KEY POINTS:
Sri Lanka have shown they have learnt from their best and worst performances to power their cricket World Cup campaign.
They topped the tough group B by winning all three games and have improved their semifinal hopes by carrying forward two points into the Super Eights.
Sri Lanka
are being inspired by four stalwarts from the triumphant 1996 squad -- Sanath Jayasuriya, fellow-batsman Marvan Atapattu and bowlers Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas.
They are also reaping the rewards of a talent search that resulted after an ageing side was knocked out in the first round of the 1999 World Cup.
After beating India by 69 runs on Friday to eliminate their rivals, skipper Mahela Jayawardene was asked if he fancied another triumph.
"That 1996, it was an amazing team," he said.
"They just outplayed everybody, created new waves in one-day cricket and did a brilliant job."
Co-hosts Sri Lanka stunned the cricket world by using Sanath Jayasuriya as a pinch-hitting opener and confidently chased targets to win all six matches they contested.
The four 1996 survivors are now inspiring younger teammates with anecdotes from that victorious campaign.
Jayawardene felt his team faced a tougher job this time.
"Things have changed," he said.
"There are good sides and you can't make mistakes."
Sri Lanka have also shown excellent planning under coach Tom Moody, a former Australia allrounder.
A major force on slow pitches at home, they have also improved their performances on foreign soil over the last two seasons.
They routed hosts England 5-0 in a series in 2006 but soon came back down to earth after failing to reach the ICC Champions Trophy semi-final in India.
"We had set plans for the group stage and we executed it very well," Jayawardene explained.
"The conditions are going to be different in different venues and we have to make sure we don't sit back on what we have achieved."
Jayasuriya, 37, believes the young talent unearthed after the 1999 Cup debacle are now proving their worth.
Wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara, middle-order batsmen Chamara Silva and Russel Arnold as well as young opener Upul Tharanga are pulling their weight in the side.
Silva, 27, had hit three successive fifties so far after scoring hundred in the last game before the World Cup before he was eventually dismissed against India.
"People like Chamara, he is one of the youngsters we picked after 1999," Jayasuriya said. "He is one of the best players we have at the moment. It is good for Sri Lanka's future."
Muralitharan joked with his skipper on Friday that the class of 1996 was superior to the current side.
"Our (2007) batsmen are also experienced, but you can't just count it now itself because in 1996 we won the World Cup.
"After the World Cup you ask me, I'll say this team is better."
The tournament ends with the final in Barbados on April 28.
- REUTERS