01 August 2004	Sunday	14 Jamadi-us-Saani 1425

COLOMBO, July 31: India will target Sri Lanka's in-form opener Sanath Jayasuriya when they bid to overcome a wretched recent record in tournament finals and lift the Asia Cup on Sunday.

India have won only one of their last 18 one-day finals and skipper Saurav Ganguly believes dismissing Jayasuriya will be the key to bucking the trend.

The 35-year-old has bounced back to form with back-to-back hundreds against Bangladesh and India to make him the tournament's second highest run scorer with 278 runs.

"Jayasuriya scores runs against us, but if we get him out, their run rate is usually not as good," Ganguly said on Saturday.

"In the last game, he survived a close lbw appeal against Zaheer Khan and then I also made the mistake of taking the slips out early."

Ganguly is confident that his team, who defeated Sri Lanka by four runs on Tuesday to book their final slot, can peak at the right time.

He said: "Sri Lanka are hard to beat at home, but we won the last game and we've also won here before."

Ganguly hopes his team's batting will click in the final.

"Our batsmen have been scoring runs in the tournament and it is only a matter of clicking together. We have not performed to potential but all that could change tomorrow," Ganguly said.

Ganguly also said the return of Vangipurappu Laxman from a knee injury would boost the team's batting in Sunday's match.

"Batting has always been our strong point and the return of Laxman means we are full-strength. We have just started a new season so our best is yet to come," he said.

The dryness of the pitch at the R. Premadasa Stadium will determine whether India opt for three seamers or retain specialist spinners Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh in the day/night fixture.

Sri Lanka skipper Marvan Atapattu said: "The way that we have been playing since the Australia tour is great and I see a difference in approach and a special keenness from the players."

His side will be at full-strength after the return of Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan.

Teams (from):

Sri Lanka: Marvan Atapattu (captain), Sanath Jayasuriya, Avishka Gunawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Upul Chandana, Chaminda Vaas, Farveez Maharoof, Nuwan Zoysa, Muttiah Muralitharan, Saman Jayantha, Lasith Malinga,, Thilina Kandamby.

India: Saurav Ganguly (captain), Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Vangipurappu Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Parthiv Patel, Lakshmipathy Balaji.-Agencies