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 Mumbai, Oct 13: Having already booked their place in the tournament proper, title holders West Indies and Sri Lanka would be keen to keep their momentum going when they clash in the last ICC Champions Trophy qualifying match at the Brabourne Stadium here tomorrow.
There's very little to choose between the cricketers from the Emerald Island and those from the Caribbean and the tie, the first international outing in the splendid setting at the Cricket Club of India in more than a decade, promises to be a thrilling contest.
The victors in the match would qualify for Group B in the tournament proper, also comprising South Africa, Pakistan and New Zealand.
The losers would be pooled together with World Cup champions Australia, hosts and strong title contenders India and England in Group A.
West Indies captain Brian Lara said after his team's comprehensive ten-wicket win over Bangladesh at Jaipur on Wednesday that his team was keen to finish as the number one team by beating the
Lankans. "We want to continue the momentum. No team likes to go to the next stage of the tournament with a loss, and three (wins) in a row would be nice".
Sri Lanka would be equally interested in making it ten victories in a row in ODIs starting with a very creditable 5-0 whitewash of England in the latter's backyard.
The Lankans are a improved lot, a far cry from the one that visited India a season ago with Marvan Atapattu at the helm and was swamped in both Tests and ODIs, and have shown that the Mahela Jayawardene-led outfit is no pushover.
The turnaround has been mainly due to stylish right-handed batsman Jayawardene, who has led from the front in the lead-up to this tournament. Young opener Upul Tharanga has clicked sensationally in the two matches so far with back-to-back hundreds.
But the Lankans would be very keen that their veteran Sanath Jayasuriya gets into the groove after his modest displays against both Zimbabwe and Bangladesh (9 and 31).
Jayawardene too has not fired yet, though like his predecessor Jayasuriya did have a start in the last game before frittering it away. Another ex-captain Marvan Atapattu too has not been able to capitalise on his starts.
Lankans batting mainstay Kumar Sangakkara, is another key player whose wicket would be eagerly sought after by the Windies bowlers.
The Lankan bowling needs to pull up its socks if they don't want to be thrashed around by the likes of flamboyant West Indian opener Chris Gayle. They also need to check the extras as they gave away as many as 53 runs through no-balls and wides against Zimbabwe.
Chaminda Vaas is set to regain his spot after having taken a break as per the rotation policy followed by Sri Lanka in their last tie at Ahmedabad against Zimbabwe. His return would be crucial for his team's hopes.
The way off-spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan is tackled in the middle overs by the likes of Lara and Ramnaresh Sarwan could also determine the fate of the match.
The Windies have been hit hard by viral fever which has, at various times during their stay here, has laid low Sarwan, Runako Morton, Dwayne Smith and their fast bowling spearhead Fidel Edwards who has missed both the ties.
This has been an area of concern for skipper Lara who said after their victory over Bangladesh that to field the best team they needed 14 fit players. The West Indies are also increasingly relying on the hard-hitting abilities of Gayle at the top of the order to launch their innings and the Jamaican left hander has not let them down.
Gayle's performance with the bat is a very crucial factor as if he falls early, the West Indian middle order has shown a penchant for falling like nine pins.
The presence of utility cricketers like Dwayne Bravo and Ian Bradshaw gives the West Indies a look of a better-prepared team recently than in the immediate past.
They, after all, laid low the all-conquering Australia in the DLF Cup league stage in Malaysia, a feat not many teams can boast of.
Teams: Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Kumar Sangakkara (vice-capt), Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu, Upul Tharanga, Tillkaratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedara, Farveez Maharoof, Chaminda Vaas, Ruchira Perera, Dilhara Fernando, Lasith Malinga, Malinga Bandara, Muttiah
Muralitharan.
West Indies: Brian Lara (capt), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Runako Morton, Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith, Carlton Baugh (wk), Corey Collymore, fidel Edwards, Ian Bradshaw, Jerome Taylor, Marlon Samuels, Wavell Hinds.
On-field Umpires: Asad Rauf and Rudi Koertzen.
Third umpire: Mark Benson.
Fourth umpire: Aleem Dar.
Match referee Mike Procter. (Agencies)
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