SL not bothered by past

Sri Lanka's star paceman Lasith Malinga (L) enjoys his time with mates during the team's practice session at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday. PHOTO: STAR

Defending champions West Indies has swiftly become possibly the most fearsome team in the tournament while Sri Lanka has the right balance, so ultimately the team that hits form on the day will come out on top when they meet in today's first semifinal of the ICC World Twenty20 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur this evening.
Both teams go into the game with similar momentum from their last group game and that was the reason Sri Lanka coach Paul Farbrace found no reason to think on his side's defeat against the same opponents in the 2012 final at home.
“Well, the simple fact is that was then. The win against New Zealand was a massive boost for us, we felt that we were probably 15-20 runs short, our bowling performance showed the fight. We came off a magnificent win. We saw the game last night, West Indies are an excellent side playing very good cricket. Preparation for the game tomorrow should be as good as it possibly can be,” said Farbrace while speaking to the pre-match press conference at Mirpur yesterday. And he was also not ready to count their defeat against the Caribbean side in the lead-up game of the tournament.
The spinners so far have had the say in the tournament and Sri Lanka has plenty in their arsenal to dictate terms. Farbrace admitted that he has a sweet headache with this and expressed his excitement over Rangana Hearth, the hero of the last match.
“We know coming here, we spent a little bit of time here, the wickets will turn, it's about making sure you get the right pace, and I think that's what Herath did so well in Chittagong against New Zealand. He bowled at a fantastic pace, spinners need to bowl the right pace on the right surface,” he observed.
Captain Dinesh Chandimal will be back after a one-match suspension and his coach would love to see him get back among the runs in the knockout game.
So far Sri Lanka have had a tremendous journey here since they played the full series against the home side and there will be no shortage of confidence when they play the vital game at the venue where they won the Asia Cup. Farbrace however was not ready to consider subcontinental conditions as an advantage.
“I think as a team you look to every advantage you can possibly get. When you talk to players individually you chat about past experiences, but I don't think you can hold too much to the fact that these are subcontinent conditions. West Indies are playing brilliantly; it's really about who performs well in those three and a half hours. I don't think there will be too much of an advantage,” said the Lankan coach.
Farbrace heaped praise on his stalwarts Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan and no doubt one of them can emerge as a game-changer tonight.