Srinath’s extra motivation proved fatal for Sri Lanka

The dash of confidence permeating in the Indian ranks was not to be understated - five wins on the trot – Sourav Ganguly’s men were hungry as ever to keep its clean slate going when they squared up with Sri Lanka in a Super Six game at the New Wanderers Stadium.

And Team India’s splendid run seemed on track as they motored on a rollicking century opening stand between Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag to raise an imposing score of 292 for 6 off 50 overs. Tendulkar was at his exquisite best but was unlucky to miss his 35^th ODI century by just three runs and also in the process became the highest run scorer in a single World Cup.

The strong Indian batting show rubbed off on their bowlers who were infused with an extra spring in the strides defending a tall score. Nobody was more pepped up than Javagal Srinath, who derived some extra motivation to come out with something special. He had to bring out his best for dear friend Hemant who had passed away in his early thirties in Mysore a week back. And what an inspired spell it was from Srinath - one that brought the Sri Lankan top-order on its knees.

Of course, his first wicket of Marvan Atapattu had more to do with the batsman’s indiscretion than anything else – the right-hander playing a loose drive to Mohammed Kaif in the covers.

Jehan Mubarak’s opening World Cup game ended on a forgettable note as Srinath enticed him to feel for one moving away to leave Sri Lanka’s chase plans in absolute disarray.

Then, there was vastly experienced Aravinda de Silva who would have wanted to go out on a high in his last international game against India, but came unstuck against a Srinath inswinger – becoming the fourth guy among the top five to get a duck as Sri Lanka were quivering at 15 for 4 in the fourth over.

Skipper Sanath Jayasuriya’s participation in the match was under a cloud of uncertainty– he played despite being hamstrung with a badly bruised arm and chipped left finger. And the apparent discomfort in Jayasuriya’s batting showed as he struggled to get going before Srinath finally ended his woes, spooning one to Mohammad Kaif who went on to pluck a record four catches in that game.

The writing was clearly on the wall for Sri Lanka. Srinath’s early damage – his opening spell read 7-1-24-4 was enough to swing the game in India’s favour and also sealed its semifinal berth.

The Lankan batsmen cut a miserable figure – that only four batsmen reached double-figures summed up their inept display. Sri Lanka were all out for 103 in 23 overs, handing India a massive 183-run win.

No wonder, former Sri Lankan World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga expressed his deep disappointment at their abject surrender. “Sri Lanka just weren’t good enough. Also, it didn’t help that Sanath (Jayasuriya) put India in on an excellent batting surface.

Srinath was named Man of the Match award for his bowling effort, and wasted little time in dedicating the recognition to his friend Hemant. “This is for him,” he declared after receiving the award.”