http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DPMD-Jayawardene-c1397 – Cricket News Update
After the English rose to victory in the 2nd game of the 2-match Test series against the Lankan http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Lions-c808 to level the series 1-1, Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene spoke in appreciation for the off-spinner, Graeme Swann, who finished the match with
10 wickets to his name, and according to Jayawardene, was the main reason behind http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758’s defeat.
"Graeme is one of the best off-spinners I've faced and he's got variety. We knew going into the series that he would be the challenge,” revealed the Lankan skipper, who was titled Man of the Series for scoring a total of 354 runs, including two centuries.
The Lankans won the 1st match at Galle by 75 runs, and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013’s No.1 Test side title was on stake coming into the 2nd encounter. Had the match been won by the Sri Lankans, or even drawn, the Poms would have lost their title to the
Proteas, who have been tailing the English on the 2nd spot on ICC’s World Test rankings.
Graeme Swann and Anderson did the main damage to Sri Lanka in their 1st innings, restricting them to 275, bagging 4 and 3 wickets respectively. In reply, the Poms were able to post 460 runs on the board, courtesy Kevin Pietersen’s 151-run knock,
powered by 16 boundaries and 6 sixes. Coming into bat a 2nd time, the Lankans were again pushed on the back-foot by Swann, who took 6 wickets this time, dismissing key players like Dilshan, Sangakkara, skipper Jayawardene, Samaraweera, Randiv and
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/HAPW-Jayawardene-c1529. The Islanders had no reply to Swann, who conceded only 106 runs in his 40 overs, restricting them to 278, resulting in a 94-run target for the English to win.
The chase was successfully completed by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AN-Cook-c1026 and Pietersen, both of whom remained unbeaten on 49 and 42 respectively, saving England’s title and depriving the Sri Lankans from their first Test series win since 2009.
"Good players will step up and that's what England have got. But I'm quite happy, we kept fighting and gave ourselves a chance," remarked Jayawardene after the loss.
"Going forward we can develop the youngsters so as long as the commitment levels are there I'm quite happy. It was a good indication of where we are right now, especially in our conditions. We played against very good opposition and that gave us the chance
to challenge ourselves," he added in terms of future plans and appreciation for his players.
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