Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara ramped up the pressure on World Cup final opponents India on Friday by claiming the whole world expected them to win the showpiece match.
Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara ramped up the pressure on World Cup final opponents India on Friday by claiming the whole world expected them to win the showpiece match.
ADVERTISEMENT
India will try to become the first nation to win the title on home soil at the Wankhede Stadium and so fulfil the dreams of millions of fans, all hoping the team can add to the 1983 success of Kapil Dev's side.
"They've always been the favourites, they've got the best batting line-up in the world and some fantastic bowlers," said Sangakkara, one of world cricket's shrewdest captains.
"So I think everyone in the world expects them to turn up tomorrow and win this game."
He added: "I don't think we're underdogs as such. I think we're a pretty good unit.
"But we have to understand the fact India, for the last year or two years, have been tagged as the favourites by almost everyone to win the World Cup.
"I'm sure they'll be looking at themselves as favourites too. We're just going to come and play as well as we can."
This will be Sri Lanka's second consecutive final and third in all -- they lost in 2007 to Australia, whom they beat in the climax of the 1996 tournament.
They were all but out of the contest in Barbados four years ago after Australia's Adam Gilchrist's whirlwind 149 -- the highest ever individual score in a World Cup final.
"Four years ago we were outdone by a fantastic innings by Adam Gilchrist. Hopefully we won't allow a repeat of that but even if that does happen, we've got to have the mental attitude to adjust and get back into the game," Sangakkara explained.
The wicketkeeper-batsman said winning a second World Cup would be of huge significance to the people of Sri Lanka, where a two-decades long civil war only came to an end in 2009.
"It means everything," Sangakkara said. "We've come through a very tough period, a lot of people have laid down their lives for our country, and in this new future hopefully we can take home a World Cup and that will be even more occasion for celebration."
Sangakkara will find himself playing away from home for only the second time this tournament on Saturday.
But he said: "Playing in front of your home crowd adds to the excitement, the passion and the pride that you feel but the weight of expectation, when you feel that the crowd is looking at you to do everything right is also tough.
"We'd love to have played at home but that's not the way it is and we've accepted that.
"We'll try to make use of whatever conditions are out there for us and I'm sure the Indian crowd are always going to be appreciative of a good game of cricket."
Saturday's match will be unusual in that both Sangakkara, who said his team enjoyed a "very cordial" relationship with India, and rival captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni are both wicketkeepers.
"MS Dhoni has been fantastic for Indian cricket and world cricket as a whole," said Sangakkara.
"It's nice. Wicketkeepers, sometimes everyone says they are over-burdened and it's not the easiest job. But it's also the most fun, I think, when you are always involved. It will be an interesting game."
u00a0
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
