It was pointed out to Darren Sammy that in six meetings in the ICC World T20, West Indies had lost five times to Sri Lanka. “We won the most important one, which was the final in 2012,” he smiled. “Simple.”
Revenge for the 2014 semifinals loss, the West Indies captain insisted, was not on his mind. “I wouldn’t say it is revenge,” he said. “If this match was the final then we could think on those lines but it is only a group game.”Despite their head-to-head record, there is no doubting which of the two captains arrived in Bengaluru for Sunday’s clash with greater confidence. “This is the home of the ‘Universe Boss’ [Chris Gayle] and so we are all excited about it,” Sammy said.
“You saw against England. To me the most exciting part of that game was that Chris batted through. Tomorrow’s game is very important in the context of how the group is placed. Before we came here, the coach mentioned that every game should be played like a final. And we will do that.”
Sri Lanka’s coach, Graham Ford, admitted that the absence of Lasith Malinga from the tournament was a huge blow. “It has a huge impact,” he said For so long he’s been able to strike up front and then finish the innings off so well. Now we’ve got to find somebody to do that. “There are a couple of guys putting their hands up and saying, ‘I’ll do that job’. With that sort of attitude I’m sure we can make something happen.”