Wednesday 3 October 2012 16:55, UK
Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene and Pakistan skipper Mohammad Hafeez have played down the hype around their respective spinners ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 semi-final.
The match is a repeat of the 2009 final in which Pakistan took the title, but host nation Sri Lanka will this time go into the clash as marginal favourites. Jayawardene is not getting carried away with thoughts of a tournament victory on home soil, however, and insists his side are focused on Pakistan. He said: "We need to get to the final first before thinking of the title. We may not have won too many finals but getting there itself shows that we have played consistent cricket." Sri Lanka will enjoy the support of a partisan crowd in Colombo but Hafeez is adamant that will not faze Pakistan. "We have been playing our cricket away from home, so we are quite used to of it and I think the Sri Lankan crowd is sensible enough to support good cricket from both the teams. It will surely be a good contest," Hafeez said.
