PHOTO: AFP

RUTHLESS: In Muttiah Muralitharan and Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka has bowlers who trouble teams that don't constantly play top-flight cricket.

Port of Spain: The Group B match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on Wednesday will feature cricket's essence: wheels within wheels, games within games, as Matthew Engel once wrote in Wisden.

Not all of these games within games, however, are endemic to Wednesday's match. Sure, the early battles in both innings — Mashrafe Mortaza and Syed Rasel against Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, and Kumar Sangakkara or Lasith Malinga and Chaminda Vaas against Tamim Iqbal, Shariar Nafees, and Mushfiqur Rahim — will make for riveting viewing. If only to observe whether Bangladesh can maintain its level of play.

But, the most absorbing games within games are external and of artificial making. The format of the World Cup and its playing regulations ensure the tremors from Wednesday's match will reverberate through Group B. India will be keeping a close eye on the result.

If Bangladesh contrives to stun Sri Lanka, India will know it needs just to defeat Sri Lanka; no messing around with Net Run Rates. A Sri Lankan victory will muddy the waters. But, there may be the slimmest of chances for India, if it beats Sri Lanka, to go through to the Super Eights with two points.

Curious aspects

It's one of cricket's many curiosities that certain teams play certain other teams particularly well. In Malinga and Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka has bowlers who trouble lesser teams, teams that don't constantly play top-flight cricket.

Malinga's freak mix of action and pace, as Bermuda captain Irving Romaine pointed out, can't be replicated by bowling machines. Muralitharan is another that takes getting used to. How Bangladesh's young batsmen, so supremely nerveless against India, deal with this pair will be among the pivots of the match.

Bangladesh certainly has Sri Lanka's attention. "They are talented and young side and they have a good coach," said Vaas, who knows Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore well. "They will also do well in future. For us, we would take it as just another game. We are not going to make the mistake of taking them lightly."

Young-blooded side

Marvan Atapattu, who didn't play against Bermuda, said: "We watched Bangladesh against India and they looked very good. The word pressure just doesn't exist with them. There is also the advantage of being young: when you have been around, oppositions work out your strengths and weaknesses."

The one department Bangladesh will certainly compete on level footing is fielding — Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are comfortably the top two Asian fielding teams.

Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar has said repeatedly that the strength of his side lies in collective responsibility. These aren't empty words, for the team believes it. The members of the squad enjoy each other's company: they often eat dinner together; indeed Bashar had said after the win over India that his team would celebrate by going out to dinner.

Some experts think the current Bangladesh side has the critical mass to form a capable team by the time the next World Cup begins. Bashar believes it may be sooner.

The teams (from): Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (capt.) Russel Arnold, Marvan Atapattu, Malinga Bandara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dilhara Fernando, Sanath Jayasuriya, Nuwan Kulasekara, Farveez Maharoof, Lasith Malinga, Muttiah Muralitharan, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Chamara Silva, Upul Tharanga and Chaminda Vaas.

Bangladesh: Habibul Bashar (capt.), Shariar Nafees, Tamim Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed, Saqibul Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mohammad Rafique, Abdur Razzak, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shahadat Hossain, Tapash Baisya, Syed Rasel, Rajin Saleh and Javed Omar.

Umpires: Steve Davis and Daryl Harper. TV: Ian Howell

Match Referee: Jeff Crowe

Hours of play (IST): 7 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. and 11.15 p.m. to close.

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