Sri Lanka won their first home Test since the retirement of Muttiah Muralitharan as they completed a 75-run victory over England in Galle.

Muralitharan, the holder of the record for the most Test wickets, retired in July 2010 since which time Sri Lanka had, until this game, played 17 Tests and won just one.

Having set England a mammoth 340 to win, Sri Lanka endured a few nervous moments as Jonathan Trott, in particular, batted with great fortitude. In the end, though, the target was too great and Sri Lanka held their nerve.

It was another spinner – Rangana Herath – who led Sri Lanka’s victory charge. While the left-armer would never claim to be a bowler of Murali’s class, he took 12 wickets in the match and expertly exploited a turning surface and England’s deficiencies against spin bowling.

It might be tempting, then, to claim that Sri Lanka have discovered a replacement for Murali. Tempting but untrue.

In truth, Sri Lanka are learning new ways to win. With Murali in the side, life was relatively easy. His excellence, and his ability to deliver so many overs, allowed Sri Lanka to mask other weaknesses. They had a genius among them who was able to conjure victories from nowhere. Those days have gone and may never return. Cricketers like Murali come along once a lifetime.

The Sri Lanka team still contains match winners though. Mahela Jayawardene’s first-innings century – a magnificent innings – provided a welcome reminder of his genius, while Kumar Sangakkara remains one of the finest batsmen in world cricket.

Generally, however, they are now a team who require contributions from every individual.

Herath is a perfect example. He is a skilled performer, certainly. He bowls with pleasing flight, has all the traditional variations and has excellent control. His second-innings performance was his ninth five-wicket haul and left him the fifth Sri Lanka bowler to claim ten wickets in a Test.

But he is no Murali. Only three years ago he was plying his trade as a journeymen pro – and with modest success – in the North Staffordshire and South Cheshire League, while a spell as overseas player with Hampshire produced just ten first-class wickets at an average of 46.30.

In these conditions, however, he is a tough proposition. And, with the support of Suraj Ranjiv and two underated seamers, he was able to apply pressure on a batting line-up lacking competence and confidence.

Herath was also supported by some outstanding fielding. The wicketkeeper, Prasanna Jayawardene, enjoyed an excellent came with bat and gloves. But, in a match that took many twists and turns, perhaps the defining moment came when Lahiru Thirimanne clung on to a desperately tough chance at short leg to end a fifth-wicket partnership that looked as if it could take England to a record-breaking victory.

Matt Prior and Trott added 81 runs. With the field pushed back, the pair were able to rotate the strike and accumulate without undue risk.

Then, however, Prior connected well with a sweep only to see Thirimanne, anticipating the path of the ball as he saw the batsman shape for the shot, react brilliantly to hold on after it struck him on the body. The dismissal precipitated a dramatic collapse as England lost their last six wickets for only 31 runs.

Defeat was cruel reward for Trott. Trott’s century, a wonderful example of patience, technique and concentration, would, in many circumstances, have deserved to win a Test. As it was, however, he was unable to compensate for the failure of his colleagues.

Trott’s seventh Test century sustained England’s hopes of a remarkable win until the brink of tea but his dismissal, caught at leg slip as he attempted to turn an off break into the leg side, ended any realistic hopes the tourists may have had.

On the final day Trott helplessly watched on as Kevin Pietersen – now averaging just 12.50 on England’s winter tours – was beaten in the flight and chipped to mid-wicket and Ian Bell missed a premeditated sweep. Samit Patel, trying to give himself room and hit through the off side, was another man to be superbly caught at the second attempt by Tillakaratne Dilshan at short extra cover, before Graeme Swann, attempting an ugly sweep, was leg before the two left-hand tailenders were soon mopped up by Ranjiv’s off-spin.

The result sentenced England to their fourth successive Test defeat. For the No.1 rated team who, only a few months ago, were talking about setting a legacy, that is an acute embarrassment.

They need not look too far to see where they want wrong. They simply made too many mistakes. In dropping Mahela Jayawardene four times during the course of his match-defining century they were profligate beyond repair. Stuart Broad’s no-ball to Prasanna Jayawardene – and the manner in which Sri Lanka’s last two wickets were able to eek out more than 50 runs in each innings (65 in the first and 87 in the second) – were also costly.

Most pertinently, though, England’s batsmen continue to struggle against spin bowling. To be bowled out within 47 overs on a blameless second day track was always likely to prove decisive. Andrew Strauss, Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell (despite his half-century in the first innings) are all in need of runs in Test cricket and it was telling that, even in their second innings, when England batted so much better, they lost all ten of their wickets to spin.

Perhaps, though, they can take just a little encouragement from certain aspects of this performance. England have never made more than 332 to win in the fourth innings of a Test but, set 340 here, there were moments when they threatened to go close. Yes, they fell short, but they at least showed some of the fight and fibre that was missing in the UAE.

George Dobell is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo

India were finally knocked out of the triseries as Sri Lanka brought a heart-breaking end to their nervous wait with a nail-biting nine-run victory over Australia in the last over of a must-win contest on Friday.

India needed an Australian win to qualify for the finals but it was Sri Lanka who secured a passage to the summit showdown as they scraped past the hosts in a match which saw fortunes fluctuating from one team to another till the very end at the MCG.

Electing to bat, Sri Lanka put up a modest 238 runs and then bowled out the hosts for 229 to win with five balls to spare.

In then nerve-wrecking final moments of the game, Australia needed 10 runs in the last over off Nuwan Kulasekara but David Hussey’s mighty heave was caught by Tillakaratne Dilshan at long-off to trigger off wild celebrations in the Sri Lankan camp.

Both Australia and Sri Lanka now have 19 points each and will clash in the best of three finals, beginning at Brisbane on Sunday.

India remained on 15 points and it marked the end of the a disastrous tour, in which they suffered a 4-0 Test series whitewash and had mixed results in the triseries.

The Australian chase was guided well by stand-in skipper Shane Watson, who scored 65 runs, and David Hussey’s fighting 74, but they lacked the fire power in the end to overhaul the modest target.

For Sri Lanka Kumar Sangakkara (64), Dinesh Chandimal (75) and Lahiru Thirimanne (51) were the chief contributors to the total.

Lasith Malinga, who had a horrendous last match against India, was the star performer this time as he picked four wickets including that of Watson, David Warner (6) and Peter Forrest (2).

Australia were reeling at 26 for three — having lost Matthew Wade (9), Warner and Forrest — when Watson and Mike Hussey steadied the chase with a 87-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

The match was looking like going Australia way but Lahiru Thrimanne broke the stand by scalping Hussey (29).

David was playing well from one end but was running out of partners with Watson, Daniel Christian (3) and James Patinson (12) departing early.

David fought hard with his fighting knock and was the last man dismissed. His effort was only enough to reduce the defeat margin.

Earlier, all-rounder Daniel Christian sparkled with a hat-trick during a career-best five-wicket burst as Australia dismissed Sri Lanka for 238.

Playing only his eighth ODI, the 28-year-old Christian’s hat-trick in the 44th over was the highlight of the first session’s play in today’s match — the batsmen falling victim to him being Thisara Perera (5), Sachithra Senanayke (0) and Nuwan Kulasekara (0).

The right-arm pacer ended the day with impressive match figures of 5-31 in nine overs. James Pattinson picked up four wickets, conceding 51 runs in his 10 overs.

Opting to bat first, it was a wobbly start to the proceedings for the islanders as they lost their openers with less than 20 runs on the scoreboard.

Skipper Mahela Jayawardene (5) was the first to head to the dressing room when he was run out by David Hussey in only the second over of the day.

It was Dilshan who called for a very risky single and Jayawardene responded after some hesitation. Hussey, from the second slip, pounced on the ball with one hand and managed a direct hit finding Jayawardene well out out of his crease.

Dilshan didn’t last long either with comeback pacer James Pattinson getting his scalp after the right-hander had contributed merely nine runs to the total.

Dilshan was surprised by a bouncy one that caught him on the backfoot and ended up giving a thin edge through to Matthew Wade behind the stumps. Sri Lanka were reeling at 17/2 at this stage.

But the Lankans started the rebuilding job soon enough with the experienced Sangakkara and the exciting new talent Chandimal joining hands for an entertaining third-wicket partnership of 123.

Sangakkara was perfect foil to the natural aggression of Chandimal as the duo stitched together a crucial stand that resurrected the Lankan innings.

Sangakkara’s knock came off 93 deliveries during which he struck three boundaries before Pattinson induced a top edge off his bat that was caught by Peter Forrest at deep square leg off the final delivery of the 29th over.

But Chandimal held fort for quite some while and even got a life in a bizzare manner during the course of his innings which was studded with three fours and a couple of sixes.

In the 35th over of the innings, Thirimanne pushed for a risky third run off Australian skipper Shane Watson’s bowling.

Ben Hilfenhaus made a sliding effort at the point boundary which caught Chandimal well short of crease but the batsman was saved as TV replays showed that Hilfenhaus’ foot had touched the boundary rope before he threw the ball.

Chandimal was eventually dismissed by Pattinson, caught at mid-off by McKay while trying to strike one down the ground.

Thirimanne held one end with his gritty 59-ball knock that included a couple of boundaries but Sri Lanka needed an accelerator after Chandimal’s dismissal. However, the usually effective Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera both let the team down.

While Mathews spooned a Christian delivery down the ground which was caught on the run by Xavier Doherty. Perera was dismissed when he was caught by Mike Hussey at the deep midwicket boundary.

Source: Times of India ]]> http://iplt20cricketlive.com/2012/03/australia-vs-sri-lanka-4th-odi-sri-lanka-beat-australia-by-9-runs-to-knock-india-out-of-triseries/feed/ 0 http://iplt20cricketlive.com/2012/02/india-vs-sri-lanka-4th-odi-dazzling-kohli-ton-keeps-india-alive/ http://iplt20cricketlive.com/2012/02/india-vs-sri-lanka-4th-odi-dazzling-kohli-ton-keeps-india-alive/#comments Tue, 28 Feb 2012 13:55:28 +0000 admin http://iplt20cricketlive.com/?p=5346 India 3 for 321 (Kohli 133*, Gambhir 63) beat Sri Lanka 4 for 320 (Dilshan 160*, Sangakkara 105) by seven wickets…

Siddhartha Talya is a sub editor at ESPNcricinfo

Sri Lanka sure know how to keep things interesting. On a day when Peter Forrest announced himself as Australia’s new No.3 with his maiden one-day century, Mahela Jayawardene and Dinesh Chandimal helped Sri Lanka complete a record ODI chase in Hobart, where Australia’s 6 for 280 wasn’t enough to book them a place in the finals. Sri Lanka jumped to the top of the points table with their three-wicket victory, which came with four balls to spare.

In a tense finish, Sri Lanka appeared to be throwing the match away and after Angelo Mathews holed out for 24 they needed 14 off nine balls with only three wickets in hand. But Thisara Perera took on the responsibility himself and struck a boundary followed by a powerful six over midwicket off Daniel Christian’s next delivery, which left four needed off seven balls. That was no trouble at all, the winning runs coming when Nuwan Kulasekara thumped Brett Lee through cover for four.

It was Sri Lanka’s third consecutive win and they are coming good at the right end of the tournament, after losing their opening two games. They began well with the ball before allowing Australia’s score to balloon to seriously challenging proportions, but Jayawardene’s outstanding 85 at the top of the order gave Sri Lanka the perfect platform.

With six overs remaining, they needed 39 runs with six wickets in hand, and with Chandimal well set on 80, it seemed like only a formality that they would reach the target. But Chandimal was trapped lbw when he tried an ill-judged paddle off Ryan Harris and in the next over, Farveez Maharoof holed out to Ben Hilfenhaus. Lucky for Sri Lanka they had Perera.

The result means Sri Lanka and Australia are now both one match clear of India, and while both sides can still miss out on the finals, they also know that one more win will be enough to guarantee their place. Sri Lanka earned that position by beating the previous best Hobart ODI chase, the 4 for 282 that Australia scored against Zimbabwe in 2001.

Jayawardene gave them their start and was in fine touch after beginning with a couple of edgy boundaries. In the fifth over he put those behind him and took on the pace of Lee, swinging a magnificent six over midwicket from a fast, straight ball that most batsmen would have been content to defend or drive straight. The runs kept flowing for Jayawardene, the dominant partner in a 55-run opening stand.

When Tillakaratne Dilshan pulled a catch to deep midwicket off Hilfehnaus for 3 from nine balls, Jayawardene had already galloped along to 44 from 39 deliveries. The strike evened up during Jayawardene’s partnership with Kumar Sangakkara, who made a run-a-ball 22 before he was caught at point off a leading edge from Christian’s bowling.

Jayawardene had already brought up his fifty with a punchy drive down the ground off Christian from his 45th ball. Jayawardene and Chandimal kept the runs coming during a 63-run partnership that featured some fine strokes, including an excellent cover-drive for four from Jayawardene, who enjoyed using the pace of Lee against him.

But on 85, Jayawardene gave Australia a sniff when he advanced to Xavier Doherty and was beaten by a delivery that turned sharply past his outside edge. Australia needed to follow the stumping with another quick wicket, and instead Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne kept their composure and put on 49, including plenty of singles, as the required run-rate hovered below six an over.

The loss of Thirimanne, who paddled Hilfenhaus to short fine leg for 24, could have hurt Sri Lanka, but ultimately their batting was too strong for Australia. Perhaps if Australia had looked for their runs a little faster through the middle of their innings they could have pushed up towards 300, but it is impossible to criticise Forrest and Michael Clarke for an excellent stand that rescued the side from a wobbly start. The loss of both openers had left Australia at 2 for 27 in the seventh over and consolidation was required.

Especially impressive was the way Forrest batted in his first match at No.3, carrying the pressure of replacing a champion in the position. But in Australia’s first match of the post-Ricky Ponting ODI era they might just have found a man who can fill his spot for some time. Forrest’s hundred was his not only his first for Australia but also in any List A match, and no Australian has scored more in his first four ODIs than Forrest’s tally of 238.

He brought up his century by dropping the ball into the off side and haring off for a quick single from his 136th delivery, and it brought fist-pumps from Forrest and a hug from his partner Michael Hussey. He was caught at deep cover off Mathews in the next over for 104 as he tried to keep the tempo rising and it ended a fine innings, and one that has boosted his chances of winning a place on the Test tour of the West Indies.

He struck 10 fours and two sixes but avoided risks wherever he could, generally preferring to force the ball through gaps instead of over fielders. When he did go for the aerial route it nearly brought about his downfall – he was lucky deep midwicket was a couple of paces wide of where one shot landed. A cover-driven boundary off Kulasekara was especially impressive, zipping off the bat with speed and perfect placement.

For much of his innings, Forrest had the support of Clarke during a 154-run stand. The partnership ended when Clarke lifted Mathews to deep midwicket and was well taken by a tumbling Perera. Clarke had played well for his 72 from 79 balls, including two sixes over midwicket, one a fearsome, flat pull early in his innings off Maharoof, who had been impressive early.

Maharoof had claimed David Warner caught behind for 7 after Matthew Wade lobbed a catch to mid-off to give Sri Lanka a strong start. In the end, the Clarke-Forrest partnership and some valuable late runs from David Hussey (40 not out off 28 balls), Michael Hussey (21) and Lee (20 not out) helped Australia to a strong total.

It wasn’t enough for Australia, but it has kept all three sides in the race for the finals. And it has made Sri Lanka clearly the form team in the tournament.

Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo.

Sri Lanka produced fine display of bowling and batting to register convincing 51-run victory over India in the 8th ODI of the tri-series at the Gabba in Brisbane.

This is India’s second defeat in a row after losing to Australia by 110 runs on Friday. With this defeat, Sri Lanka moved to second spot as India went down to bottom of the table.

Irfan Pathan waged a lone battle in the end as he scored quick-fire 47 off just 34 balls with the help of seven boundaries. Thisara Perera scalped the dangerous southpaw to end Indian innings at 238 in the 46th over.

Chasing a stiff target of 290, India were never in a match got as they lost top three batsmen under the 12 overs.

Pacer Farveez Maharoof gave Sri Lanka a crucial breakthrough as he removed Suresh Raina to dent Indian run chase.Raina added valuable 92 runs partnership for the fourth wicket to revive India after losing early wickets. Raina contributed 32 runs in 55 balls with the help of a boundary.

Virat Kohli, who slammed 20th ODI fifty, made hard fought 66 in 83 balls that included two boundaries.

Nuwan Kulasekara dismissed Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir in his alternate overs to rattle India.

Kulasekara took his second wicket when he had Gambhir caught by Thisara Perera at gully.

Kulasekara took his first wicket when Tendulkar edged a delivery onto his stumps.

India’s run chase got off to a disastrous start as stand-in captain Virender Sehwag fell on the second delivery.

Sehwag reached out to a wide delivery from Lasith Malinga and slashed it straight into the hands of Nuwan Kulasekara at third man.

Earlier, half-centuries by Lahiru Thiramanne and Tillakaratne Dilshan and an unbeaten 49 by Angelo Matthews powered Sri Lanka to 289/6.

Virat Kohli, who was made to bowl the last over of the Sri Lankan innings, conceded 14 runs.

Lahiru Thiramanne hit a run-a-ball 62 before hitting a R Ashwin delivery in the covers for Suresh Raina to take the catch.

Thiramanne reached his 50 off 53 balls.

Irfan Pathan clean bowled Dinesh Chandimal with a yorker as Sri Lanka lost their fourth wicket.

Chandimal and Thiramanne put up a 71-run stand for the fourth wicket to steady Sri Lanka.

Sachin Tendulkar took a good catch at fine leg to dismiss Kumar Sangakkara off Umesh Yadav as Sri Lanka lost their third wicket.

Ravichandran Ashwin gave India the second breakthrough when he had Tillakaratne Dilshan caught behind by Parthiv Patel.

Ashwin struck with a length delivery well outside off that did not turn much but bounced more than Dilshan expected it to and he got a thin top edge through for Patel to take a good catch.

Dilshan reached his 26th fifty soon after stand-in Indian captain Virender Sehwag took a superb diving catch at mid-wicket to dismiss Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene off Irfan Pathan.

Jayawardene pulled a short of length delivery over the leg side, but didn’t time it too well and Sehwag flew to his left at mid-wicket to pull off a stunner.

Openers Dilshan and Jayawardene brought up the Sri Lankan fifty in the eighth over.

The start came after Jayawardene won the toss and chose to bat.

For India, Virender Sehwag, Parthiv Patel and R Ashwin come in place of Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni and Zaheer Khan. Sri Lanka are unchanged from the last match.

The pitch looks a good batting track but it would be difficult to chase under lights as the bowlers will get some movement under lights.

A win for Sri Lanka on Tuesday will put them on par with India on 10 points, that too with one less game. Besides, they also boast of a much better run-rate. As of now Australia are sitting pretty with 14 points from 5 matches, India have 10 from 5 while Sri Lanka have 7 points from 4 matches.

Teams:

India: Virender Sehwag (Capt.), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Parthiv Patel, Irfan Pathan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav.

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (Capt.), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Dinesh Chandimal, Lahiru Thiramanne, Angelo Matthews, Thisara Perera, Farveez Maharoof, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Rangana Herath.

Source: Times of India Cricket

Sri Lanka posted their biggest-ever one-day international over Australia in Sydney on Friday with a crushing eight-wicket victory with 101 balls to spare in their tri-series ODI.

Sri Lanka bounced back into finals contention with a bonus-point victory on the Duckworth-Lewis method after skittling out Australia for 158 off 40.5 overs and rattling up a revised winning target of 152 for two in just 24.1 overs.

The Sri Lankans, who were winless before Friday’s game after being held to a tie in their previous match by leaders India, moved to within three points of the Indians after four games in the tournament.

Skipper Mahela Jayawardene steered his side to victory with an unbeaten knock of 61 off 67 balls with opener Tillakaratne Dilshan hitting 45 off 41. Kumar Sangakkara reached 10,000 career ODI runs in his innings of 30 off 29 balls.

Thisara Perera was judged man-of-the-match in a wide open vote having taken two for 29 and also effected two run outs in Australia’s innings.

It was Australia’s fifth-biggest loss in one-day cricket in terms of balls remaining. It was also Australia’s second straight defeat in the tournament and they face India in Brisbane on Sunday, when they are likely to be again led by Ricky Ponting in the absence of injured skipper Michael Clarke.

Only Clint McKay (1-23 off six overs) enjoyed a good night with the ball while Brett Lee, on his return 16 days after fracturing his toe, finished with one for 42 off seven overs.

Sri Lanka set up their emphatic victory by dismissing Australia for 158 off 40.5 overs in the match, which was reduced to 41 overs-a-side by afternoon rain.

David Hussey rescued Australia from an even lower score with a determined 58 off 64 balls for his third half-century of the tournament after being dropped on eight and 31.

David Warner went for 13 being deceived by a slower ball from Lasith Malinga and hitting straight to Farveez Maharoof at mid-on.

Ponting’s run of single-figure scores in the series continued when he was caught and bowled by Maharoof for two. Michael Hussey (13), brought in for Clarke, clouted a huge six off Angelo Mathews but was caught behind off the next ball and Peter Forrest followed shortly afterwards for 16 to leave Australia 74 for five.

All-rounder Maharoof, brought in for spinner Sachithra Senanayake, claimed two for 18 off eight overs.

Source: Yahoo Cricket

The best death-overs bowler in the game went up against the best finisher in the business with four to defend off the last ball. It was only fair that neither Lasith Malinga nor MS Dhoni ended up on the losing side of that contest. Malinga’s wide full-length ball would have hoodwinked most batsmen who would have been setting themselves up for the swing to the leg side. Not the fleet-footed Dhoni, though, who calmly stretched across and carved high over the covers even as he teetered on one foot. The ball didn’t have the strength to beat Sachinthra Senanayake on the boundary, but Dhoni and last-man Umesh Yadav bounded through for three runs to tie a nerve-wracking classic at the Adelaide Oval.

The beauty of the ODI format shone throughout the duration of the chase, with the best minds in the game feeling the pressure of a close finish. India were coasting on the back of another polished effort from Gautam Gambhir, whose faultless 91 showed he has moved on well from his Test-match woes. Dhoni had added 60 runs with Gambhir off 12.4 overs, leaving India needing 59 off 58. At that stage, Dhoni made the first decisive error, when he sold Gambhir dear after calling him for a single. Gambhir was caught short by a direct hit from Nuwan Kulasekara, and his fall gave Sri Lanka an opening; Dhoni would later say it cost India victory.

The wicket was followed by a 28-ball phase that yielded only 13 runs for the loss of Ravindra Jadeja’s wicket. Sri Lanka’s seamers bowled out of their skins, backed by enterprising field placements from Mahela Jayawardene that cut off the singles. With two overs of Malinga left in the last five overs, Dhoni went after Thisara Perera, dumping him for a huge six down the ground, before R Ashwin skimmed him for four over the covers. Malinga came back on after a quiet over from Kulasekara, with India needing 28 off 18. Mistakes began to sprout from every corner now.

Malinga got Ashwin to sky a slower ball, and Kumar Sangakkara called for, and clanged the chance as he ran towards point. Ashwin continued blundering against the slower ball, heaving and missing one, before chipping to cover. With 24 needed off 12, Jayawardene turned to Angelo Mathews who trotted in from round the stumps to cut Dhoni’s swinging angle. Mathews lost the plot against Irfan Pathan, though, delivering a high no-ball that Irfan deposited over square leg for six. Irfan was run out next ball, sacrificing his wicket after failing to get a slower ball away. India needed a boundary, and Mathews obliged with another full toss that Dhoni swiped through midwicket to reach his 50. Nine needed off the last over, from Malinga.

In the previous game, Dhoni chose to take the game to the very end. This time, he was forced to do so by Malinga’s unhittable lengths. A couple off the first ball was followed by three singles before Vinay sacrificed his wicket to give Dhoni strike for the final ball. One could argue that Malinga should have gone full and straight, but the counter-argument would be that even a fractional error in length would have allowed Dhoni a free swing over the short square boundary. As it transpired, Malinga went wide, Dhoni went high and there was poetic justice in the denouement.

Sri Lanka were left ruing a collapse in their batting Powerplay, that left them at least 20 runs short. They stumbled from a heady 168 for 3 in 35 overs, losing 18 for 3 in the Powerplay, including the two set batsmen – Dinesh Chandimal and Mahela Jayawardene, who had added 94 runs without a fuss. The complexion of the game changed so drastically in that period, that Ashwin bowled with two slips in the 40th over.

Until then, Chandimal ran the show with admirable poise, imposing himself with a series of pulls and whips through the leg side, imparted with a flourish that was once the trademark of Marvan Atapattu. Chandimal’s technique was adept for the conditions, as he used soft hands and decisive feet to milk India’s attack. In his company, Jayawardene shrugged away the poor form that has dogged him since the South Africa tour, as Sri Lanka recovered from their sluggish start.

India made three crucial early strikes, which meant they were only one wicket away from the lower order even when Chandimal and Jayawardene were in full flow. Vinay Kumar preyed on Upul Tharanga’s unending troubles outside the off stump, before Irfan celebrated his return to the venue where he made his international debut in 2003 with pleasing swing, and the wicket of Tillakaratne Dilshan. R Ashwin then worked over Sangakkara with spin and variety to peg Sri Lanka back. Chandimal and Jayawardene fought hard to revive the innings, but India would have been the happier side after 50 overs.

Gambhir took charge of the chase with assurance, and it will be interesting if India will continue their rotation policy and bench him for the next game. Sachin Tendulkar’s rustiness, too, suggested the break from Sunday’s game didn’t do him much good. Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma all perished after scoring 15 runs apiece, as Sri Lanka made timely dents. Suresh Raina’s failure meant India were wobbling at 118 for 4 in the 28th over. But they had just the right man coming in at that stage.

It wasn’t just the players that erred in the pressure cooker. Umpire Nigel Llong’s miscounting meant Malinga only bowled five balls in the 30th over. India will say they would have got the extra run they needed off the ball that was missed. Sri Lanka will claim they would have got the extra wicket they needed off it. The beauty of this game is that we will never know how it may have ended.

Nitin Sundar is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

Angelo Mathews narrowly failed to deliver victory to Sri Lanka at the WACA, where the Australians held on by five runs in a thrilling finish. Sri Lanka needed 18 from the final over bowled by Mitchell Starc, and Mathews gave them every chance by pulling the first ball for four and driving the next delivery over long-off for six, before a pair of singles left the visitors needing six from two balls.

But Mathews skied the next delivery to long-on, where Daniel Christian held his nerve to take the catch, ensuring Australia remained unbeaten in the Commonwealth Bank Series. And while the Australians did, for the most part, bowl and field well, they could consider themselves fortunate to have escaped with victory after posting what appeared to a sub-par 231, with Michael Clarke (57) the only man to score a half-century.

Initially, Sri Lanka were on track in the chase before a middle-order collapse left too much to Mathews and the tail. That Mathews nearly got them home was remarkable, as was his 46-run tenth-wicket stand with Dhammika Prasad, but his dismissal for 64 should at least mean the rest of the batting order is held accountable for a disappointing effort that undid the fine work of the bowlers.

The Australian bowlers were also impressive. Xavier Doherty was the standout with a miserly 2 for 24 from his ten overs but there were other positives from the hosts in the field as well. Starc hooped the new ball and claimed an early wicket, Christian picked up two victims to add to his handy 33 with the bat, Clint McKay completed a terrific run-out from side-on and Matthew Wade enhanced his reputation with a stumping and a wonderful diving catch.

Despite the early loss of Upul Tharanga, who edged a Starc outswinger to Clarke at slip in the fourth over, Sri Lanka seemed to have the chase in control as Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara and Dinesh Chandimal all looked comfortable at the crease. It was a Sri Lankan error – and a great throw from McKay – that led to Sangakkara’s dismissal for 22 when he pushed into the leg side and took off for a single.

But both he and his partner Dilshan hesitated after a few steps, and the stop-start confusion resulted in Sangakkara trying to return to his crease only to be beaten by a side-on direct hit from the bowler McKay, who had collected the ball from short midwicket. As he walked off, Sangakkara directed a glare towards Dilshan, knowing that if their 50-run stand had continued a while longer, Sri Lanka would have been in a terrific position.

Instead, Dilshan’s scoring rate slowed – he had struck three searing boundaries through the off side early in his innings – and on 40 from 57 deliveries he was caught behind off Ryan Harris when the ball tickled the inside edge. Another straightforward catch to Wade followed when Mahela Jayawardene tried to steer Christian to third man but succeeded only in feathering behind.

In the next over Doherty struck the first of his two blows. The WACA is not known as a spinner’s paradise but Doherty extracted severe turn in to the left-hander Lahiru Thirimanne, who saw the ball pitch outside off and sneak between bat and pad to take the leg stump. Impressed by what he saw from Doherty, Clarke decided to bowl some left-arm spin himself and broke through first ball when from around the wicket he skidded one on and struck Chandimal in front for 37.

That was followed by an excellent catch from Wade, who dived to his right in front of first slip to snare Nuwan Kulasekara off the bowling of Christian. At 7 for 143, Sri Lanka’s hopes seemed to have disappeared, a feeling that was only enforced further when Doherty turned a ball past the outside edge of an advancing Sachithra Senanayake, who was stumped by Wade, and when Lasith Malinga edged behind off McKay.

At that stage, Sri Lanka still needed 52 runs, and through Mathews and Prasad they nearly got there. At the change of innings they deserved to be favourites. Jaywardene had sent Australia in, and while it was an unexpected decision it proved not a bad one as Sri Lanka’s sharp fielding helped restrict Australia to 231 as they were dismissed from the first ball of the 50th over.

Clarke (57) had assistance from Christian during the only half-century partnership of the innings but when the offspinner Sachithra Senanayake broke that stand in the 40th over Australia faced the prospect of not batting out their time. Christian was stumped for 33 when he failed to pick the straighter delivery and Clarke fell in the following over.

He was the victim of an excellent catch by the opposing captain as Jayawardene moved low to his right to snaffle the chance at midwicket off the bowling of Angelo Mathews. Clarke hadn’t found it easy to keep the scoring rate up and had struck only four boundaries in his 88-ball stay, but until that moment he had at least provided an anchor for the innings

Some useful late runs came from McKay and Starc, and Sri Lanka would ultimately rue the 39 runs added by the last two pairs. McKay had survived an edge behind on 15 when Sangakkara didn’t cleanly pouch a low ball, and it was a rare miss for the Sri Lankans in what was generally an impressive fielding effort.

Several Australians fell to fine catches: David Hussey’s leading edge off Malinga was collected at cover by Thirimanne, who had to dive forward and to his left, and Clarke was snapped up by a quick-moving Jayawardene at midwicket off the bowling of Mathews. But the best was Kulasekara’s return catch to get rid of Michael Hussey for 23. He pushed at a fuller ball from Kulasekara, who dived to his right to take a wonderful one-handed catch.

Kulasekara had also been the man who gave Sri Lanka their positive start, when he picked up a wicket in the fourth over, when Wade prodded outside off and edged behind for 1. Wade was the quiet partner in the opening stand as David Warner played a few shots that encouraged the Perth crowd to think a repeat of his blazing Test hundred at the venue might be in the making.

His lofted six off over long-on against Malinga was the standout stroke, but on 34 from 29 deliveries he played on to Mathews, who got a ball to straighten just enough. It was the first of several good things Mathew did for the match. Unfortunately for Sri Lanka, they needed one more.

Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo.

Ravichandran Ashwin (30 not out) and Ravindra Jadeja (24 not out) played sensibly in the end to help India beat Sri Lanka by 4 wickets in the second ODI as they opened their account in the tri-series at the WACA in Perth.

Chasing 234-run target, India lost Virat Kohli (77), MS Dhoni (4) and Suresh Raina (24) in quick succession to put pressure on themselves in the final 15 overs of the match.

India were still 53 runs behind the modest target when top-scorer Kohli ran himself out trying to steal a cheeky single off the last ball of 36th over after hitting previous ball for a massive six.

Ashwin and Jadeja added unbeaten 53-run stand for the seventh wicket to steer India to an important victory with 19 balls to spare.

Ashwin hit three boundaries in his brilliant unbeaten 38-ball 30 whereas Jadeja hit a four in his sensible 28-ball 24 innings.

Kohli ran himself out trying to steal a cheeky single off the last ball of 36th over after hitting previous ball for a massive six. Kohli hit a six and eight boundaries in his 94 balls sensible knock before one wrong decision ended his innings.

Dhoni top-edged Dhamika Prasad delivery as Lasith Malinga took a sharp running catch at mid-on soon after Angelo Mathews dismissed Suresh Raina in the previous over.

Raina played an aggressive 24 runs knock off 27 balls and hit three boundaries as he tried to steady India run chase with Kohli after losing Rohit Sharma (10).

Dilshan took a brilliant catch at point to dismiss Sharma off Thisara Perera’s ball to reduce India to 122/3 in 25.5 overs.

Sharma added 33-run for the third wicket with Kohli, with the later scoring his 19th ODI fifty off 66 balls with the help of seven boundaries.

Sachin Tendulkar, who was playing well and looked destine for 100th ton, was bowled by Angelo Mathews for 48.

The master blaster played a sensible knock of 48 off 63 balls, which included five hits to the fence, before Mathews got better of him in the 19th over.

Tendulkar added valuable 75-run for the second wicket with Virat Kohli to revive India run chase after they lost Virender Sehwag (10) early.

Chasing a modest 234-run target, India lost opener Sehwag in the third over to be reduced to 14/1 in 2.3 overs.

Sehwag started in a typical aggressive style as he hit two fours in his short 8-ball stay on the crease before Kulasekara took a running catch at the third man area off the bowling of Lasith Malinga.

Asked to field first, Ravichandran Ashwin (3-32) and Zaheer Khan (2-44) led a fine bowling display by India as they restricted Sri Lanka to 233/8 on Wednesday.

Ashwin dismissed three crucial Sri Lankan middle-order batsmen as the Islanders failed to increase their tempo in the entire match and set a modest 234-run target for the Indians. Ashwin finished his ten overs spell with impressive figure of 3 for 32 runs.

Zaheer started Indian attack on the right note as he took two early wickets after Sri Lanka decided to bat at the bouncy WACA pitch.

Dinesh Chandimal was the top scorer for Sri Lanka with a steady 81-ball 64. The right-hander slammed four boundaries in his innings and added valuable 52-run stand for the fourth wicket with skipper Mahela Jayawardene (23).

Sri Lanka lost Chandimal, Thisara Perera (7) and Jayawardene in quick succession to spinner Ashwin as India controlled the proceeding in the match.

Half-centurion Chandimal was stumped by India keeper Dhoni off Ashwin as the right-hander tried to attack the spinner to increase the scoring rate.

Ashwin struck again to dismiss Perera and reduced Sri Lanka to 172/5 in 39.4 overs soon after he got rid of Lanka skipper Jayawardene and put a halt to the decent partnership between Jayawardene and Dinesh Chandimal.

Jayawardene hit two fours in his 34-ball knock as he put on a 52-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Ravindra Jadeja struck to dismiss Dilshan to reduce Sri Lanka to 100/3 in 24.3 overs soon after Zaheer Khan gave India second breakthrough after dismissing Kumar Sangakkara (26).

Dilshan failed to complete his fifty after playing a patient innings of 48 in 79 balls, which included seven boundaries.

Sangakkara was caught behind the wicket after Indian skipper MS Dhoni dived to his left to pouch a fine catch. Sri Lanka lost their second wicket at the score of 74.

Sri Lanka crossed their 100-run mark in 23.4 overs. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara added 62 runs for the second wicket.

Sri Lanka were 46 for 1 after the mandatory powerplay of 10 overs as their first 50 runs came in 63 balls. Zaheer Khan gave India first breakthrough after he dismissed Lankan opener Upul Tharanga in the second.

Earlier, Sri Lanka lost their first wicket at the score of 12 after skipper Mahela Jayawardene elected to bat against India in the second one-dayer. Tharanga edged Zaheer Khan’s delivery straight into the hands of Sachin Tendulkar at first slip.

Virender Sehwag, who had been rested from the first game in order to play Rohit Sharma, returned to the final XI. Sehwag replaced Gautam Gambhir who has been rested for the second ODI.

Veteran pacer Zaheer Khan, who missed out the opening match like Sehwag, also made his way back into the team as he replaced injured Rahul Sharma.

The Sri Lankans went with five fast bowlers – Dhammika Prasad, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Thisara Perera and Angelo Matthews – on a pitch which already has cracks.

In Australia, the two teams have clashed five times and India have an advantage of 2-1 over their southern neighbours, with two matches finishing with no result.

Teams:

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Angelo Matthews, Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lasith Malinga, Dinesh Chandimal, Thisara Perera, Lahiru Thirimanne, Upul Tharanga, Dhammika Prasad and Nuwan Kulasekara.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan.

Source: Times of India

Twenty-eight years on from the match that transformed the history of world cricket, India recaptured the crown that Kapil Dev and his men first lifted at Lord’s in 1983, and this time they did so in their very own back yard. An iron-willed 97 from Gautam Gambhir was matched for intensity by the finest captain’s innings since Ricky Ponting in Johannesburg eight years ago, as MS Dhoni trumped a poetic century from Mahela Jayawardene to pull off the highest run-chase ever achieved in a World Cup final.

Against a triumphant backdrop at the Wankhede Stadium, victory was sealed by six wickets with 10 balls to spare, as Dhoni – who had promoted himself to No. 5 to heap extra lashings of responsibility onto his own shoulders – rushed through the gears as the victory target drew nearer. With 15 required from 17 balls, he flicked Sri Lanka’s only true threat, Lasith Malinga, through midwicket for consecutive boundaries, before smoking Nuwan Kulasekara over long-on to finish on 91 not out from 79 balls, and spark the most delirious scenes of celebration ever seen on the subcontinent.

However, the final margin did little justice to the tussle that had preceded it. Even the toss ended up being disputed, as Kumar Sangakkara’s initial call was drowned out by the crowd, but it was the ebb and flow of Zaheer Khan’s day that epitomised the fluctuations of a compelling contest. Zaheer opened his account with three consecutive maidens and the scalp of Upul Tharanga in a peerless spell of 5-3-6-1, only to be clobbered for 17 and 18 runs in his ninth and tenth overs, as Sri Lanka monstered 63 runs in the batting Powerplay to post an imposing 274 for 6.

And India’s day got much worse before the team’s fortunes began to inch upwards. Virender Sehwag had hit a boundary from the first ball of six of India’s previous eight innings in the tournament, but this time Malinga’s slingers dealt him a second-ball duck, as he skidded a full delivery into his back pad. And then Sachin Tendulkar, for whom the script had seemingly been written, was drawn into a loose drive by a fast Malinga outswinger, having set the stadium on standby for instant history with 18 sumptuously accumulated runs from his first 12 deliveries.

At 31 for 2 in the seventh over, India were struggling to keep their toehold in the contest, and it was all too much for a faithless few in the crowd who turned their backs and set off for home. But Gambhir and Virat Kohli epitomise a generation that does not easily accept defeat, and their third-wicket stand of 83 laid the foundations for an epic turnaround. The prospect of a seam-friendly surface, allied to the grievous loss of Angelo Mathews to a thigh strain, had tempted Sri Lanka into four key changes to the team that had triumphed over New Zealand in Colombo, and with Muttiah Muralitharan lacking bite in the final wicketless appearance of his 19-year career, Malinga alone could not carry the day.

The hard-hitting of Nuwan Kulasekara and Thisara Perera had been instrumental in hoisting Sri Lanka’s total to such heights, but in their primary role as front-line seamers they lacked menace and were all too easy to squeeze as 119 runs came from their combined allocation of 17.2 overs. The newcomer to the squad, Suraj Randiv, caused a moment of alarm with his high-kicking offspin when Gambhir, on 30, was dropped by a diving Kulasekara at long-off, but as the innings progressed, his lack of guile proved costly. The decision to omit both Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath, whose combined efforts had been so effective against England and New Zealand, is one that will haunt Sri Lanka for years to come.

But this was a victory that still had to be grasped, and India found the men who were willing to do so. The 22-year-old Kohli, who was greeted with a stern word of encouragement as he replaced the outgoing Tendulkar, showed all the mettle for the big occasion as he eased along to 35 from 49 balls before falling to an outstanding return catch by Tillakaratne Dilshan, who dived full-length across the crease to intercept a leading edge. But it was Gambhir and Dhoni to whom the ultimate duty fell. Their 109-run stand was the highest by an Indian pairing in three World Cup final appearances, and even when Gambhir gave away the chance for an unforgettable century with a tired charge and slash at Perera, the result was no longer in doubt.

Gambhir struck nine fours in a 122-ball statement of indomitability, and both he and Dhoni required treatment for stiff backs as the sapping Mumbai heat took its toll. Dhoni at one stage looked so immobile that a precautionary retirement seemed the only logical response, but after some harsh work from the physio he resumed his stance and responded with another trademark filleting of the extra cover boundary, an area in which he scored six of his eight fours – three of which helped to blunt Murali’s attacking instincts.

Both teams contained numerous veterans of World Cup final defeat, with no fewer than five Indians still remaining from the team that lost to Australia back in 2003, and as a consequence this was a match thick with performances that spoke of the wisdom of experience. Though each of the previous five centurions in finals had gone on to lift the trophy, as well as seven of the nine teams that had had the chance to bat first, Jayawardene had the misfortune to become an exception to both rules. His stunning 103 not out from 88 balls was proof that finesse has as much of a place at this level as brutality, but ultimately it was not enough to deny India their destiny.

Four years ago at Sabina Park, Jayawardene produced a supreme century against New Zealand to carry his side to their second World Cup final, but this was an innings of even more exquisite application. He came to the crease with his side under the cosh at 60 for 2 in the 17th over, having been throttled by Zaheer’s supreme new-ball spell. But he responded with a tempo that scarcely wavered from a run a ball, until with Kulasekera for company, he opened his shoulders to power through to his hundred from 84 balls.

For an occasion of this magnitude, cool heads were the order of the day, and though his final figures did not show it, no-one was cooler in the opening exchanges than Zaheer. On his watch, Sri Lanka were limited to 31 for 1 in their mandatory Powerplay, their lowest ten-over score of the tournament, and the hapless Tharanga was restricted to two runs from 20 balls before snicking to Sehwag at slip, whose sharp low take epitomised a fielding effort that was rarely less than totally committed. Then, when he returned in the 37th over, Zaheer deceived Chamara Kapugedera with a beautiful slower ball that was driven to short cover, on route to equalling Shahid Afridi as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, with 21.

And yet, the speed with which his figures were vandalised was astounding. Though each of Jayawardene’s 13 fours was a classy stroke in its own right, none was better than the last of them, an inside-out cover-drive to one of Zaheer’s trademark outswinging yorkers, as he premeditated the late movement and filleted the ring of fielders on the off-side. The outright acceleration came from the other end, however, where Kulasekera made 32 from 30 balls before his sacrificial run-out led to a pat of gratitude from Jayawardene as they parted. And then, by the time Perera, who made 22 from nine balls, had sealed his onslaught with a dismissive thump for six over midwicket, the decibel levels in the Wankhede had plummeted.

But run by run, over by over, minute by minute, India picked themselves up, dusted themselves down, and turned the screw on Sri Lanka with a determination that a lesser group of men could not have begun to muster, amid the sure knowledge that several billion countrymen were investing all their hopes in their actions. And though he himself played just a walk-on part in the wider drama, it was Tendulkar who was chaired from the field as the celebrations began in earnest. “He’s carried the burden of our nation for 21 years,” said the youngster Kohli. “It was time to carry him on our shoulders today.”

Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo