Wasn’t really surprised with Sri Lanka’s Asia Cup triumph: Sanath Jayasuriya

Sri Lanka’s triumph in the recently-held Asia Cup, where they lost the Afghanistan in the opener before stunning India and Pakistan to go on and win the tournament for the fifth time, wasn’t expected by many experts, but it didn’t surprise the cricket-mad country’s opening great Sanath Jayasuriya. “I wasn’t really surprised. We have quite a good bunch of cricketers.

It’s the right time they peaked, you know. They lost the first game, anybody can lose a game and come back. So, they lost the first game and realized what went wrong.

They worked hard on their individual game and performed as a team. You don’t need to have outstanding players. They are good players who did well as a team,” Jayasuriya said on Wednesday.

Talking about the strong points of the Lankan team, Jayasuriya, who has served twice as the Lankan national chief selector, said, “They’re playing good cricket. That’s all you need. If you play quality cricket, results will come.” Any comparisons with his famous 1996 World Cup winning bunch, he felt, were unfair.

“Any comparison is out. As long as they play their own game, do their basics right, they’ll enjoy their cricket,” stressed the 52-year-old, while batting for Sri Lanka tourism at an event here. Even the ‘Marauder from Matara’ wasn’t ready to predict his finalists of the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia, he was ready to back the Lankans, who have to first play in the qualifiers, to do well in the mega tournament.

“Sri Lanka will definitely do well,” he said. “T20 cricket is a fast game, it’s a team game. Our boys are playing good cricket.