Men of Steel

KUMAR SANGAKKARA

Teams in Pool A must be cursing Bangladesh's fielders. Those catch-drops against Sri Lanka seemed to have woken up the sleeping lion and boy is he enjoying himself. After 400 ODIs one would have expected Kumar Sangakkara to be way past his prime; but here he is smacking one century after the other. He may be getting tired a lot sooner these days -- going by his post-match statements -- and these ODIs may also be the last few of his career, but the 37-year-old looks like he can go on for years. After Tillakaratne Dilshan was sent back in the 19th over, England hoped for a comeback. But that opportunity never arrived as Sangakkara's 117 off 86 balls took Sri Lanka home without any hassles.

WAHAB RIAZ

Being a Pakistani fan at the moment must be difficult. They have failed to break the India jinx, their top order hasn't managed to score runs on placid batting tracks and they are also having hard times with some of their coaching management; heck even Bangladesh seem to be enjoying a slightly better run. However, it was under these circumstances that Wahab Riaz put in one of the performances of his life to bring them back from the brink. He first scored a vital 54 off 46 balls at number eight to give them a feather of a chance and then bowled some fierce bouncers which rocketed at 145 kph to scalp four wickets. It was the kind of performances that can lift his side's spirit.