, but that wud need extra effort, cuz ryt now hayden and gilchrist have given Aussies a pretty good base!

its a diffcult task.. 😕 😳