India's Shanthakumaran Sreesanth (left) tosses a ball as Saurav Ganguly watches during a training session in Port-of-Spain, yesterday. - ReutersPORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP):
SRI LANKA ARE preparing to deliver the knockout blow that could put the India team on the flight home after the first round of the World Cup.
Sri Lanka have won both of their matches so far, but have to win today's match against India to ensure they carry two points into the Super Eights round.
A loss for India, the 1983 winners and runners-up last time around, would be humiliating for the team with the largest fan following in the world.
"We've had the advantage of playing well on this pitch and the boys are ready to take on India," Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody said after the team's last net session at the Queen's Park Oval where today's high-profile sub-continental encounter will take place.
"India at home won a recent one-day series against us, but the neutral venue will negate that advantage."
Teams can carry points into the second round for first-round wins over the team that also advances from itsgroup.
"If that's at India's expense, so be it," Moody said. "It's about us, not India."
For India, the knockout match looms weeks before it planned, but a victory today will place Rahul Dravid's team in the Super Eights and make up for a shock loss against Bangladesh.
Bouncing back into contention after their 257-run win over Bermuda, India must continue their recent run against Sri Lanka that has earned them eight wins in their past 10 head-to-head encounters.
Best net run-rate
Sri Lanka's captain, Mahela Jayawardene, celebrates the run-out of his Bangladeshi counterpart Habibul Bashar during their World Cup match in Port-of-Spain on Wednesday. - Reuters
Sri Lanka have the best net run-rate among the three contenders for Super Eights qualification, with their 198-run win on Wednesday over Bangladesh having boosted Sri Lankas net run-rate to 4.594.
India have one win from two matches and a run-rate of 2.507. Bangladesh are also 1-1 but their net run-rate has become negative (minus 2.002) after Wednesday's big loss to Sri Lanka.
India outplayed Sri Lanka in the past two World Cups. Despite a lacklustre start this time, the Indians are drawing parallels from the 2003 World Cup when they began on an unimpressive note, but advanced to the final.
Millions of Indian fans were driven to despair after their poor show against Bangladesh, prompting public outrage in the cricket-addicted nation. Dravid's team is under tremendous pressure, a fact acknowledged by middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh.
"It's a very important game, and the whole of India is looking for us to win the match, we really want to give a solid performance and climb the ladder," Singh said. "Who can say there's no pressure, but we're focussed on stepping forward and getting into the Super Eights," he said.
India lead 49-36 against Sri Lanka in 94 one-day internationals, which includes nine matches that did not produce a result.
Moody says India's recent home series win over his team would have no bearing on today's encounter at this neutral venue.
Tough to beat india
"Everybody knows it's a tough proposition to beat India in India, but we'll be tough competitors at this neutral venue," he said.
Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene says his team had learnt a lot from the recent sojourn to India.
"It's not about names or teams, but about putting bat to ball. These are different conditions and a different venue," he said.
Line-ups: India: Rahul Dravid (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Robin Uthappa, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel and Shanthakumaran Sreesanth.
Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Marvan Atapattu, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Russel Arnold, Chamara Silva, Chaminda Vaas, Farveez Maharoof, Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Nuwan Kulasekara and Malinga Bandara.
