"Lady Luck shouldn’t be rude with such a lovely and fighting
Lankan unit. Lady Luck must smile upon these Lankan boys to make them the
ultimate winners," Writes
Faisal caesar
In the ongoing Champions Trophy in England, the Lankans
kicked off in a thrilling fashion. Despite having a star-studded batting line
up, getting all-out for just 138 still remains a mystery but the manner in
which such a total was defended on a batting-friendly track at Cardiff was
astonishing. The Kiwis were left at bay by Malinga’s thunderbolts while the
other Lankan bowlers attacked in such an aggressive fashion that 138 seemed an
impossible target. The Kiwis had the last laugh but the Sri Lankan Lions gained
enormous self-belief to strike gold in their next encounter against England at
the Oval.
Ravi Bopara took the Lankan attack to the cleaners by
smashing 28 runs in the last over and helped England to post a mammoth total of
293 – a target which was surely an improbable one against the most potent
attack in this tournament and with this Lankan batting which proved fragile on
a sun-kissed flat in Cardiff – very little was expected from them. But
somewhere in the deepest corners of the heart there was that self-belief earned
from Cardiff, motivated this Sri Lankan unit to dent the English hopes.
England started according to their plan, removed the talented
Kusal Perera early. Time progressed, and under the lights, the flashing blade
of Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, and Mahela Jayawardene blazed in a graceful
manner. Dilshan was just like his gung-ho character – cut, pulled and drove as
if he was playing maidan cricket with his friends. We were just witnessing the
flying of a bird who loves to enjoy his flying without much hassle. Amid
Dilshan’s berserk batting there was some eloquent exhibition of exquisite
drives from Sangakkara - the amalgamation of nature’s beauty and brutality was
at its very best.
Dilshan walked back to the pavilion and entered Mahela
Jayawardene, another modern cricket’s finest charm, to join Sangakkara. The
bells in the temple of heaven started to make a sacred sound, the flowers
started to shower from the heaven and the stars in the sky shone even brighter
as it was the time to worship beauty.
An out of form Jayawardene found his lost rhythm and in came
those sweetly timed drives and classic flicks. The majestic Sangakkara was
getting more and more like poet Kazi Nazrul Islam – uncharacteristic in
approach but still rhythmic. Sangakkara scored at a manic rate,
uncharacteristic at times but still, those 4s and 6s were never dished out from
the T20-textbook – they were classic Sangkkara stuffs.
At the crease, it was a delicacy to relish. The romantic
heart just yearns for such a sight whole day and night. The class of Mahlea and
the stubborn artistry of Sanga had been a sight to watch! Man, I could deny a
date with the most beautiful lady in Dhaka for the sake of Sangakkara and
Mahela Jayawardene’s splendid batting display.
Jayawardene walked back to the pavilion after a solid stand
with Sanga and surprisingly we discovered a night-watchman pinch-hitting
package – Kulasekara was promoted up the order in place of Lahiru Thirimane.
Ladies love surprises and they get even more impressed when the surprises are a
romantic bombshell. Perhaps, Angelo Mathews wanted to surprise the Lady Luck
and win her heart. Angie’s move did win her heart.
Sangakkara reached his hundred but his heroics were
overshadowed by some mind-blowing hitting from Kulasekara. A clever and risky
move proved to be a masterstroke by some clever pinch-hitting from Kulasekara.
The class and marshaling qualities of Sangakkara, the grace of Mahela, the
cunning move of Angelo Mathews and the wildness of Dilshan made the lady luck
to blush, impressed her immensely. But the ultimate jackpot was hit by
Kulasekara. Breezy Kulasekara made her smile and she didn’t dishearten the
Lankan unit at all.
Lady Luck shouldn’t be rude with such a lovely and fighting
Lankan unit. Lady Luck must smile upon these Lankan boys to make them the
ultimate winners. A team boosting with the likes of Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar
Sangakkara, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Dilshan, and co still have not been
able to lift any major ICC trophies. It will be an injustice if these legends
leave the game without winning any major ICC tournaments.
Note: This article has been published at Cricketsoccer on 14/06/2013 Sparkling Sri Lanka
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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