Cardiff: The million dollar question on the eve of the India-Sri Lanka semi-final is whether Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga can destroy the strong Indian batting line up.
Thousands of Sri Lanka fans have already purchased the famed Malinga wig to support their star bowler and cheer his every delivery.
After Malinga imitated world-renowned sprinter Usain Bolt’s “lightning Bolt” pose, upon dismissing Australia’s Glenn Maxwell at the Oval, fans now want their star bowler to repeat it against India.
For India’s top order batsmen, there is also the challenge from Nuwan Kulasekara who, with his whippy open-chested action, is generating a lively pace. He moves the ball off the seam and can reverse-swing the ball.
Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews is delighted with the performance of all his pacers and revealed that he does not bank on Malinga alone.
“We don’t really bank on one bowler,” he said.
“We have the likes of Kulasekara, Shaminda Eranga, and Thisara Perera. So we’ve got those seam options,” added Mathews, who also revealed that Malinga is supporting all his pacers too to give their best.
“Malinga is one of those players who know exactly what to do in these conditions. He also helps the other bowlers quite a lot, which is very important, so this is a team unit, and we need to help and support all the others,” he said.
Elaborating on Malinga’s role in the Sri Lankan team Mathews said: “He (Malinga) is such a tough guy mentally and physically, he knows exactly what to do in these situations. He’s so professional. He’s a premium bowler and you’ve got to accept it. Whatever has been done, he’s our main bowler, so he’s dealing with runs again and hats off to him.”
The talk among the Sri Lankan supporters is that Malinga has put on weight. So when Mathews was asked about it, he said: “Well, to me he hasn’t put on that much weight. He’s very professional the way he goes about things and he knows exactly what to do and how to do it. He’s a premium bowler, and he gets the bowling in it with him. He helps quite a lot. He works with all the bowlers and he tries to give the maximum each time he walks into the middle. Maybe he has gained some muscle.”
Whether he has put on weight or gained muscle, Sri Lankans are depending on Malinga’s strength to defuse India’s batting prowess.
