 Murali too hot to handle, Sanath absolutely amazing: Jayawardene
1st Jul 2008 15:00 IST
Agencies
Mahela Jayawardene paid glowing tributes to his two most experienced performers -- Muttiah Muralitharan and Sanath Jayasuriya -- after they played crucial roles in their 158-run win over Bangladesh at the National Stadium in Karachi Monday night.
"Murali was too hot to handle for Bangladesh and it is good to see him among the wickets once we are in the final now. Sanath is absolutely amazing and he remains hungry for runs," Jayawardene said after the match.
The Sri Lankan skipper said that the 201-run opening stand between Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara, who also scored hundred, had set up the big win and a place in the final.
"We are taking every match seriously and we didn't let up on the pressure on Monday as well. We are here to win the Asia Cup and we have to keep on accelerating our performances," he stated.
Jayawardene said Jayasuriya had shown that he still remained a top player after making a comeback to the team since being dropped earlier this year from the one-day squad.
"The selectors took the right decision at that time. They had to take a decision. Sanath had not scored a fifty in 20 innings and they had to look for younger replacements."
"But when Sanath made runs in the IPL they brought him back. I think the right decisions were taken at the right time," he said.
The diminutive Lankan captain said Jayasuriya, who celebrated his 39th birthday on Monday, remained a player who struggled if he didn't play his natural game. "That is the way he plays and most of the time he comes off."
He, however, said that his team needed to brush up on its batting as he was not happy with the middle order slump against Bangladesh. "We need to be consistent and not lose wickets in numbers. But we are confident for the big games now."
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