|
Jayawardene
pays glowing tributes to veterans
 |
| Sri
Lankan batsmen Sanath Jayasuriya (L) and Kumar Sangakkara
run between the wickets during their double century
opening partnership against Bangladesh at Karachi
that laid the foundation for their team’s march
to the Asia Cup final. AFP |
KARACHI:
Mahela Jayawardene paid glowing tributes to his two
most experienced performers - Muttiah Muralitharan and
Sanath Jayasuriya - after they played crucial roles
in their 158-run win over Bangladesh on Monday.
“Murali was too hot to handle for Bangladesh and
it is good to see him among the wickets once we are
in the final now. Sanath is absolutely amazing and he
remains hungry for runs,” Jayawardene said after
the match.
The Sri Lankan skipper said that the 201-run opening
stand between Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara, who also
scored hundred, had set up the big win and a place in
the final.
“We are taking every match seriously and we didn’t
let up on the pressure today as well. We are here to
win the Asia Cup and we have to keep on accelerating
our performances,” he stated.
Jayawardene said Jayasuriya had shown that he still
remained a top player after making a comeback to the
team since being dropped earlier this year from the
One-day squad.
“The selectors took the right decision at that
time. They had to take a decision. Sanath had not scored
a fifty in 20 innings and they had to look for younger
replacements.
“But when Sanath made runs in the IPL they brought
him back. I think the right decisions were taken at
the right time,” he said.
The diminutive Lankan captain said Jayasuriya, who celebrated
his 39th birthday on Monday, remained a player who struggled
if he didn’t play his natural game.
“That is the way he plays and most of the time
he comes off.”
He, however, said that his team needed to brush up on
its batting as he was not happy with the middle order
slump against Bangladesh.
“We need to be consistent and not lose wickets
in numbers. But we are confident for the big games now.”
Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons said at one time he was
looking at a total of 400 or more from Sri Lanka. “You
can do that on these wickets but I think our boys did
well to pull things back and restrict them to 332. I
am disappointed with the batting and I have given them
a blast because we should have made another total of
around 270 and 280 to move forward with our progress.”
Siddons didn’t agree with a suggestion that no
progress was being made by the Bangladesh.
“That is not the way I see it. We have some very
exciting young players and they need time. But I am
excited that we some of these youngsters scoring hundreds.
“I am excited that we are scoring around 280 and
I am excited that we can make these totals without Ashraful,”
he said. [PTI]
|
