‘Raw deal’ irks Sri Lankan locals

Sri Lankan locals have one serious question for the International Cricket Council.  If India is the top ranked team in this tournament and therefore gets to play all its matches at home, then is it not fair that if Sri Lanka qualify instead, they should play the final in Colombo?

That won’t happen, probably because of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s clout. But the locals are right.

Logically, Sri Lanka as co-hosts of the 2011 World Cup will get a raw deal if they have to play the final in India and not back home.

Local malls, pubs and night clubs are planning big for the knockout stages because they’re convinced that Sri Lanka will play the final scheduled in Mumbai. The locals in Colombo are looking to cash in on the cricket craze on the island knowing that they’ll most probably be watching their team on television once the semifinals are over.

In the quarters, there’s not even an iota of doubt in the minds of people that India are beating Australia and Sri Lanka are going past England. Anything to the contrary – at least in the Sri Lanka-England match – is bound to leave Colombo very disappointed.

“Playing our spinners in Sri Lanka is going to be very difficult. They will be under huge pressure playing Murali and Mendis in these conditions,” says Sameera Lokahetige, among the ground-staff at the Premadasa Stadium.

What the locals tend to forget is that their own team is dwindling as far as the batting line-up goes. Other than Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, the rest – including Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga – have not been in any great form. Further, the lower-middle order has been almost listless in the tournament so far.

But there’s no point arguing about Lankan cricket’s strengths and (particularly ) weaknesses if you’re on the island.

Malinga’s slingers, Murali’s off-spin , Mendis’ carom ball are all that people want to talk about. At the most, they’ll allow you to discuss the “dashing” pair of Jayawardene and Sangakkara. Nothing more.

It seems like there’s not a single billboard in Colombo that doesn’t feature either Sanga or Mahela, if not both together. They sell almost anything from tea and biscuits to jewellery, SUVs, the Colas, properties and of course a million dreams.

If people buy the products they sell then they’re certainly serious when they’re buying the dream that Sri Lanka is winning its second World Cup. No arguments. The nightlife is already buzzing with such prospective thoughts. Book early if you want to be part of the action in Sri Lanka’s commercial paradise, Times of India reports.