The Sri Lankan World Cup team is a mixed bag. In terms of bowling they have two potent options in Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan. For batting they have Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumara Sangakkara along with captain Mahela Jayawardene. But the rest of the squad measure less in terms of content.

Upul Tharanga has turned in his better performances against minnows, Marvan Atapattu is a shadow of the past, and while Russel Arnold used to be their fall-back option, that’s not the case any more. On the bowling front, Lasith Malinga has been fast but frequently gives away too many extras that release the pressure on the batsmen. Dilhara Fernando is similar, and even less reliable.

World Cup winners in the past have had utility cricketers to support their main cast and have always needed inspirational leadership to take them all the way. Clive Lloyd, Kapil Dev, Allan Border, Imran Khan, Arjuna Ranatunga and Steve Waugh are considered the best captains the game has seen - and not on the basis of their World Cup laurels only. Although Sri Lanka have a vast range of utility cricketers in Tillakratne Dilshan, Nuwan Kulasekara, Farveez Maharoof and Chamara Silva, Mahela Jayawardene does not command the respect from his team the way Ranatunga used to.

Strength and Weakness: Sri Lanka’s strength is Muralitharan. Capable of winning matches on his own, he is their trump card in the West Indies. Vaas in one-dayers is impeccable and keeps the pressure on at the other end. But all this theory only works when their batsmen put up a good show. Too much dependence on Jayasuriya and Sangakkara leads to them scoring less than their bowlers can defend, as India have exposed in the recent past.

Tactics and Game Plan: The Sri Lankan game plan has always been to chase targets as they have depth in their batting with a string of all-rounders. Their main task is to win every toss and field! But when they have to bat first, they have to make sure of posting large totals so the bowlers other than Vaas and Murali can hope to contain the opposition.

My Prediction: Sri Lanka, despite being a balanced and talented team, seem to fall behind on tactics. Coach Tom Moody has not done well enough to educate the Lankans about playing around their strengths to have big gains. They also lack in inspirational captaincy. If Sangakkara can do what Aravinda de Silva did in 1996, that will take the load off Jayawardene. I think they are the dark horses, and are the fringe team to make it to the semis. My instinct says their game against New Zealand will decide which of these two make it to the semis.