Tillakaratne Dilshan produced a terrific all round show as Sri Lanka crushed Bangladesh by 126 runs to virtually qualify for the final of the Asia Cup cricket tournament here on Friday.

After scoring an intimidating 312 for four, the hosts bowled out Bangladesh for a mere 186 and collected a bonus point to take their points tally to nine from two matches at the Rangiri Dambulla International stadium.

Dilshan first scored a fiery 71 while opening the innings and then capped the successful day with a three-wicket haul.

India, who play Pakistan in a crucial match on Saturday, have five points from their six-wicket win over Bangladesh earlier in the week.

Pakistan, who lost their opener to Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh (two defeats) are yet to open their account.

Bangladesh were hopelessly outclassed in all departments of the game. The bowling was far from international standard, reflecting that the team had not improved much since breaking into the ICC league in 1999.

The batting too lacked depth with batsmen casting away their wickets after getting their eye in.

Tamim Iqbal top scored with 51 (52b, 5×4, 1×6) while Junaid Siddique made a gutsy 35-ball 38 before being superbly caught by a diving Nuwan Kulasekara at square leg off Muthiah Muralitharan (2/38).

The rest of the batsmen lacked the wherewithal to challenge the Lankan dominance.

Earlier, half centuries by Dislhan, Upul Tharanag (54) and Kumar Sangakkara (52) and a brisk 73-run partnership between Angelo Mathews (42 not out) and Chamara Kapugedara (37 not out) for the unbroken fifth wicket put Lanka in total command.

Opting to bat on ‘Victory Day’ in front of a boisterous home crowd, Sri Lanka galloped to 111 for no loss with Dilshan and Tharanga punishing the profligate Bangladesh new-ball attack led by Mashrafe Mortaza.

Mortaza conceded as many as 26 runs in two overs to set the tone for the Lankan rampage.

Bangladesh earned the breakthrough in the 16th over when Dilshan offered a feeble return catch to Shakib Al Hasan, the ball lobbing of the leading edge as he shaped to work the left arm spinner to square.

The flamboyant opener smashed 11 boundaries and a six during his 51-ball tenure at the square.

It was to the visitors’ fortune that Tharanga offered his wicket on a platter to Mahmudullah in the 27th over. Dancing down the wicket to hit the off spinner, Tharanga completely missed the line of the ball to be stranded way down the crease.

Mushfiqur Rahim made no mistake with the offering, whipping off the bails after initially appealing for a down the leg catch behind the wicket.

Thereafter, it was Sri Lanka all the way as Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene picked runs with effortless ease, picking the gaps in the field with precision and converting ones into twos.

The elegant twosome had posted 69 runs for the third wicket in 66 balls when Jayawardene (43), venturing to hit Shafiul Islam through the vacant on-side, holed out to Shakib Al Hasan at covers.

Shafiul Islam, easily Bangladesh’s best bowler of the day, was to account for Sangakkara as well, having the Lankan captain caught at the point by Shakib Al Hasan.

But Angelo Mathews and Chamara Kapugedara ensured that Lanka finished on a high with a breezy partnership which took the wind out of the Bangladesh sail.

Source: NDTV Cricket

Who’d a thunk it? Zimbabwe finished the league stage at the top of the table, winning comprehensively all their 50-over matches, and losing the one that was truncated to 26. Even in the first quarter of the final league match, a dead rubber, Sri Lanka seemed to have run away with the game, having scored 122 for no loss thanks largely to a rollicking start from Tillakaratne Dilshan. Zimbabwe’s army of spinners – accurate, aggressive, aided by good fielding – then came into action, and Sri Lanka managed only 114 in the rest of the piece. The chase hardly ever looked difficult, and once again Brendan Taylor was at the centre of it, scoring only his second ODI hundred and overhauling his personal best.

Zimbabwe refused to experiment and bat first in a tournament where all matches have been won by sides chasing, but they played around with the ball, persisting with the medium-pacers in the earlier stages of the innings. Resting one of their four spinners, they got the seamers to bowl 13 out of the first 15 overs, and Dilshan smacked them around to give Sri Lanka their best start of the tournament. Out of form coming into the tri-series, Dilshan continued his improvement with every innings, and was free-flowing in his 66-ball 78.

With Greg Lamb and Andy Blignaut out with minor niggles, the first 13 overs from the medium-pacers went for 89 runs. Dilshan got 54 of those – eight fours and a six in them. With the introduction of Ray Price in the 12th over came some control, but by that time Upul Tharanga had opened up too, having hit three fours in a Chamu Chibhabha over, the 10th of the innings. Dilshan was not going to settle for a boring middle-over accumulation either: he hit another four and six before falling prey to his own aggression in the 21st over.

Prosper Utseya, who got Dilshan stumped, followed up with Dinesh Chandimal’s wicket in the 25th over, and Zimbabwe had started clawing back. Soon Hamilton Masakadza came to bowl for the first time in the tournament. Soon he was showing off his vest with “just married” written on it, having accepted an easy return catch off his third ball. Three wickets had gone for 33 runs, and Sri Lanka were forced into consolidation, a spell during which Tharanga reached his fifty, but also a spell during which Zimbabwe kept the field up and didn’t allow easy singles.

Tharanga eventually played a shot of frustration, getting too close to a Graeme Cremer delivery and holing out to long-off. Jeevan Mendis looked to innovate, but pulled one to midwicket off Cremer. Thilan Samaraweera ran off a misfield, and Sri Lanka had lost another set of three wickets for 18 runs.

The match was now entering the crucial phase, the batting Powerplay, with Sri Lanka six down for 217 after 44 overs. Thissara Perera and Lahiru Thirimanne, the last recognised pair, had batted themselves in and were looking to undo Zimbabwe’s hard work. In the first over of the Powerplay, though, Mpofu removed them both. Perera missed a straight delivery and Thirimanne chipped to cover-point. More special celebrations came out, the rocking-baby this time, for Tatenda Taibu who recently had a second son.

Masakadza didn’t give his newly wed much more to cheer about. After his first failure in the tournament, though, Taylor got a good helping hand from Chibhabha, who put behind an ordinary show with the ball and a slow, edgy start. With not much swing available, Thilan Thushara and Dilhara Fernando tried to test the openers with short deliveries. It worked to begin with: Masakadza gloved one down the leg side in the fifth over, and Zimbabwe had scored only 16 in the first six. However, chasing a modest total, they could afford to give the bowlers a few overs and wait for the loose deliveries.

Sure enough, the loose deliveries started arriving. Immediately after Chibhabha top-edged Thushara for four in the seventh over, five wides followed. In the next over, Fernando over-pitched, and was off-driven by Taylor. In the ninth over, Thushara over-pitched on the pads, and Chibhabha flicked him over fine leg for six.

With literally risk-free cricket, Zimbabwe had reached 42 in nine overs. With the introduction of Thissara Perera, though, the batsmen started taking calculated risks. His two overs went for five boundaries, four of them in the air, and with 80 runs on the board after 15 overs, Zimbabwe could afford to milk the bowling. The next 17 overs got Zimbabwe just 72 runs, but the period didn’t draw any panic. During the spell both the batsmen reached their fifties, and Chibhabha’s mixed day was sure to give Zimbabwe a selection headache before the final.

Even after Chibhabha’s dismissal, Taylor made sure Zimbabwe stayed ahead of the rate, without taking undue risks. There was the odd late-cut past short third man, there was the odd long hop pulled over midwicket, and lots of ones and twos. Coolly, Taylor and Taibu finished off their first win over Sri Lanka in seven years, with 13 balls to spare.

Sidharth Monga is a staff writer at Cricinfo

“Frankly today we were rubbish,” said Zimbabwe’s new coach Alan Butcher. And he was right. It was a one-way street in Bulawayo. Only Hamilton Masakadza turned up for Zimbabwe. Sri Lanka attacked from every corner, with spin and seam, to strangle and harass the hosts who just about managed to get past 100. Only Masakadza managed to successfully combine aggressive intent with the required skill that the rain-reduced 26-over game demanded of the batsmen. It was Sri Lanka, led by Ajantha Mendis, who called all the shots and Tillakaratne Dilshan ensured they earned a bonus point and took the top spot with a breezy knock.

Mendis bamboozled with his mystery against a team he’s had much success with – 18 wickets from six games before this. Suraj Randiv troubled with his accuracy and Jeevan Mendis, the debutant leg-spinning allrounder, picked up a couple of wickets. Not that the seamers didn’t sparkle.

Nuwan Kulasekara turned in an asphyxiating spell with the new ball with figures that read 3-0-7-0 and Dilhara Fernando, as ever, extracted bounce from short of a length to produce an equally tight spell. And it was Fernando who started the demolition job by removing Brendon Taylor.

The nature of Taylor’s dismissal set the tone for Zimbabwe today: He stumbled out to the leg side, almost like a tailender, to a short-of-length delivery and had a lame fatal poke at it. It highlighted the urge to attack that the reduced game demanded of the hosts, but also perfectly caught the confusion in the mind of the way to go about it.

Zimbabwe also faltered in their strategy. Why was Greg Lamb, a batsman with a strike rate of about 41, sent in at No.3 in a 26-over game? The pitch wasn’t so bad that they needed to stitch one end up. Lamb crawled to a 19-ball 10 which was neither here nor there and only piled pressure on Masakadza.

Craig Ervine’s struggles against spin further hurt Zimbabwe. He could only eke out three runs from 18 deliveries of spin from the combination of Ajantha Mendis and Randiv. He couldn’t pick Ajantha Mendis’ variations and couldn’t break free against Randiv’s accuracy. Ajantha Mendis swallowed both Lamb and Ervine and Randiv lured Charles Coventry to hole out to the deep. And more trouble lay around the corner for Zimbabwe as they lost Elton Chigumbura , inside-edging a short delivery from Jeevan Mendis on to his stumps.

Watching all the damage unfold was Masakadza. It was he who hit the first boundary with a disdainful pull in the fourth over against Fernando. It was he who hit the first six in an over where he threatened to turn things around for Zimbabwe. He went after Thissara Perera in the eighth over, thrashing him for a four past mid-off and unfurling an imperiously-pulled six to loot 17 runs. However, he too slowed down after that frenetic over. It took him a further 38 deliveries to hit his next boundary, the self-restraint no doubt caused by the alarming rate at which the wickets fell. In the end, he was the ninth wicket to fall when he top-edged a bouncer from Fernando and Zimbabwe soon crashed out for 118.

Zimbabwe needed a great start if they were to pull off an unlikely heist. However, Chris Mpofu went for 14 runs in the third over as Upul Tharanga pinged the point boundary for three fours and Sri Lanka seized all momentum. Though Tharanga was run out later, Tillakaratne Dilshan, who had played a watchful, but a good knock against India in the previous game, hastened the end with an aggressive innings. He lofted Prosper Utseya for a six and a four, slog-swept Lamb to the ropes and cut Chigumbura for more boundaries. The chase was over in a blink.

Sriram Veera is a staff writer at Cricinfo

Sri Lanka managed to hold on to their nerves to level the series 1-1 by registering a three-wicket victory over India.

Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan gave Sri Lanka a flying start, chasing a target of 302.
It was offie Harbhajan Singh, who gave India their first breakthrough by sending back Upul Tharanga.

But Dilshan continued to play his shots and the new batsman in Kumar Sangakkara also helped ante the momentum.

Even Sangakkara’s departure could not stop Dilshan from maintaing the rhythm and in the process he reached his century to put the islanders right on top.

Dilshan departed after hitting a fabulous century that put Sri Lanka on top. Lankans were still in command when they lost Mahela Jayawardene. But they found themselves in a bit of a bother as Thilina Kandamby departed.

Zaheer Khan’s twin strike push Sri Lanka on to the back foot but ultimately they managed to prevail.

Earlier, a superbly-paced century from Mahendra Singh Dhoni propelled India to a challenging total in the second one-dayer against Sri Lanka in Nagpur.

India wobbled at the start, losing Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir cheaply, but recovered with half-centuries from Virat Kohli (54) and Suresh Raina (68), while Dhoni’s innings of 107 spurred his side to 301 for seven.

Dhoni’s decision to bat first looked to have backfired when Sehwag went cheaply, caught behind by Kumar Sangakkara in the first over from left-arm paceman Chanaka Welegedara.

Gambhir was then run out in unfortunate circumstances, a collision with Welegedara ensuring he was caught short of his crease.

Gambhir had pushed a delivery from Welegedara to mid-on, but collided with the bowler and was caught short of the crease when Angelo Mathews broke the stumps with a direct hit.

At 19 for two, India were in a spot of bother, but the home side recovered nicely through Sachin Tendulkar (43) and Kohli.

Tendulkar’s stay was circumspect as he focused on rebuilding. He put on 62 for the third wicket with Kohli but fell while attempting to accelerate the pace.

He walked out to cart Ajantha Mendis over the top, failed to make contact and was stumped by Sangakkara.

Kohli, who initially dealt primarily in boundaries, thereafter played a steady knock as he got the home side back on track.

He added 51 for the fourth wicket with Dhoni, but just when India were beginning to break the shackles, debutant off-spinner Suraj Randhiv trapped Kohli in front, claiming him for his first wicket in international cricket.

Left-hand batsman Raina joined his captain at the crease and, after a cautious start, put Sri Lanka’s attack to the sword.

He hammered four boundaries and smashed three towering sixes, reaching his 13th ODI half-century off just 44 deliveries before eventually holing out in the deep.

Dhoni, off the mark with an edged boundary, was fortunate to have reached his half-century.

He was dropped by Sangakkara on 49, the Sri Lanka captain already having missed an opportunity when the batsman was on 25.

The India skipper was then grassed again by Mendis on 94.

By then, Dhoni had thrown caution to the wind and he reached his sixth ODI century with two runs off Mathews. His second 50 came off just 36 deliveries.

Dhoni fell in the final over, handing Randhiv his second wicket, but by then India had breached the 300-mark.

Teams:

India: V Sehwag, SR Tendulkar, G Gambhir, V Kohli, MS Dhoni*†, SK Raina, RA Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, P Kumar, Z Khan, A Nehra.

Sri Lanka: WU Tharanga, TM Dilshan, KC Sangakkara*†, DPMD Jayawardene, SHT Kandamby, CK Kapugedera, AD Mathews, S Randiv, RAS Lakmal, UWMBCA Welegedara, BAW Mendis.

Source: ESPN Cricket

Sri Lanka 319 for 8 (Dilshan 106, Jayawardene 77, Sangakkara 54) beat South Africa 206 for 7 (Smith 58, Mendis 3-30) by 55 runs (D/L)…

Led by a blazing century from Tillakaratne Dilshan and a brace of cameos, the world’s No. 5 team started their Champions Trophy campaign in fine style by beating the top-ranked side. Graeme Smith’s decision to field was based on the lack of dew in the afternoon but none of the bowlers, barring Dale Steyn, made an impression. Dilshan’s 92-ball 106, coupled with significant inputs from captains past and present, lifted them to a daunting total that was well beyond South Africa.

Sri Lanka carried the energy from their powerful batting display into the field and Ajantha Mendis, unlike the home side’s spinners, extracted bounce and turn under lights. Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis showed signs of dominance with an 81-run stand in quick time but once Smith was bowled off Mendis’ first delivery, and Kallis and JP Duminy fell in successive balls, Sri Lanka could apply the chokehold.

Smith had a smile on his face when the toss went his way and Steyn nipped out Sanath Jayasuriya, but it was soon replaced by a frown. In a 158-run partnership with Kumar Sangakkara, who provided solid support with 54 from 74 balls, Dilshan played anchor and aggressor in equal measure. The first to feel Dilshan’s force was Wayne Parnell, preferred to Makhaya Ntini; he struggled to hit a consistent length and went for 39 in five overs. It was a recurring trend in those early overs, Parnell dragging the ball down and Dilshan finding the deep point and midwicket boundaries. Albie Morkel was thrashed for 22 in two overs as Sri Lanka reached 100 in the 13th over.

The onslaught forced Smith, who refused to delay the Powerplay, to turn to his spin pair to try and stop the destruction. The pair stemmed the flow of boundaries but lacked bite and Sri Lanka ticked along at over six an over. Dabs, drives, flicks, shots off angled bats, and punches all evaded fielders and Sangakkara brought up his first half-century since February. He fell to an innocuous delivery from Duminy, after which Dilshan’s boundary blasting – he hit 16 fours and a six – ended when he slashed the first ball of Steyn’s return over to third man.

Sri Lanka used the platform extremely well and crossed 300 thanks largely to Mahela Jayawardene’s 77 off 61. He was his usual deft self: cutting, nudging and pushing into the gaps with excellent timing. His feet constantly moved as he made room to create singles and, with Thilan Samaraweera playing in a similar vein, Sri Lanka pressed ahead. Before South Africa knew it Jayawardene was on 41 off 40 balls – the majority of those runs coming from controlled paddles and sweeps – and the stage was set for a late surge; the final ten overs cost 85. Parnell gave some respectability to his figures by dismissing Jayawardene and Samaraweera in successive deliveries though by then Sri Lanka were 297 for 5 in the 47th over.

Chasing more than a run a ball from the start, South Africa needed a strong platform. They were in early trouble when Hashim Amla was cleaned up by Angelo Mathews off an inside edge in the third over. Kallis joined Smith, looking leaner having shed a few kilos, and the pair milked the wayward Nuwan Kulasekara, who seemed to have contracted Parnell’s problem of bowling short. Kallis was quick to punish him and Kulasekara’s fifth over went for 14, with Smith particularly strong through the off side.

While Smith danced down the track at will and shuffled about to unsettle the fast bowlers, Kallis chose to clip the ball sweetly from the crease. Smith looked increasingly confident at the crease, but playing for a Mendis offbreak he missed one that skidded and hurried on and had his leg stump pegged back.

Mendis had again proved a valuable go-to man for his captain by ending the flourishing partnership. Smith’s bullish start hinted at the possibility of a Dilshan-style ambush, but inside four overs Mendis ripped the heart out of the batting order. Kallis showed glimpses of his class in compiling a brisk 41 before he was excellently caught at mid-off by a tumbling Mathews. Next ball, Duminy was castled by a flipper.

The required run-rate was already above seven at 113 for 4 in the 21st over, placing too much pressure on the rest of the order. Lasith Malinga, having bowled just one over at the start, returned to dismiss AB de Villiers and later snapped a gung-ho stand between Morkel and Johan Botha before rain interrupted the chase. At that stage Sri Lanka were well in command, and were later adjudged deserved winners.

Sri Lanka had previously lost only once after posting a 300-plus total in one-day internationals and, led by Mendis, the masters of asphyxiation struck. Adapting to early-season South African conditions superbly, Sri Lanka have taken the lead in showing that Asian teams are a force to be reckoned with in this tournament. South Africa, frustratingly, have shown again why their ability in multi-team tournaments has long been questioned.

Jamie Alter is a senior sub-editor at Cricinfo

Both Dhoni and Dilshan have been nominated for the Cricketer and Test player of the year awards. Dhoni’s name also features in the One-day International player of the year award while Dilshan is in the Twenty20 players’ list.

The awards would be given during a glittering ceremony in Johannesburg, Oct 1. Eighteen players have been nominated in two categories.

The lists were announced at a function hosted by former India all-rounder Ravi Shastri and opening batsman Virender Sehwag – who has also been nominated for the ODI Player of the Year award – and ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat.

This year’s ICC Awards includes eight individual prizes and also features the selection of the Test and ODI Teams of the Year and the award to the side that has adhered most to the Spirit of Cricket.

‘The LG ICC Awards are an opportunity for the ICC and FICA to acknowledge and celebrate the remarkable performances of the world’s top players,’ said Lorgat.

‘It is also a chance for followers of our great sport to reflect on some of the great cricketing feats they have witnessed over the past year. This will be the sixth time the awards have been handed out and yet again there are so many great performances to recall. Selecting the winners will no doubt test our selectors and voting academy,’ he said.

The long-lists of nominations were made by a five-man ICC selection panel chaired by former West Indies captain and current chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee Clive Lloyd. The panel also includes former players such as India’s Anil Kumble, Mudassar Nazar of Pakistan, Bob Taylor of England and New Zealand’s Stephen Fleming.

The individual player awards will be selected by an academy of 25 highly credentialled cricket personalities from around the world. The academy includes a host of former players and respected members of the media, representatives of the umpires and ICC Match Referees.

Dilshan is yet to win an ICC Award but he has a good chance this year as he is named among the nominees for the ICC Cricketer of the Year, Test Player of the Year and the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year.

Dhoni is a previous winner at the LG ICC Awards having been named as the ODI Player of the Year in 2008. He was also named in the 2008 ODI Team of the Year. This year he has been nominated in the Cricketer of the Year, Test Player of the Year and ODI Player of the Year categories.

The Emerging Player of the Year nominees include Australia’s new finds Philip Hughes, Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle as well as the New Zealand duo of Martin Guptill and Jesse Ryder. Indian leg-spinner Amit Mishra, Kemar Roach of the West Indies and England seamer Graham Onions are also there in the list.

Sri Lanka 158 for 5 (Dilshan 96*) beat West Indies 101 (Gayle 63*, Mathews 3-16, Muralitharan 3-29) by 57 runs…

It will be an all-Asia final at the ICC World Twenty20 after Sri Lanka maintained their unbeaten record by crushing West Indies by 57 runs at The Oval. Tillakaratne Dilshan added another installment to his breathtaking tournament with an unbeaten 96, the highest score of the event, as his team-mates struggled for momentum. Angelo Mathews then stunned West Indies with three wickets in the opening over before the spinners strangled the middle order, leaving Chris Gayle forlornly unbeaten on 63, carrying his bat as no one else reached double figures.

After everything the two countries have been through, it is fitting that Sri Lanka will meet Pakistan in the final. However, unlike Pakistan’s campaign which has burst into life after a slow start, there has been a sense of destiny about Kumar Sangakkara’s team reaching the Lord’s showdown. Sri Lanka’s run has been a triumph of mental strength and character and they now have the chance to mark their return to the international scene following the Lahore terror attack with a trophy.

They have played as a team throughout, but their position in the final was down to Dilshan’s outstanding individual effort. His innings was the highest for Sri Lanka in Twenty20 and, in a quirky statistic, the innings briefly gave him the highest percentage of a completed innings before Gayle’s lone hand nipped ahead. Dilshan looked set for the tournament’s first century until losing the strike towards the end. However, with Dilshan set for the closing stages, 60 runs came from the final five overs with Mathews playing a valuable four-ball cameo with two final-over boundaries.

However, that was only the start of Mathews’ role in the game. It was a surprise when he was handed the new-ball at the start of the tournament, but has been a constant presence upfront. Nothing, though, had come close to matching this effort. With his second ball he removed Xavier Marshall – who had replaced Andre Fletcher following three consecutive ducks – via an inside edge. It would become a common form of dismissal.

Two balls later, Lendl Simmons was slightly unlucky when he went across his stumps and the ball ricocheted from his thigh pad onto leg stump. That was the end, though, and Mathews’ third was the vital wicket of Dwayne Bravo as he too got an inside edge into middle stump. A stunned West Indies were 1 for 3.

Gayle, too his credit, played the situation and even opted to leave a couple of deliveries as he collect his thoughts. Normal service resumed with three boundaries when Lasith Malinga came on early to bowl the fourth over and Isuru Udana was swung for six over long-on. Then came the spinners and coupled with some brainless shot selection, the game was over.

Ajantha Mendis trapped Shivnarine Chanderpaul on the sweep as he and Muttiah Muralitharan made the middle order prod and poke as though playing with their eyes closed. Ramnaresh Sarwan, who was dropped on 2 by Mendis running round from long-on, was soon held by the omnipresent Mathews and Kieron Pollard was made to look a novice when he was stumped off a wide. Mendis’ 2 for 9 were Sri Lanka’s most economical Twenty20 figures, but Murali’s 3 for 29 reminded everyone of where the mystery began.

Sri Lanka’s innings was a curious affair, none more so than when Sanath Jayasuriya was labouring over a 37-ball 24. He never looked comfortable, changing his bat four times, before top-edging to short fine-leg. That the opening stand was still worth a profitable 73 in 10.3 overs was down to how well Dilshan played. He drove, flicked and swept (but never quite scooped, although he tried) his way to a 30-ball half century while partners came and went.

Sangakkara was superbly caught at backward point and Mahela Jayawardene clipped straight to short-fine leg as three wickets fell for four runs. It was down to Dilshan to give Sri Lanka’s strong attack something to defend and he cashed in on two full tosses by Pollard. Placement was key to Dilshan’s display and each time the bowlers strayed he managed to make the most of it.

The innings found some important momentum in the 17th over when Bravo was taken for 18 as he struggled to find his length. Dilshan cracked three boundaries and Chamara Silva then joined in when he swung the final delivery one bounce to the square-leg boundary. Silva’s contribution to a stand of 50 in six overs was just 11, before he fell trying to reverse hit Sulieman Benn, but it put Sri Lanka on track for the type of score they have regularly defended and from there they never looked like losers. One more victory on Sunday would complete one of cricket’s greatest stories.

Andrew McGlashan is assistant editor of Cricinfo

A fabulous half-century by Tillakaratne Dilshan helped Delhi Daredevils post a competitive 153 for eight in their semifinal match.

Ryan Harris gave Deccan Chargers a dream start as he managed to send back both the Delhi Daredevils openers — Gautam Gambhir and David Warner in the very first over after Delhi were put in to bat in the first semifinal of the Indian Premier League second edition in Centurion on Friday.

However, Delhi Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag and Tillakaratne Dilshan steadied the boat and went on doing the repair work to get over the early loss. The duo played their natural game as they went for their shots and managed to take Delhi to a score of 82 in 10 overs.

Just after the strategy break, Delhi Daredevils lose their captain Sehwag, who got out for a well-made 39 off 31 balls.

Dilshan, meanwhile held his ground and kept on playing his characteristic innings by hitting the ball all around the park. In also brought up his half-century in the process.

The new batsman in AB de Villiers gave Dilshan a good support on the other end before departing for 21-ball 26.

Delhi have made just one change to their side, bringing in Ashish Nehra in place of Avishkar Salvi.

Meanwhile, Deccan Chargers have also made one change as Harmeet Singh comes in for Jaskaran Singh.

After a disastrous campaign in the first edition of the Indian Premier League last year, the Hyderabad boys have stormed their way into the last four of the second version.

Led by Adam Gilchrist, a spirited team, without much offing from the legendary VVS Laxman won seven out of their 14 league games.

Virender Sehwag’s boys have been on a roll, butchering their opponents with a disdain characteristic of their leader.

Gautam Gambhir and Sehwag had a torrid time through the tournament before both struck form in their last league game against the Mumbai Indians.

Teams:

Delhi Daredevils: G Gambhir, DA Warner, V Sehwag (capt), TM Dilshan, AB de Villiers, KD Karthik (wk), R Bhatia, A Mishra, DP Nannes, P Sangwan, A Nehra.

Deccan Chargers: AC Gilchrist (capt/wk), HH Gibbs, TS Suman, RG Sharma, A Symonds, Y Venugopal Rao, AA Bilakhia, RJ Harris, PP Ojha, Harmeet Singh, RP Singh.

Delhi Daredevils 157 for 1 (Gambhir 71*, Dilshan 42*) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 154 for 3 (van Wyk 74, Sangwan 2-29) by nine wickets…

It’s getting hard to keep track of who’s on top of the IPL table. For the third day in a row, there was a new leader, now with the Delhi Daredevils occupying first place after strolling past a luckless Kolkata Knight Riders in Durban. To make victory even sweeter, one of their key batsmen, Gautam Gambhir, was back among the runs after an indifferent start to the tournament.

After Morne van Wyk made the most of his chance at the top of the order to push Kolkata towards a middling total, they fielded like millionaires, granting the Delhi batsmen innumerable chances to simplify the chase.

Gambhir, in particular, was virtually coaxed back to form. He was grassed a couple of times, that too by two of the better fielders in the side, on 22 by Brendon McCullum and on 65 by Moises Henriques, a run-out opportunity was wasted on 35, and he was given plenty of free runs as well. Even the umpire gave him a let-off by not picking a nick to the wicketkeeper when on 45.

An early exchange with Ishant Sharma showed how Delhi were helped along to victory. The first over had Ishant exchanging wry grins with his Ranji team-mate Gambhir after tying him down to an outside-edged four. The smiles were gone after some woeful fielding in his next over: Ashok Dinda made a mess at fine-leg, Sourav Ganguly gave away a couple of extra runs after a less-than-athletic effort at mid-off the next ball, and another Dinda fumble allowed the batsmen to return for two. Ishant lost his cool, and his line in the next delivery, presenting Gambhir a leg-side gift, which was glanced for four. Seventeen came off the over, and Delhi proved hard to rein in after that.

David Warner again showed his ability to clear the boundary, a Hayden-esque down-the-pitch pull off Dinda was the stand-out stroke in his blazing cameo. A couple of lofted drives for four off consecutive deliveries emphasised his ominous form but Ajit Agarkar beat Warner for pace two balls later, and had him holing out to Moises Henriques.

There was little relief for Kolkata, though, as Tillakaratne Dilshan demonstrated his form with a couple of cracking cover drives off Agarkar. Gambhir and Dilshan settled on a recipe of risk-free singles with a sprinkling of boundaries to keep Delhi on course. The missed chances already had the Kolkata camp frustrated, and the sight of several boundaries just beating a diving fielder added to their woes. It was only towards the end that the batsmen opened out, to finish the job with an over to spare.

Such a one-sided game didn’t seem on the cards after van Wyk glued the fragile Kolkata top order to take them near 150. Their opening troubles seemed set to continue when McCullum struggled to get bat on ball in the first over. But in the first delivery of the third over, McCullum’s bolt-down-the-track scythe finally connected and sent the ball rocketing over deep point. A controlled on-drive for four followed next delivery, and a swat sailed past the midwicket boundary three balls later fetched 21 runs off the over.

By the time McCullum clobbered Pradeep Sangwan over midwicket for a flat six, Kolkata were 48 for 0 after five overs, and the two batsmen were sharing a joke in the middle, not a common sight in Kolkata’s campaign so far.

It was Sangwan who was laughing a couple of overs later, when he had McCullum slapping the ball straight to fine leg. The in-form Brad Hodge joined van Wyk, but Sangwan and Mishra kept the brakes on. Kolkata could only score in singles for the first five overs after the Powerplays, and the run-rate had flatlined to 6.45.

It was an uncharacteristic fielding error at long-on from AB de Villiers that helped release the pressure for Kolkata. The next delivery was cut away for four more by van Wyk, who caressed three more boundaries in the over that followed from Sangwan. Right through the innings, van Wyk showed his ability to finesse his way to the runs, rarely attempting one of the most favoured strokes in Twenty20: the mow over midwicket.

Just as the runs started to flow, Hodge was dismissed, slowing Kolkata down again. They were at 111 for 2 after 16, when Henriques and van Wyk opened out to lash 28 off the next two. Kolkata needed a couple more like that to finish off, but Nannes and the outstanding Ashish Nehra kept it full and straight to not let them get into fifth gear.

Kolkata finished with a total that was disappointing, with wickets still in hand, but it was nowhere as disheartening as the shoddiness in the field that was to follow.

Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at Cricinfo