Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 5 wickets to reach final of ICC World Cup 2011
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 overcame New Zealand by 5 wickets in the first semi-final of the ICC World Cup 2011 at the R Premadasa stadium, Colombo in Sri Lanka.
Chasing 218 for victory, the hosts scored 220 for the loss of 5 wickets in 47.5 overs
Kiwi captain Daniel Vettori won the toss and elected to bat first. Conditions were not the easiest to bat, but Vettori expected his team to score at least 250. However, his team failed to bat the complete quota of 50 overs and were bowled out for 217 in
the 49th over of their innings.
Openers Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill started the innings on a positive note for the visitors, but the wicketkeeper batsmen threw his wicket away after adding just 13 runs to the total. His wicket was followed by Jesse Ryder’s downfall, who only managed
19 runs off 34 balls.
The visitors were struggling at 84 for the loss of three wickets when Ross Taylor was joined by veteran Scott Styris in the middle. The pair put together 77 runs for the fourth wicket and guided their team to a safe position. However, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Taylor-c92915 failed to capitalise
on the start he got to his innings and was sent back to the pavilion after scoring 36 runs.
Promising youngster Kane Williamson batted aggressively for his 22 runs off just 16 balls, but he got out in an attempt to lift the run rate. Styris top scored the innings with 57 runs from 77 balls and he got out in the death overs.
The lower middle-order of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 failed to make most of the platform laid by Styris and Taylor, as the whole team was dismissed in 48.5 overs.
Lasith Malinga and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Muttiah-Muralitharan-c78157, who grabbed two wickets.
The Sri Lankan openers Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga gave another good start to their team in the tournament. They constructed 40 runs for the first wicket before Tharanga was dismissed. The left-handed opener scored 30 runs off 31 balls with the
help of 4 fours and 1 six.
Captain of the home team Kumar Sangakkara walked out to join Dilshan at the crease and the pair batted sensibly, scoring a 120-run stand for the second wicket. However, three wickets fell in a span of just 9 runs, which saw New Zealand make a comeback in
the match.
Dilshan got out after scoring 73 runs whereas Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene were dismissed for 54 and 1 respectively. Chamara Silva managed to score 13 runs, but he got out at a crucial stage of the game, leaving his team at 185 for the loss of 5 wickets.
However, Thilan Samaraweera and Angelo Mathews scored unbeaten cameos of 23 and 14, guiding their team to victory. The Sri Lankan captain was named as Man of the Match.
Tim Southee was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand, as he grabbed three wickets. Andy McKay got one wicket in the match, but he bowled brilliantly and was unlucky not to get more.
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