da imperador bet： COLOMBO, Sept 23 AAP – Australia’s batsmen will approach the ‘PremadasaPredator’ with extreme caution when they take on Sri Lanka in theChampions Trophy cricket semifinal here on Friday.
Michael Donaldson23-Sep-2002COLOMBO, Sept 23 AAP – Australia’s batsmen will approach the ‘PremadasaPredator’ with extreme caution when they take on Sri Lanka in theChampions Trophy cricket semifinal here on Friday.Sri Lanka’s off-spin genius Muttiah Muralitharan has been absolutelydeadly at the semifinal venue, R Premadasa Stadium.Over the past three years he’s played 17 matches there, taking 38wickets at an average of 14.39 and conceding only 3.34 runs per over.His skill is the primary reason Sri Lanka has won 14 of its past 17games at the ground, making it something of a fortress for the homeside.Australian coach John Buchanan said tackling Muralitharan head on wasdifficult and it was better to dominate the other bowlers and then tryto reduce the champion spinner’s impact on the game.”I think all the batsmen are fairly certain of the way they’d like toplay him but it will be the state of the game that dictates how much hegets into the game,” Buchanan said.Buchanan added the way Australia dealt with the threat of New Zealand’sDaniel Vettori should be replicated against Muralitharan, with Australiablasting off to a good start and holding firm when Muralitharan comesinto the attack.Vettori was by far the Kiwis’ best bowler in Australia’s opening gamehere, taking 1-25 off 10 overs.”The players that were in when Vettori was bowling played the game theright way,” Buchanan said.”They were able to eke runs from him without taking undue risks becausethe platform had already been set and we weren’t under stress to eitherretain wickets or accelerate the scoring rate.”If we can produce a similar sort of effort in this game then Muralicomes in on our terms not his terms … he doesn’t pose the same sort ofthreat provided we approach him in a similar vein to Vettori, wherewe’re happy to take ones and twos and keep him well and truly out of thegame.”But if Murali’s allowed to get into the game on his terms – when we’rebehind on the run rate and down on wickets – then he becomes a much morepotent force.”Buchanan, who has been enjoying a break from coaching while his playerstake a holiday in the Maldives, said Sri Lanka would give Australia agood indication of how things were going in terms of planning for theWorld Cup.So far on this tour, Australia has been in scintillating form andBuchanan said that could continue as long as key players – namelyMatthew Hayden, Shane Watson and Brett Lee – kept performing as they hadto date.Hayden’s stunning form helps Australia make strong starts while Watsonis growing into a top-notch all-rounder and Lee has learned how tocontrol his pace in order to restrict runs – all of which has helpedsolidify the Australian outfit.”There’s a lot of good signs that things are moving in the rightdirection … on their day this is a very, very talented side,” Buchanansaid.”If everything comes together in one effort other teams will find itvery difficult to deal with.”But I sense at the moment we haven’t been totally tested and we’ll findthat out against Sri Lanka on Friday night.”