Lankan think-tank looks for chinks in Sanath’s armour

These days Sanath Jayasuriya hits almost every second ball to or over the fence. This is no off-the-cuff exaggerated...

These days Sanath Jayasuriya hits almost every second ball to or over the fence. This is no off-the-cuff exaggerated statement that highlights the Mumbai Indians opener’s terrific form in the last three games but a fact based on statistics. Jayasuriya has hit 16 sixes and 21 fours in the last 80 he has faced. With him being unbeaten on two occasions, his average and aggregate post-returning to form is an unreal 198.

The million-dollar question that’s begging to be answered in this multi-million dollar league at present is: Can someone stop this guy? It’s a crisis that international bowlers have faced several times in the last decade. Most of the times, disheartened by the futility of the exercise, they have moved on. But watching the Kings XI Punjab think-tank — Tom Moody, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumara Sangakkara — come out of the dressing room after a team meeting, there seemed to be some hope for the bowlers.

If at all there was a feasible plan to stop the Matara / Mumbai Mauler in full flow, it is this trio that possess the blue print. Moody is the former Sri Lanka coach while Jayawardene and Sangakkara have been long-standing members of the Islanders’ think-tank. The men, who have so often enjoyed Jayasuriya’s flick-of-the-wrist murder of rival bowling attacks, are now in his adopted backyard, wary of the deathly blows.

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Mention Jayasuriya to the Super Kings coach Tom Moody and he speaks about the huge respect the batsman enjoys in world cricket. After the initial formalities, he adds, “He has had a slow start to the tournament. We are very aware of where we need to bowl to him and probably the areas we need to avoid. Obviously execution of the plan is very important. We did very well in Mohali and we look forward to doing the same here,” he says.

The first round win against Jayasuriya that Moody speaks of gives an idea about the plan that Moody has in mind. With inputs from the Sri Lankan intelligentsia within the camp, the Mohali team concluded that bowling full and straight to Jayasuriya was the way out.

Brett Lee started with three yorkers, the last one a 149.8 kmph scorcher, to the opener. In the next over he bowled another full and fast ball that saw Jayasuriya drive into the hands of Lee. Jayasuriya c and b Lee: 1 (7 balls). The plan had worked and Mumbai Indians never recovered from the blow that evening.

In Lee’s absence, Moody can only ask his pacers to repeat the plan for Wednesday’s game but the player-turned-coach knows how hard it will be to implement. Lee with his precision and speed can pull off the Jayasuriya coup but can S Sreesanth or Irfan Pathan do the same?

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Besides listening to the Sri Lankans advice, the two Indian pacers will be needed to give their own inputs about the Indian camp. With Sachin Tendulkar being Jayasuriya’s partner, Moody expects some Indian inputs. “We have some current Indian players in our side who are aware of Tendulkar’s strengths since there is hardly any weakness. Sharing them will certainly help the team,” he says.

With such exchanges of information across IPL’s multi-national dressing rooms, one asks Moody if international cricket will be more open in the future. He thinks for a while, but doesn’t quite agree. “There have been tools like video footage and replays so there are not many secrets left. There is a big difference between knowing what the weaknesses are and executing plans under pressure in the middle. The team that manages to do that over a long period of time and is consistent,” he says.

That in a way explains Mohali’s battle with Jayasuriya. They know what to do, but can they do it again?