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| March 25, 2007 | Sunday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 5, 1428 |
Skipper hails Lankan grit
PORT-OF-SPAIN, March 24: Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene praised his team for overcoming trying conditions to defeat India and top their World Cup Group B on Friday.
“The way we handled the situation and the way India handled the situation probably made the difference,” he told a news conference.
Sri Lankan opener Upul Tharanga dug in to top-score with 64 before Chamara Silva made his third successive fifty in the tournament. Off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan took three wickets.
Left-arm paceman Chaminda Vaas removed openers Robin Uthappa and Saurav Ganguly after they tried toy force the pace too early.
“Upul batted really well and Chamara once again showed what a good cricketer he is,” the skipper said.
“Murali bowled really well and Vassy bowled well upfront. They have a class batting line-up and considering that, we thought 250 was probably short. We managed to get couple of early wickets and put pressure on them.”
Muralitharan, 34, was pleased with his own performance.
“The ball didn't turn much, but I've the ability to turn the ball,” said the second highest one-day wicket-taker with 438 scalps.—Reuters
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