Aussie Attitude Commendable

The tale went perfectly to script. The Australian's continue to stamp their authority displaying the same intensity irrespective of their opponents ranking. This has been the hallmark of Ponting and his men, what ever be the strength of the side they are up against they don't give an inch and the game with Bangladesh only furthered the proof.

With a truncated game, Bangladesh might have an envisaged an upset and rightly so. A lesser team need not keep the momentum going for a long duration and all they had to do was have one good hour in the middle, but sadly Australia did not allow them a minute.

It is also time we took our focus away from the batting of the World champions who have bludgeoned every attack thus far and concentrate and pay deserving credit to their bowlers, especially to one certain Glen McGrath. Bowling in the corridor with great acumen and discipline he created havoc and Adam Gilchrist standing up to the wicket did only compound the batsmen's misery. They were caught in a web on whether to attack or defend.

The batting of Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden would have sent a shiver down anyone's spine and that Bangladesh was reduced to mere spectators in that onslaught was not their fault. Bigger attacks have been reduced to shreds.

Getting to today's fixture between Sri Lanka and West Indies, my money would be on Lanka।They have the necessary ammunition as far their bowling goes. The all-rounder’s in T. Dilshan, Vass and Maharoof give them the cutting edge. The batting might be their weak link but the hosts do not have enough to expose the chink.

The visitors have a team that is shaping up nicely and do not depend on individual brilliance like the hosts। There is an overt concern when Chris Gayle or Brain Lara fail, no such problems for Jayawardene if Jayasuriya is to fail. They still have other areas where they can cover up and play the percentage well.

There is no doubt the match will throw a much weightier contest than what we saw yesterday। The result could hinge on who is to chase as the team batting first have not had it easy in the first 10 overs and the wicket sort of eases in the second half. All said this could be one of the keenly contested games we have all been waiting for.

all images courtesy cricinfo.com