Asia Cup 2004

Atapattu expects a close contest

Wisden Cricinfo staff

July 31, 2004

Marvan Atapattu: on the way to his first tournament win? © Getty Images

Marvan Atapattu has said that he expects the final to be a fiercely contested affair. While maintaining that the toss could be a crucial factor, Atapattu also felt minimising errors would be the key to the contest.

"There are two good sides playing well at the moment," Atapattu was quoted as saying in the Daily News. "I expect the final to be a close contest. The team that makes the lesser number of mistakes will win."

Meanwhile Sanath Jayasuriya was keen to make amends for his reckless shot at a crucial juncture during Tuesday's four-run loss to India. "It is disappointing that I couldn't finish off the game against India," Jayasuriya told Deccan Herald. "I don't want to get a hundred and Sri Lanka to lose the match. This is the first time it has happened when I have got a hundred and Sri Lanka have lost [while chasing].

"It was very disappointing. I'm not worried about getting a hundred; I'm not that kind of a person who goes after hundreds but I would have been happy had we won."

Jayasuriya also felt that Sri Lanka still held the psychological edge, since they made a fist of the chase after being in a precarious situation. "We had lost the match halfway through and then we came back so strongly and almost won it. We also didn't play [Chaminda] Vaas and Murali. I think we have the advantage."

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Players/Umpires

Marvan Atapattu

Sanath Jayasuriya

Series/Tournaments

Asia Cup

Teams

Sri Lanka