The emphatic manner in Sri Lanka’s eight-wicket victory over Australia on Friday which earned them a vital bonus point as well has suddenly put the written-off islanders back as title contenders in the Commonwealth Bank Series Tri-Nation tournament.
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| Sri Lankan batsman Mahela Jayewardene plays a shot during the one-day international cricket match against Australia in Sydney on February 17, 2012. |
Sri Lanka who had not won a game before their Sydney victory in the tournament were simply not regarded seriously in Australia as they arrived here in the midst of a string of international losses that had seriously dented their class and reputation gained after entering the final of the world cup last year.
The non-payment of players salaries, recent sacking spree including that of coach Geoff Marsh, accusations of increased politicization of cricket which had been strengthened by various statements from players made headlines here making the Sri Lankans appear to deserve the sympathy of everyone rather than professionals vying for a big title.
Poor attendance for Sri Lanka’s matches was greeted by the official TV broadcaster Channel Nine relegating Sri Lanka’s matches to one of their less patronised channels and when Sri Lanka lost the first two matches and failed to win the third, it did not help things either.
But Sri Lanka were never out of the picture as they could have easily pulled off all those three if they refined their finishing a bit more. However as there is no place for the “if” factor in today’s professional sport, No one gave Sri Lanka serious thoughts.
But everything changed on Friday as Sri Lanka blasted the daylights off the strong title favourites Australia, showing scant respect to reputation or alien conditions. For skipper Mahela Jayewardene what was more heartening than the victory itself was the factor that who contributed strongly for it.
Man of the Match Thisara Perera and comeback-maker Farveez Maharoof were the stars as Sri Lanka outplayed Aussies in their own game in their own backyard with an exhibition of magnificent seam and swing bowling under perfect conditions. It pleased Jayewardene because he had emphasized at the beginning of the tour that the team was going through a re-building phase with so many changes and was looking to build a strong team for the future.
