London, June 15: Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara said Twenty20 cricket was now a bowlers’ game after his side were given a major scare by Ireland.
The only non-Test team left in the World Twenty20, Ireland held Sangakkara’s side to 144 for nine at Lord’s on Sunday before tight bowling from the likes of Ajantha Mendis and Lasith Malinga restricted the minnows to 135 for seven.
Victory by nine runs preserved Sri Lanka’s unbeaten record at the tournament but it needed a 78 from former skipper Mahela Jayawardene, in an innings where only three batsmen made double figures, to give their bowlers a target they could defend.
“I think Twenty20 is fast becoming a bowlers’ game rather than a batsmen’s game,” said Sangakkara after seeing Jayawardene lead a Sri Lanka revival after they’d slumped to 14 for two.
“Bowlers have an opportunity to take wickets with almost every ball they bowl and I think the most successful bowlers in England in the Twenty20 format have been the spinners.”
Sri Lanka, who face New Zealand in their final Super Eights match in Nottingham on Tuesday, are now on the brink of qualifying for the semi-finals and wicket-keeper Sangakkara was clear about the reasons for their success.
“The fact remains that if you have two or three guys in your side who are bowling well and who are putting pressure on the opposition by cutting the runs down, the batsmen are going to attack someone else, that’s a given,” he said.
“You’ve got to accept that and understand who is going for runs and whether you have enough depth in your bowling to absorb that pressure and really come back hard and take wickets and again cut the runs down.”
Paceman Nuwan Kulasekara was expensive against Ireland, with one wicket for 47 runs from four overs, but unorthodox quick Malinga took two for 19 and spinner Mendis two for 22.
“A few of our bowlers did go for runs but the rest of the guys took wickets at crucial times,” said Sangakkara.
Jayawardene, who according to his captain “batted beautifully” was glad with the bulk of his 53-ball innings, which featured a six and nine fours, although unhappy he did not bat through to the end of the 20 overs.
“We were in a bit of a situation where we needed some runs as well as to bat through,” Jayawardene said.
“I probably had a little bit of luck to start with and then I got into the groove but I was disappointed, I should have finished the innings.”
He added: “The ideal scenario would be everything to go our way but that’s not going to happen every game. So on that day, whoever gets the responsibility to bat through the innings has to do that and the others bat around him.”
Malinga has proved hard to handle for many of the world’s best batsmen, let alone Ireland’s, but Jayawardene said his unusual style belied the effort the seamer out into his game.
“He’s got a natural advantage with his slingy action but I think the hallmark of Lasith Malinga as with nearly all our Sri Lankan cricketers is that he works hard in the nets,” Jayawardene said.
“There’s no secret to his accuracy, it’s just a lot of hard work.”
Meanwhile, Sangakkara insisted this result would not dent Sri Lanka’s self-belief.
“You always expect a fight in Twenty20 cricket. If you are defending 144, the other side are always going to get close, the key is not to let them get close enough.”
—–Agencies