Sri Lanka Beat India
It just keeps getting worse for the Indian team, as after consecutive losses to Zimbabwe, the once-mighty Indians have suffered yet another thrashing from their neighbours Sri Lanka. The loss looked to be on the cards, as Sri Lanka has knocked India out of a multination tournament a number of times before as well.
Raina’s captaincy and lack of intent was blamed in the two shock defeats to Zimbabwe, but the tour captain made sure he did not miss a trick today. The decision to send the explosive Yusuf Pathan in at number 4, and to take the batting powerplay in the 18th over definitely suggested that India were looking to be on the front foot right from the onset and trying to take the initiative, but there are times when intent alone is not enough and on the pitch results matter the most.
After losing two league matches to the hosts, India were looking to qualify for the final, and to achieve that they not only needed to win, but to win convincingly. However, despite their best efforts, India could only manage a total of 268, and in reply had to restrict Sri Lanka to 214 or less to make it to the final. But looking at the way Sri Lanka were going it seemed as if they were going for the bonus point, as Chandimal was firing at all cylinders on his way to his maiden ODI century, and also registering his name in the Lankan cricketing history by becoming the country’s youngest centurion in ODIs.
Indian captain Suresh Raina, after losing the toss, had said that a score of around 270-280 should be enough, and he almost got what he wanted, but even that turned out to be insufficient. The start of the Indian innings was steady, as they got to 46 for 2 in the first 10 overs, but were not able to pick up the pace when needed, as the bowling powerplay only produced 27 runs.
But the arrival of Yusuf Pathan gave them some much needed momentum, as they gathered 39 runs from the batting powerplay. However, Sri Lanka did manage to get a hold of them by some calculated bowling and fielding.
Ajantha Mendis bowled 2 overs for just 6 runs in the batting powerplay to put the brakes on the Indians, and later Suraj Randiv got two quick wickets of Yusuf Pathan and the in-form batsman Rohit Sharma to once again bring the Indian batting to a halt. And India, from 125 for 2 in 23.5 overs, struggled to 187 for 5 in 37.1 overs. And with Yusuf Pathan back in the hut, India were looking for inspiration to come from somewhere else in the final overs, as they looked to accelerate, but could only manage 81 in the last 13 overs, finishing at 268 for the loss of 9 wickets in the allotted 50 overs.
Looking to chase down the modest target of 214 to send India packing, Sri Lanka started in typical manner; the notorious Tillakaratne Dilshan had a short stay but managed 21 quick runs, as the score was 29 for 1. But the Indians were in for a big surprise, as Dinesh Chandimal, who is finding a foothold in international cricket, showed the Indians why he is believed to be the one to take the Sri Lankan team forward for a number of years, as the youngster dominated the Indian bowling. Showing immense confidence and a wide range of strokes, clubbing the bowlers to all corners, and finding the gaps as he pleased, the opposition were left stunned by the inventive batting display by Chandimal (111 from 130 balls). In an innings that included 6 boundaries and towering sixes, Chandimal did not let any of the Indian bowlers settle in; Ashwin was smashed over his head as the right-hander danced down the ground, while the left arm spinner Pragyan Ojha was simply not given a chance to get into any sort of rhythm, as he was welcomed by a six over mid-on. The carnage continued till India were assured that their team would be packing their bags to make their way home following their defeat, and face the media backlash in the cricket-crazed nation.
Sri Lanka chased down the target with 10 balls to spare and 5 wickets in hand. Dinesh Chandimal was declared Man-of-the-match for his terrific century.
Sri Lanka will take on Zimbabwe in the final of the Tri-Series tournament.
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