Sangakkara eyes bigger wins after taming Aussies
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
NOTTINGHAM, Jun 9 (AFP): Kumar Sangakkara celebrated his first stint as Sri Lanka's captain by dumping mighty Australia from the World Twenty20, then warned rivals he was hungry for more scalps.
"I can't ask for more, but this is just the start. We want to continue in the same vein," he said after the six-wicket win over Australia at Trent Bridge Monday night.
The left-hander himself led from the front with an unbeaten 55, building on the robust 53 off 32 balls by Tillakaratne Dilshan, as Sri Lanka surpassed Australia's 159-9 with six balls to spare.
Ricky Ponting's men, beaten by the West Indies in their first match, bowed out of the tournament with their fifth successive Twenty20 defeat and ample time in hand to prepare for next month's Ashes series.
Sri Lanka and the West Indies, who take the two Super Eights places from the group, play each other in the inconsequential last league match on Wednesday.
"We don't want to take anything easy," said Sangakkara. "We want to beat the West Indies also, so that we are on a roll going into the Super Eights.
"I don't want us to get too carried away by just one win. The Twenty20 game can be very demanding. You have to be up to it every single day.
"It feels great to beat a side like Australia. It was a case of sticking to the basics, sticking to our game plan.
"But the key to beating Australia is that everyone in the squad must believe that we can win. Now there are a few areas we need to brush up on, so that we will be even better in the days ahead," he said.
"I can't ask for more, but this is just the start. We want to continue in the same vein," he said after the six-wicket win over Australia at Trent Bridge Monday night.
The left-hander himself led from the front with an unbeaten 55, building on the robust 53 off 32 balls by Tillakaratne Dilshan, as Sri Lanka surpassed Australia's 159-9 with six balls to spare.
Ricky Ponting's men, beaten by the West Indies in their first match, bowed out of the tournament with their fifth successive Twenty20 defeat and ample time in hand to prepare for next month's Ashes series.
Sri Lanka and the West Indies, who take the two Super Eights places from the group, play each other in the inconsequential last league match on Wednesday.
"We don't want to take anything easy," said Sangakkara. "We want to beat the West Indies also, so that we are on a roll going into the Super Eights.
"I don't want us to get too carried away by just one win. The Twenty20 game can be very demanding. You have to be up to it every single day.
"It feels great to beat a side like Australia. It was a case of sticking to the basics, sticking to our game plan.
"But the key to beating Australia is that everyone in the squad must believe that we can win. Now there are a few areas we need to brush up on, so that we will be even better in the days ahead," he said.