Johannesburg, Mar 09: In the middle of probably the best phase of his career, Sri Lankan fast bowler Chaminda Vaas is quietly confident of his chances when he comes up against the formidable Indian batting line-up in a World Cup Super Six game here tomorrow. Vaas, who has had a dream run in this tournament claiming as many as 16 wickets so far to be the leading wicket-taker, knows he would probably face the toughest challenge in this competition tomorrow and is ready for it.
"They are good batsmen, without doubt, but things like left hand-right hand combination isn't going to upset me," Vaas said. "After all, fast bowlers are supposed to handle it," he added.
Three of India's frontline batsmen, including skipper Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh, are left-handers and the team uses it to full advantage by ensuring that a left-right combination is at the crease for maximum time to upset the rhythm of the bowlers. However, Vaas said he had learnt to concentrate hard and would not be affected by such tactics.
"I worked hard on a few things after I returned from Australia in January. I concentrated on my wrist position and the run-up and it seemed to have paid off dividends," Vaas said. Vaas had a mediocre tour to Australia last December, picking up just eight wickets from eight games in the VB series. He wasn't very successful against South Africa too when Sri Lankan toured the country in November, claiming only five wickets in five games.
Bureau Report