Lanka to dial M, going for the kill

Conditions at Sabina Park were overcast, and rain is forecast for the coming days, but one could sense the mercury rising.

Conditions at Sabina Park were overcast, and rain is forecast for the coming days, but one could sense the mercury rising. The days of resting players or testing waters are over. As the number of recorders on the table 8212; where the two captains sat for the press conference 8212; multiplied and the crowd of cameras behind jostled for space, it was clear that the final week of the World Cup had been kicked off and there was no space for the weak here now.

Since the Sri Lanka versus New Zealand semi-final happens to be a clash between two teams quietly confident, two who don8217;t quite believe in false bravado, one got to hear the honest confession about the strengths and weaknesses of each team from Mahela Jayawardene and Stephen Fleming.

There was no instigation, mental warfare or psychological advantages pursued as that seems to be the prerogative of the two other semi-finalists in St Lucia.

But the general consensus is that Lanka seem to be the favourites to win the 8216;book cricket8217; battle 8212; the one where statistics are paramount and past performances the only criteria. Jayawardene, however, said that 8220;this isn8217;t the time to look back on past performances since it will boil down to the performance on the day.8221;

And going by the Black Caps8217; habit of underplaying themselves, Fleming stressed the importance of two Lanka veterans who can change the course of the game. He had a one-line praise for Jayasuriya, but when he came to Murali he couldn8217;t stop talking. 8220;We have realised how good he is every time we play him. He is always adding new subtleties to his armoury.

8220;We just avoid being negative against him, but should try to be smart. If he finishes with 1/40 in 10 overs then we have done well,8221; he said.

And as an afterthought, realising the fact that Lasith Malinga was 100 per cent fit, he added: 8220;Though the challenge is to deal with the rest of the 40 overs that have Malinga and Chaminda Vaas, who are just as effective.8221;

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The NZ plan is to get early wickets and then exploit the weakness of the Lankan lower middle order 8212; something Fleming said they were stronger at with the presence of the likes of Daniel Vettori, James Franklin and McCullum in their line-up.

According to Jayawardene , his team8217;s biggest strength was the presence of experienced players who were used to playing the high-intensity games. 8220;We have players who are used to playing big games who we definitely know what needs to be done,8221; he said. Fleming too in a way said that their senior players hold the key.

In the end what the two captains were trying to say was forget the stats or the conditions, but when the mercury rises, those with weaker hearts would burn their fingers.