The First http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 World T20 Spectacle for 2012 - Part 1 - Opinion
The ICC World T20 of 2012 in Sri Lanka may have kicked off with the Super Eight stage, but Thursday night’s encounter at the Pallekele Stadium was the first major spectacle of the tournament. The ebbs and flows of the game which was played between hosts
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758, and New Zealand in the hills of Kandy managed to captivate the passionate crowd at the stadium till the very end. Both teams played with vigor and tenacity, and tied each other on exactly 174 at the end of their respective innings. Then came the
all important Super Over which proved to be the decider in the end. It resulted in Sri Lanka sneaking home from the skin of their teeth, which resulted in jubilant scenes from the crowd and the team.
This match will be remembered due to a number of reasons. Firstly, it was the first time where a team like New Zealand, which had struggled to keep itself afloat in the subcontinent, managed to play competitive cricket against a side like Sri Lanka. Historically,
and in major global tournaments as well, New Zealand has always succumbed to the guile and zip of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ST-Jayasuriya-c2567, which helped Sri Lanka pound them into submission. The Black
caps had a good set of players in their line up back then as well, yet they always knew that playing Sri Lanka under the sunshine was going to be a tedious and cumbersome task, which did mandate considerable amount of precision in terms of tactical game play.
The Kiwis had to fight out of their skins to even challenge Sri Lanka in global tournaments, yet Thursday Night’s encounter hinted at possible renaissance in terms of their approach towards dealing with a team that has had a strong hold on them for many years.
Secondly, it highlighted the frailties of the mystery spinner http://www.senore.com/Cricket/BAW-Mendis-c1127. Much to the disgust of many of his fans, Mendis was hammered for 48 runs from his allotted four overs, which meant that he was openly exposed on a track that had comparatively
lesser turn than the Premadasa. Mendis going for runs had put extreme amount of pressure on the other bowlers in the attack, which looked hapless for the most part of the New Zealand innings. The fact that Mendis was hammered into submission meant that the
possibilities of him being exploited by other teams does loom high as well, which for Sri Lanka, would mean that ominous signs lie ahead.
Much to the delight of New Zealand however, their past woes were laid to rest against Sri Lanka, as their openers blazed away from the start and smashed the Lankan attack to all parts of the ground. Players such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MJ-Guptill-c1980 took the hosts
to the sword by, peppering them all around the wicket, which signaled an intent from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 that they mean business in this tournament. It seemed as if the Kiwis were enjoying the comparatively milder conditions at Pallekele and the seaming track that
they played on, which provided plenty of bounce for extravagant stroke play. Not a single batsman in the top four looked ruffled up by the bowling, which was unsurprisingly off color on Thursday. The trend of the bowlers failing to dominate is not a novel
one for many teams contesting in the competition such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760. The momentum that New Zealand managed to secure however was derailed significantly, after a series of deliveries were cannoned into the stumps in the death overs, which left
the Black Caps baying for some runs in the latter part of the innings. In the end, a score of 200 which looked possible became a distinct reality as New Zealand had to settle down for 174 for 7 wickets in their allotted 20 overs. That score was still going
to be a challenge for Sri Lanka, regardless of the fact that they were playing at home.
Continued in Part 2...
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