Confident SL eyeing good conclusion
A tour that started with the hosts as favourites in the ODI tri-series is very close to wrapping up with visitors Sri Lanka eyeing a clean sweep of series in their Bangladesh expedition. While there will be tough words from Bangladesh ahead of the first of two T20Is today, Sri Lanka's representative at the pre-match press conference -- opener Upul Tharanga -- just seemed quietly confident about their prospects in the series.
Not only have they won the ODI tri-series and the subsequent Test series against the hosts, they also have a 5-2 record against Bangladesh in the shortest format.
“We have done well so far, in the one-day tournament and the Test series also,” Tharanga said yesterday. “We have confidence. We've got good momentum and we want to carry that forward. Everyone is looking forward to that.”
There is one unknown whenever there is a match in Mirpur, and that is the pitch. Slapped with a demerit point by the ICC yesterday for being too bowler-friendly in the second Test held from February 8-10, the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium wicket was also unpredictable in the tri-series with it becoming harder as the tournament wore on.
“We can't be sure of it until tomorrow. Hopefully it will be a good wicket. In the one-day series also we got different wickets,” Tharanga said. “In the first two games the wicket was good and then in the latter part of the series the wickets were getting really slow. In the Test match also we got a bowling track. We hope for a really good wicket tomorrow. “
It is not just the Sri Lanka squad that has new players; Bangladesh have included six uncapped players in their squad. Tharanga said that with people in the Sri Lanka squad -- including the opener himself, Thisara Perera and Jeevan Mendis -- having played in the Bangladesh Premier League recently, there should not be too many surprises.
“A few of the players have been playing BPL. We've got an idea of how they are doing. They are new to the side and have done well during the BPL. We have seen a few videos about them. We've got an idea about them.
“This series is also very important for us as a team. We haven't been consistent in the last one-and-a-half to two years. We've got the hope to finish the series very well.”
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