Former member of 1983 World Cup winning team

Undated, Apr 2: It was a wonderful night that raised hopes of an intense contest between two veterans. The stage was ideal and quite an apt one for Sanath Jayasuriya and Brian Lara to play the decisive role for their respective teams.

Jayasuriya won the battle hands down.

That Sri Lanka won comprehensively was in keeping with their reputation. A team who have learnt to improve with every match and pay attention to minute details when drawing their tactical plans deserve to be feted. Sri Lanka once again demonstrated what difference can good planning make and I was not at all surprised by the team's domination over the West Indies.

Sri Lanka, on form, looks certain to win a semifinal berth. It has a fine combination where each player knows his role and the most impressive factor is the desire among the seniors to play their part to perfection.

What does one say of Jayasuriya? His hunger for runs is mind-blowing and I can't think of a player more committed to his team than this exciting left-hander. He draws his strength from his experience and his ability to play the motivational role in the team makes him the most valuable asset to have in times when consistency is at a premium.

What I like most about Jayasuriya most is his ability to score when it counts. It was a tight situation for Sri Lanka. It had to win to boost its points tally and chances to play the semifinals.

That he clicked at the right moment was expected of Jayasuriya and he only confirmed that he was a truly great player.

How many players can win matches with individual brilliance? There are not many in this list but Jayasuriya is a priceless member with amazing consistency. I know he loves to play positive cricket but the ease with which he dominates the attack puts him in a different league altogether.

Everything worked in Sri Lanka's favour. It was off to a fine start as Jayasuriya fired and pushed the West Indies attack into a tight corner. And then he whipped them with the flourish of a professional who knows the best time to reap. He has always batted like this and it was West Indies' bad luck that even an out of form Mahela Jayawardene came good at the right opportunity.

Jayasuriya and Jayawardene showed their class during a partnership that swung the match Sri Lanka's way.

Sri Lanka did nothing wrong, from constructive batting to outstanding fielding to tight bowling. It was perfect cricket all the way and I must confess that I have not seen such a brilliant fielding unit as Sri Lanka for a long, long time. Their bowlers backed the good work of their batsmen with Chaminda Vaas leading the way.

Vaas follows a simple philosophy. He bowls within the stumps and becomes difficult to hit because the wicketkeeper stands up. It is most unnerving for the batsman to see the wicketkeeper breathing down his neck even against a medium-pacer and the Lara dismissal was a classic piece of understanding between the Vaas and Kumar Sangakkara.

The scoreboard would show that Lara was stumped but please remember that Vaas does not happen to be a spinner. It was breathtaking really.

The West Indian planning went awry once Sri Lanka scored more than 300 runs. Given the state of their batting it was bound to be tough for the West Indians but then they succumbed without even a fight.

It must have obviously shocked the home supporters but then West Indies had not been playing good cricket under a captain who does not seem to be enjoying his job. His public spat with selectors gave wrong signals and he hardly set the right example by not taking the responsibility and win matches.

Chris Gayle has struggled but Shivnarine Chanderpaul's approach was hard to digest. He looked out of place. If the spectators have stayed away from cheering the home team they have reasons to do so.

West Indies looked so haggard against Sri Lanka that it would be a Herculean task for them to stay in the reckoning.

As of now, their chances of making it to the semifinals don't seem bright.

UNI