Was Lasith Malinga to be blamed for Sri Lanka’s loss to New Zealand
They seemed a sorry state of their old self during their opening match against New Zealand in the Twenty20 World Cup, played on the opening day at Providence Stadium, Guyana. The Sri Lankans, who reached the final of the event last year played in England, defeating all their opponents, couldn’t stand the guile and professional approach of Daniel Vettori’s men, faltering both with the ball and the bat.
Some might disagree, terming the match went to the penultimate delivery, but the Kiwis are to be blamed for bringing the Lankans back into the match. They bowled well to restrict the Sri Lankans even after opening the bowling with an off-spinner, Nathan McCullum. They fielded well, hit the wickets when they wanted and managed to help the bowlers in every possible way. But when their chance to score the required runs came, they faltered after a healthy recovery by both Jesse Ryder and Martin Guptill. Ryder’s 42 from 27 balls kept the Black Caps in contention on a slow surface, and was a gem of an innings considering he lost his opening partner Brendon McCullum early in the run chase.
It was not a lucky day for the Sri Lankans though. They could have won the match had their star bowler Lasith Malinga kept his cool, rather than concentrating on his looks. He was the main difference for the Sri Lankans in the last event yet he couldn’t continue his form in this year’s edition. He also failed twice to effect a run out, the second miss costing his side the match, and if all doesn’t go well, even the trophy.
Their final score of 135 would have been much less had former captain Mahela Jayawardene not batted sensibly and responsibly. Sri Lanka captain Kumara Sangakkara won the toss and let Jayawardene do what he does, tear the opponents bowling attack apart. He cut loose in the second over, hitting Shane Bond over square-leg for six. He scored 81 off his side’s 135 runs at a strike rate of 158, yet kept losing partners on the other end regularly. Kumar Sangakkara failed to utilize the explosive batting of Sanath Jayasuriya who was sent in the last over and didn’t face a delivery.
Nathan McCullum proved to be the unlikely hero for the Kiwis. Man of the match all-rounder not only opened the bowling on the turning tracks of the Caribbean but also finished the match when his side needed 3 off last 2 balls. He came, he saw and he clobbered the penultimate delivery of the match towards long on for six, completing a successful pursuit of 136 against last year’s runners-up.
It capped a memorable day for McCullum, whose unbeaten 16 came off six balls with 13 of his runs, including a four and a six, coming in the last over. His innings was played in a match where his younger brother Brendon, renowned as one of the world's best Twenty20 batsman, was out for a Golden Duck.
"I've been there a couple of times and a couple of times I've been on the other end of it," Nathan McCullum said. "It's good to finally get one go our way."
Meanwhile Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss refused to blame pacer Lasith Malinga for the defeat suffered by his side. Sri Lanka now face the giant killing Zimbabweans who defeated both Australia and Pakistan in their warm up matches. The clash on May 3rd could be a make or break match for both the sides and a loss would prove to be fatal for last year's losing finalists.
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