Jayawardene happy to look forward
Mahela Jayawardene is delighted Sri Lanka have already cleared an especially tough first ICC World Twenty20 hurdle.
Sri lanka have progressed from the group stages at the expense of Australia.
Kumar Sangakkara's men, up against West Indies at Trent Bridge in a match between two teams who have already qualified for the Super Eights, knew from the outset they could go out early after such a tough draw.
Sri Lanka are through thanks to their six-wicket defeat of Australia, which on Monday sent Ricky Ponting's Ashes tourists out of the tournament.
They are due to come up against another of the men responsible for Australia's disappointment - Chris Gayle, whose match-winning 88 at The Oval was too much for Ponting and Co last weekend.
Gayle, however, injured himself batting in that match and may not risk a bruised knee against Sri Lanka.
Either way, Jayawardene is already much encouraged by Sri Lanka's achievements in the tournament so far.
"We were in a tough group - and one team out of Australia, West Indies and us had to pack their bags and go home," he reasons.
"We are glad that it is not us. I don't think Australia going out undermines the tournament, because there are still some good teams left who are playing good cricket.ayle himself was unsure whether he will be playing or not.
"I'm carrying a bit of an injury and I don't know if I might be playing yet - so it's a situation that we need to look at," he said, shortly before heading off to West Indies' net practice - at which he was intending to try to bat.
"I picked it up in the last game from a ball that (Mitchell) Johnson bowled - and I'm still struggling a bit with it.
"When I was batting I didn't feel it. But the next day I couldn't walk properly and I'm just trying to get back in my stride now. "The knee is swollen a lot and bruised a lot, so let's see what happens."
Fit or not, Gayle insists West Indies will not be taking the match lightly just because they have already qualified.
Their first Super Eights fixture comes two days later, against India at Lord's, and Gayle does not want a defeat to undermine confidence before that tough assignment.
"Every game is very important," he said."We really want to win to keep that momentum going into Friday's match."
Approaching Milestones:
Sri Lanka vs. West Indies
- Chris Gayle (349) requires 51 runs to become the first batsman for West Indies to aggregate 400 runs in Twenty20 Internationals.
- Sanath Jayasuriya (343) needs 57 runs to become the first batsman for Sri Lanka to make 400 runs in Twenty20 Internationals.
Head to Head:
- Sri Lanka and West Indies would be playing their first game in the Twenty20 Internationals.
- Sri Lanka have won 9 and lost 5 out of 14 played - winning % 64.29.
- West Indies have won 5 and lost 5 out of 12 played - winning % 41.67.
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