Mahmood Ahmad
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2nd Match: New Zealand v Sri Lanka at Sharjah, 10 Apr 2001 Mahmood Ahmad |
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Sri Lanka innings:
Pre-game: New Zealand innings: |
He made the lanky left-hander nudge at an outgoing ball, making for an easy catch by Jayawardene at first slip. The master off spinner ended with yet another excellent figures in one-day cricket, taking 3 for 12 in 7.1 overs, paving the way for Sri Lanka’s first victory in 6 matches against New Zealand at Sharjah.
Muralitharan was ably supported by Dharmasena and Russel Arnold, who struck in two consecutive overs to get rid of Mathew Sinclair and Mathew Bell, leaving New Zealand reeling at 138 for seven by the 33rd over.
Franklin’s stay at the crease was also brief. Going for a quick single on the leg side, he was run out off a direct throw from Jayasuriya. Dharmasena then struck again in his last over, getting a tentative Brooke Walker out plumb lbw for 3 (12 balls).
The last New Zealand wicket defied the aggressive Sri Lanka attack for about six overs, adding 17 runs in the process, which incidentally was their highest partnership after Nevin and Sinclair’s opening stand of 82. Harris was the last man out after scoring 14 (44 balls, 1 four), while Tuffey remained unbeaten on 7 (12).
Dharmasena, Arnold and Jayasuriya claimed two wickets each for 31 (10 overs), 23 (7 overs) and 37 (8 overs), respectively.
Jayawardene was declared man of the match for providing an excellent foundation for a big Sri Lanka score.
After trapping Chris Nevin on a ball that spell sharply to take the batsman on back pad, Muralitharan invited the debutante Adams with a flighted delivery. Unable to suppress the temptation, young Adams ended up holing out to Indika de Saram at deep mid wicket.
The wily off spinner had almost had his third scalp on the very next delivery, when Russel Arnold, fielding at first slip floored a sitter of the bat of Sinclair. The New Zealand opener went on to add 25 for the fourth wicket with the skipper McMillan, crossing the hundred-run mark in the process by the 22nd over.
Russel Arnold, however, soon made for his fielding lapse, inducing the potentially dangerous McMillan to give an easy caught and bowled chance. The New Zealand captain made 11 off 17 balls.
After that it was Sri Lankan captain’s turn to unleash his leg breaks. Using the rough outside the leg stump, Jayasuriya bowled Lou Vincent and Jacob Oram, respectively, in the 25th and 29th overs, reducing Black Caps reeling at 128 for 5.
At the 30-over mark, New Zealand had reached 132 for five, with Sinclair and Harris desperately trying to hold on the innings. They have 59 and 3, respectively, against their names.
Sinclair also began impressively, hitting a boundary off Zoysa in the second over. However, more than the boundaries, it was the excellent running between the wickets, which provided a big boost to New Zealand run-chase.
Dropped at point off Zoysa when on 12, Nevin got his eye well in, getting boundaries on every loose ball that came his way. He hit the unlucky Zoysa for two boundaries in the 10th over to bring up the fifty of the innings.
Having conceded a score at an average in excess of five and a half by the 10th over, the Sri Lankan skipper had reason enough to replace his pace men with off spinners, Muralitharan and Dharmasena, from both ends.
However, undeterred by the stature of these two spinners, especially that of Muralitharan, both players kept the scoreboard ticking over by exploiting the gaps for ones and twos.
At the 15-over stage, Chris Nevin, having hit five beautiful boundaries, was standing two short of his fifty, whereas his partner was not out on 33 (45 balls, 3 fours).
The Sri Lankan score is a very good one considering that they lost their first two wickets with only one on the board. All credit goes to a 184-run third wicket partnership between the Sri Lankan captain Jayasuriya and Jayawardene, which led not only led them out of trouble but also brought respectability to the score.
After the departure of Jayawarndene for an excellent 116 (129 balls, 11 fours), his second hundred at Sharjah and first against this particular opponent, the task of scoring was promptly taken over by the left-handed Jayasuriya.
The Sri Lankan maestro was particularly harsh on Chris Harris as he hit the seasoned medium pacer for record thirty runs in one over, the 43rd of the innings.
Sitting on 76 off 106 balls, the Sri Lanka captain scooted to his hundred, his 11th in ODIs, with the addition of just 4 more balls as he lifted the first four balls from Harris for consecutive sixes, all to the leg side of the wicket. The last two balls went for six more (a four and a two) as the skipper collected 30 from the over, breaking his own record of 29 off one over from Aamer Sohail of Pakistan at Singapore in 1995-96 (that particular over from Aamer Sohail had in fact yielded thirty runs, with one coming as a wide).
Jahasuriya lasted just one more over after that, when going for his 7th six, he offered a simple catch to Mathew Bell at long on. He made 107 off 116 balls, hitting 6 enormous sixes and 3 fours.
The fall of Jayasuriya, at 236 in the 45th over, triggered a mini-collapse, as Sri Lanka kept losing wickets against some accurate New Zealand bowling. Dharmasena was the next to go adjudged lbw off Oram, whereas Chaminda Vaas was run out off a direct throw from long on by Franklin. De Saram was also run out at the individual score of 21.
The last man to get out was Muralitharan. He was bowled on the last ball of the innings, while trying a ridiculous shot off a straight ball from Oram.
The stocky right-handed Oram remained the most successful bowler claiming three wickets for 40 in 9 overs. Tuffey also took two wickets for 49 in 8, whereas Adams got one for 39 in seven overs.
An unusually sedate Jayasuriya played a very contrasting innings, playing ground-strokes and avoiding any adventure. He did not open up his shoulders until the 30th over, when he hit the rival captain for the first six of the innings. However, he must consider himself lucky as he came very close to being out on at least two occasions.
On the first occasion the Sri Lankan captain survived a run out chance as he went for a single that wasn’t there. However, Nevin made a little mess of the things, removing the bails before taking the throw from extra cover.
He got another break in the 27th over as he pulled Chris Harris only to find Jacob Oram in the deep. The fielder made a valiant dive forward to take the catch and seemed to have succeeded in his attempt, but signaled to the umpire that he had taken the ball at first bounce. Action replays confirmed his position.
Jayawardene, on the other hand, did not offer any chance to the fielding side as he piled up runs with utter fluency. After completing his fifty off 65 balls, with the help of 7 boundaries, he brought up the hundred of Sri Lanka innings in the 24th over, bowled by Walker. He dispatched the third ball of the over to deep point and drove the next, a juicy full toss, to deep mid wicket fence, triggering deafening cheers in the Sri Lankan stands.
At the 30-over stage, Sri Lanka heading for a big total, were 141 for 2, with Jayasuriya batting on 45 and an elegant Jayawardene just 7 short of what would be his 5th century in ODIs.
However, both Jayasuriya and Jayawardene batted sensibly after that, avoiding any undue risks, to consolidate their innings to some extent.
Tuffey’s two victims were Marvin Atapattu and the left-handed Sangakkara.
Atapattu, promoted in the order in the absence of first choice Kaluwitharana, had a shaky start to his innings. After surviving an lbw appeal on the very first ball of the innings, he took the second on the pad right in front of the wicket. Umpire Dave Orchard did not hesitate in acknowledging a convincing appeal from Tuffey and co.
There was more drama to come in this Tuffey-over. After throwing the next ball as a leg-side wide, he induced Sangakkara to edge a wide delivery for a fine low catch for wicket keeper Chris Nevin, leaving Sri Lanka at 1 for 2.
The second over the innings, bowled by the left-handed Franklin, proved an anticlimax, providing 12 runs to the Sri Lankans, including two fours – one a cover drive and the other a powerful straight drive – by Jayawardene
The right-handed Jayawardene, apparently in a very good nick, played a few more shots after that, particularly the off drive off in Franklin’s 6th over was a treat to watch. Jayasuriya, on the other hand, has so far kept a low profile, quite unusual for a belligerent stroke player like him.
Craig McMillan brought the first change in his attack in the form of Andre Adams, a medium pacer and hard-hitting batsman making his debut, whereas Brooke Walker, the right-arm leg spinner, was brought for the 14th over of the innings. Sri Lanka reached their fifty in this over as Jayawardene worked the spinner away to the off side for a scrambled single.
At the end of 15 overs, Sri Lanka have reached 58 for 2, with Jayasuriya and Jayawardene batting sensibly on respective scores of 17 (33 balls, 2x4) and 39 (55 balls, 4x4).
Sri Lanka have made one change in their side, which lost the first match of the tournament to Pakistan. Their top-scorer in the previous match, Kaluwitharan, having flown back to Sri Lanka to attend his mother’s funeral, has been replaced by the off spinner Dharmasina.
New Zealand have fielded a young outfit, captained for the first time by a Craig McMillan, after the selectors decided to give rest to the full-time captain Fleming. Nevin is keeping wickets for them in the absence of Adam Parore.
The attendance for this match at Sharjah is not as much as for the previous match. Still, there is enough support for both sides, cheering and boosting their favourite players.
New Zealand Squad: Craig McMillan (Captain), MD Bell, MS Sinclair, CJ Nevin (Wicket-keeper), L Vincent, JDP Oram, CZ Harris, DR Tuffey, AR Adams, JEC Franklin, BGK Walker.
Sri Lanka Squad: Sanath Jayasuriya (captain), Marvan Atapattu, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Russel Arnold, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitaharan, Indika de Saram, Akalanka Ganegama, Nuwan Zoysa, Kumar Dharmasina
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Date-stamped : 11 Apr2001 - 02:45