Final - India v Sri Lanka, (06 April 2014) Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur

[Some1]

Re: Final - India v Sri Lanka, (06 April 2014) Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur

@phoenixdesi

call be biased but i do believe that Pakistani cricketers are one of the most friendliest cricketers (or at least least aggressive) on the field and even with them, SL players have been continuously misbehaving…sangakara fighting with poor younis khan for no reason…and idiot sanga was completely wrong on that occasion…plus sanga has shown unnecessary aggression all the time
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and how can i forget the height of unprofessional-ism SL players showed towards pakistan when we beat them in that infamous text match few months ago in dubai..they refused to shake hands with our players and all senior SL players were yelling at the umpire that why didnt he finish the game amid bad light? Mattehws was so harsh in his post match conference…
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My opinion about Sri Lanka has changed over the years as well.

In the 80s and 90s, I regarded the Sri Lankan team as a quiet and humble unit especially compared to other South Asian Teams - the kind who would go about their business quietly without too much flaunting or chest-thumping. I thought similar of Sri Lankan fans.

However in recent years, I have noted that, among other things, some Sri Lankan players can even stoop to cheating if the opportunity presented itself. Dilshan, for example, in one recent game, gestured to the Umpire that he had not nicked the ball as soon as the bowler started appealing (TV replays showed he had clearly done so). The Umpire did not give him OUT. I read that Dilshan has been accused of cheating before as well.

Sangakarra lost all my respect after his unprofessional behavior during the toss at the start of the World Cup 2011 Final. For all his batting talents and eloquent language skills, he does not come across as being graceful in handling defeat and other setbacks.

WC 2011 Final: Sangakarra cheated during toss: Michael Vaughan

Also, some years ago I visited a Sri Lankan Cricket forum (as a read only visitor - never posted anything). The filthy and foul language used by the fans there while discussing almost anything was astounding to me. That kind of language would make even India and Pak cricket fans seem like polite puppies.

That being said - I have never interacted with any Sri Lankan in my offline life, so my above characterization may not be accurate.

As for the final tomorrow - one thing that the Indian team should worry about is that it does not bat deep. By which I mean there are no big hitters after Number 6 (you get into the Jadejas and Ashwins - followed by the tail). This is in contrast to Sri Lanka whose even number 11 Malinga can tonk sixes if required. India saw a glimpse of this problem in the Australia match where India were 5 down in the 18th over (I think) and could not score much after that.