History
beckons SL, Murali
Sri Lanka will look to Muttiah Muralitharan to make their
maiden clean sweep in Test cricket when the third and
final Test against the West Indies starts here on
Thursday.Motivation will not be a problem for the off-spin
wizard and his team as they attempt to build on the
unbeatable 2-0 lead against Carl Hooper's inexperienced
squad.Sri Lanka have not swept a series since gaining Test
status in 1982, while Muralitharan is one 10-wicket
performance away from surpassing New Zealand paceman
Richard Hadlee's world record of nine hauls of 10 or more
scalps in Tests.
The 29-year-old spinner set
a world mark in the second Test at Kandy on Sunday with
his fourth successive 10-wicket effort to go past
Australian leg-spinner Clarrie Grimmett.Grimmett grabbed
10 wickets in his last three Tests against South Africa
way back in 1935-36.
Hooper admitted
Muralitharan was the difference between the two teams in
the current series, saying the Sri Lankan was the best
spinner in the world."There is no doubt that
Muralitharan is the best spin bowler in the world,"
the West Indian captain said."He has been putting us
under a lot pressure. We will have to come up with a
solution in the final Test.
"It has been difficult
here in Sri Lanka. Conditions have not been exactly good
for batting and we are up against a world-class
spinner."West Indies coach Roger Harper, himself a
former Test off-spinner, agreed with his
captain."Look at the statistics," Harper said.
"Shane Warne is taking four wickets per Test, but
Muralitharan is taking well over five. He is the
best."
Muralitharan has so far
bagged 371 wickets in 68 matches, including 31 hauls of
five or more in a Test innings.The West Indies captain
said his batsmen would have to apply themselves well
against Muralitharan to prevent a sweep."We cannot be
thinking about the whitewash," Hooper said. "The
important thing is that we play better here. We have to
keep working hard. We cannot afford to give up."
Batting was the West
Indies' main worry in the last two Tests, with a
consistent Brian Lara alone managing to solve the
Muralitharan puzzle with 338 runs in four innings."We
have not been batting properly," Hooper said, adding
it was time for the youngsters to deliver.Sri Lanka,
meanwhile, dropped middle-order batsman Michael Vandort to
reduce the squad from 15 to 14.The selectors kept faith in
Russel Arnold who has scored just three half-centuries in
his last 33 Test innings.
TEAMS
SRI LANKA (from): Sanath
Jayasuriya (captain), Marvan Atapattu, Kumar Sangakkara,
Mahela Jayawardene, Russel Arnold, Hashan Tillakaratne,
Thilan Samaraweeera, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan,
Niroshan Bandaratilleke, Nuwan Zoysa, Charitha Buddika,
Upul Chandana, Suresh Perera.
WEST INDIES (from): Carl
Hooper (captain), Brian Lara, Chris Gayle, Daren Ganga,
Ramnaresh Sarwan, Marlon Samuels, Ridley Jacobs, Wavell
Hinds, Leon Garrick, Neil McGarrell, Dinanath Ramnarine,
Colin Stuart, Mervyn Dillon, Marlon Black, Pedro
