Seeing even the Sri Lankan tail-enders deposit balls deep into the stands during training on the eve of their final Group A World Cup clash against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium, made one go back to what John Wright wrote in his wonderful book, Indian Summers. In the book, he had mentioned about how the short boundaries at Indian venues ahead of an ODI, prompted the Indian spinners to sport long faces. Well, the spinners in both teams, if the captains opt to risk them that is, might have long faces again by the time night descends on Mumbai on Friday.
The straight boundaries are inviting to say the least and even mis-hits are likely to go the distance. Sri Lanka and New Zealand both depend on spinners in the middle overs and the smaller playing area will test their abilities to the fullest. Muttiah Muralitharan, Rangana Herath and Ajantha Mendis are the tweakers in the Lankan line-up, while New Zealand have Luke Woodcock and Nathan McCullum in their ranks. Regular skipper Daniel Vettori is injured and won't play the game on Friday.
Judging by that logic, Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara would have to think twice about fielding more than one spinner in the line-up against a team that is suspect against quality spin. But for the southpaw, size doesn't matter. "Whether the boundaries are short or long, you eventually have to clear them and when guys hit sixes, they generally do that," he said.
He also wants his slow bowlers to look at the situation positively. "Sometimes when the boundaries are too short, it can actually work in the favour of the spinners as the batsmen try and do too much. At the same time, at the Wankhede Stadium, with the boundaries being this small, the scores haven't been too high in the past. Eventually, it's the skill of the players that matters and not the size of the boundary," he stressed.
The short boundaries also didn't seem to bother Kiwi spinner Nathan McCullum. And why should they? After all, some of the boundaries in the stadiums in New Zealand are smaller. McCullum endorsed that. "In comparison to some of the grounds in New Zealand, this seems to be good. The wicket may change slightly and may slow up a little bit in the second half. I'm excited to play on this ground again. It's always good to play on a ground that you have played on before," he said.
The offie may take some comfort from the past, but Sangakkara doesn't want to dwell too much on it. Even the 4-3 advantage that Sri Lanka enjoy in World Cups doesn't excite him too much. "If the past counts that much, then may be it would give us an edge. When you're playing in the World Cup, the past doesn't really matter. It's what you do when game day comes along that matters."
That said, both teams would want to win and finish on a high. That would give them momentum in the quarters.
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