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Nottingham: Sri Lanka and the West Indies will enjoy a contest without pressure when they clash in their last group C league match of the World Twenty20 on Wednesday.
What should have been a virtual knock-out game in the group will hold nothing more than academic interest after both teams knocked mighty Australia out of the tournament.
"This was the only group that had three Test-playing nations in it, so to come out it pretty well is a huge bonus," said Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara.
"Both the West Indies and us have made the Super Eights, so the pressure will no doubt be a bit less. But international cricket is serious business, there is no question of taking it easy."
Sri Lanka hammered Ricky Ponting's men by six wickets on Monday, two days after the West Indies rode on captain Chris Gayle's explosive 88 off 50 overs to down the Aussies by seven wickets.
Sangakkara said Ajantha Mendis's success against Australia, where he took 3-20 in four overs, bode well for his team and he expected the mystery spinner to play a major role in the tournament.
"In a Twenty20 game, where you have to attack almost every ball you play, to have unpredictability, that mystery around him is good," the captain said.
"Batsmen will get on top of him on some days, but more often than not, he is a wicket-taking bowler, an attacking bowler."
Mendis turns the ball both ways with one visible action, making it difficult for batsmen to read him in the air.
Mahela Jayawardene, Sangakkara's predecessor as captain, said Wednesday's game was crucial for both teams.
"We need to look at the bigger picture going into the match," Jayawardene told reporters.
"The momentum is crucial in a World Cup of this nature. One needs to get every small things right, whether it is batting, bowling or fielding.
"No one wants to lose a winning streak. This game will help us get into the rhythm for the Super Eights contests."
Jayawardene conceded Gayle was the major threat and Sri Lanka's bowlers were working on a plan to get him early.
"Chris is definitely a threat up front," he said. "He has a free-flowing game. We will of course try to bowl in areas where he is not comfortable."
The West Indies are being hailed as one of the most dangerous teams in the competition despite being hammered 2-0 in the preceding Test series by England.
They now get a chance to make a mark in a tournament where they were dumped in the first round in the inaugural event in 2007 after losing to Bangladesh.
"We know we have a team that can beat the best, but in Twenty20 it all depends on how one plays on a given day," said Gayle.
"We take it one match at a time. We definitely want to beat Sri Lanka which will raise the team's confidence for the Super Eights."
Team
The Teams They were both expected to fight it out for the second qualifying spot in the 'Group of Death', but due to their superb displays against Australia, they have the luxury of treating this match as a warm-up/practice match and trying out new combinations and players. Both teams will make the Super Eights, and the result of this match is immaterial.
Sri Lanka They put up a thoroughly professional performance to outclass the Australians, and they'll be well pleased with the form of Dilshan and Sangakkara. The heartening aspect for them is that Jayawardene has recovered from his injury in the IPL. The trio are the lynch-pins of the Lankan batting, and much will depend on how they fire. Their bowling is amongst the best in the tournament, and they will be pleased that Ajantha Mendis showed his class in the match against Australia. It showed the value of handling a world-class bowler in the correct fashion - something the Kolkata Knight Riders might want to keep in mind.
West Indies Although they won convincingly against Australia, too much of their success depends on Chris Gayle. Ideally, they might want to consider not playing him in this match, to give the opportunity for some others to stand up and take the pressure. In the Super Eights, there will surely be a match where Gayle might fail, and then if the remaining players have already had a taste of what it is like to bat in the absence of Gayle, they will be better suited to handling the pressure in a match that is more important. None of their bowlers were particularly impressive against Australia, and they should look at ways for their bowlers to hit their stride before the second phase.
Pitch & Conditions
Ground Reality Trent Bridge has been a good wicket so far in the tournament, with a slight bias towards batsmen. A safe score here would have to be one in excess of 170-175. As is usual in England, rain and thunder are forecast for the day, but so far the tournament has been fortunate to not be too affected by the rains. If this match does get affected, it would be less harmful than would have been expected since both teams are already through to the next stage.
Number Game
Match facts
Wednesday June 10, 2009 (day/night)
Start time 17.00 local, 16.00GMT
