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| Lanka wrap up first Test by eight wickets
CRICKET: Sri Lanka notched up their sixth successive victory against Bangladesh as they pulled off a comprehensive eight wicket victory on the fourth day of the first test match concluded at the Divisional Stadium in Chittagong here Friday. Sri Lanka needing just 163 runs to win and resuming from their overnight score of 25 for no loss reached 166 for 2 in their second innings at the stroke of lunch to go one up in the two match series. The Lankans of course suffered an early setback losing opener Upul Tharanga without adding a run to his overnight score. But Kumar Sangakkara joined Michael Van Dort and the pair steered Sri Lanka to safety while adding 90 runs for the second wicket. Wicket keeper batsman Sangakkara was the more aggressive hoisting one six and stroking five fours during his knock of 46 which came in 69 balls. The pressure was certainly on Sangakkara because the Bangladeshi bowlers were exploiting the conditions to good effect with a fare amount of swing and pace. But with Van Dort showing a great amount of temperament and Sangakkara picking up the odd boundary Sri Lanka were able to reach their target quite easily. In fact Van Dort batted to his true potential and went on to complete only his second half century in test cricket. Van Dort realy made amends for his first innings failure and stroked the ball with a great amount of confidence which would certainly guarantee him a place in the second test which begins next week in Bogra. The left-hander remained unbeaten on 64 having stroked ten boundaries. But quite appropriately it was skipper Mahela Jayawardena who hit the winning runs and was unbeaten on 26 from 25 balls with five fours. This has been a tough opening match for Mahela Jayawardena in his first full series as the official captain of the team. He admitted that "Bangladesh really pushed us during the first two days where the exchanges were almost even. We made a lot of mistakes and conceded too many runs to the opposition. Bangladesh took the early advantage and we had to always chase behind them and fight hard to get back into the game" said Jayawardena. Jayawardena was full of praise for the young brigade and the manner they turned things around was quite outstanding. "Players like Thilan Samaraweera, Farveez Maharoof bowled really well and showed a lot of character. In the second innings, the bowlers took control to turn the game in our favour. The experienced players like Muralitharan, Malinga Bandara really bowled well and even Dilhara Fernando came back and bowled a decent spell to pick up the first two wickets. After that the team played good cricket that they are capable of playing," said Jayawardena. After the first two innings it was pretty even and Sri Lanka just had only a 19 run lead. But in the second innings the manner the team bowled and fielded and the attitude they showed on the field was the turning point", said Jayawardena. He also paid tribute to his champion off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan who finished with a matchbag of nine wickets and in the process completed one thousand wickets in international cricket. But the man of the match award went to Mohamed Asharaful who made a magnificent 136 in Bangladesh's first innings total of 319 all out. Jayawardena said that "Asharaful batted really well on the first day and played positive cricket to stretch the game into the fourth day. None of the other players scored many runs and Asharaful deserved the man of the match award." "People would have a different opinion on Muralitharan but he has taken so many man of the match awards and will not mind that," he said. A dejected Bangladesh skipper Habibul Bashar said that the team continued to do the same mistakes after having batted well in the first innings. But still he felt that this was an improved performance from the side having lost the earlier matches by an innings. He said that Mohamed Asharaful's century was a fantastic effort and was disappointed that the rest of the batsmen could not match his talent. Habibul Bashar however vowed to bounce back and to put up a better display in the second test match which commences in Bogra next week. |
| BANGLADESH - 1ST INNINGS
(319 - Mohammad Ashraful 136, Nafees Iqbal 34, Malinga 4-57, Muralitharan 3-87) SRI LANKA - 1ST INNINGS (338 - Farveez Maharoof 72, K. Sangakkara 69, Hossain 4-83) BANGLADESH - 2ND INNINGS (181 - Mohammad Rafique 40, Shahriar Nafees 38, Muralitharan 6-54) SRI LANKA 2ND INNINGS (overnight 25-0) M. Vandort not out 64 U. Tharanga c Shahriar Nafees b Rasel 19 K. Sangakkara c and b Haque 46 M. Jayawardene not out 26 Extras (b-5, lb-4, nb-2) 11 TOTAL: (for two wkts, 37 overs) 166 FALL OF WICKETS: 1-25, 2-115 BOWLING: Rasel 8-4-18-1, Hossain 8-1-39-0, Haque 9-1-50-1, Rafique 8-0-28-0, Kapali 2-0-6-0, Ashraful 2-0-16-0. Man of the match: Mohammad Ashraful (BAN). Umpires: Asad Rauf (PAK) and Steve Bucknor (WIS) TV umpire: A.F.M. Akhtaruddin (BAN). Match referee: Clive Lloyd (WIS) |
| BANGLADESH AND SRI LANKA SEE BELOW |
| Lanka bounce back to take control of SSC Test
Sa'adi Thawfeeq Sri Lanka bounced back into the first cricket Test against Pakistan and took control of it when they grabbed an unlikely first innings lead of nine runs and by the close on the third day had built on it to be 242 for two wickets at the SSC grounds yesterday. Pakistan were dismissed in their first innings for 176 in reply to Sri Lanka's 185. Sri Lanka's top order which has been found wanting for the lack of runs they put on the board came good on this occasion with Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara and skipper Mahela Jayawardene all stroking contrasting half-centuries on a pitch that was ideal for batting. Pakistan was left to rue at missing out on a good opportunity to bat Sri Lanka out of the match after their bowlers had dismissed the home country for 185. Upul Tharanga who seored 72 driving a ball to the off (R) Kumar Sangakkara who was unbeaten on 77 pulling a ball to leg. -pix-Saman Mendis They were undone by some casual batting coupled with some excellent bowling from Farveez Maharoof who returned career best figures of four for 52 and Muttiah Muralitharan whose three wickets for 41 runs gave hint that there are more wickets for him on this strip later in the match. One of the pleasing aspects from Sri Lanka's point of view are the leading roles played in the Test so far by youngsters Maharoof and Tharanga, both aged 21. Maharoof has shown his hand as turning out into a fine all-rounder capable of filling the no. 7 slot, which has been long overdue. He not only displayed qualities as a batsman when Sri Lanka were in trouble but came back to bring his team right on track by grabbing four top order wickets. Tharanga may have a limited range of shots but he makes up for that inadequacy with a temperament and mental strength that will see him play bigger innings in the future than the 72 he scored in nearly three hours yesterday. He had a century starring at him in the face but blew it when impetuosity got the better of him. After Tharanga and Jayasuriya had provided a reasonable start with an opening partnership of 53, Sangakkara played the sheet anchor role to figure in stands of 72 with Tharanga and 115 (unbroken) with Jayawardene to turn the screws on Pakistan. Sangakkara was unbeaten on 77 scored in four hours with eight fours and Jayawardene was on 69, which had taken him 126 minutes (10 fours, 1 six). Sangakkara became the seventh Sri Lankan batsman to pass 4000 runs in Test cricket during his knock. At the end of the third day Sri Lanka lead by 251 runs with eight second innings wickets in hand. Pakistan missed Jayasuriya at seven and Jayawardene at 54 with leg-spinner Danish Kaneria being the unfortunate bowler on both occasions. Pakistan resuming at 124-4 and hoping to build on a big first innings had their hopes shattered by Maharoof who within the space of 13 balls sent back both overnight batsmen as they were dismissed for 176 within a matter of 103 minutes conceding a nine-run first innings lead to Sri Lanka. Skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq gave a catch behind to be dismissed for 31. A ball that cut back off the seam to castle him for eight bowled Razzaq. It was Maharoof's inspired morning spell that brought Sri Lanka back into the Test after their disappointing first innings performance. So far Maharoof has been the dominant figure scoring a fighting 46 to help his side recover from a shaky 32-5 to 185 and then come back to send the Pakistani batsmen packing for 176. Muralitharan kept the pressure on the Pakistani batsmen by getting the wickets of Afridi (14) and Gul (2). He eventually finished the innings off when Akmal was dismissed in an unusual fashion. His powerful sweep saw the ball lodged in between short leg fielder Tharanga's helmet and left shoulder as the fielder took evasive action. Malinga also picked up three when he bowled Asif with a swinging yorker. |
| SRI LANKA - 1ST INNINGS 185
PAKISTAN 1ST - INNINGS (Overnight 124-4) Shoaib Malik c Bandara b Maharoof 13 Imran Farhat c Bandara b Malinga 69 Younis Khan c Sangakkara b Maharoof 00 Faisal Iqbal c Maharoof b Malinga 02 Inzamam-ul-Haq c Sangakkara b Maharoof . 31 Abdul Razzaq b Maharoof 08 Shahid Afridi b Muralitharan 14 Kamran Akmal c Tharanga b Muralitharan 27 Umar Gul lbw b Muralitharan 02 Mohammed Asif b Malinga 00 Danish Kaneria not out 00 Extras (b-1, nb-8, w-1) 10 TOTAL (al out, 54.4 overs, 252 mins) 176 FALL OF WICKETS: 1-25 (Malik), 2-25 (Younis), 3-28 (Faisal), 4-122 (Farhat), 5-127 (Inzmam), 6-138 (Razzaq), 7-154 (Afridi), 8-160 (Gul), 9-172 (Asif), 10-176 (Akmal). BOWLING: Malinga 12-3-30-3 (1w, 2nb), Maharoof 15-2-52-4(3nb), Fernando 3-0-20-0(3nb), Bandara 7-1-32-0,Muralitharan 17.4-4-41-3. SRI LANKA - 2ND INNINGS W. U. Tharanga c Farhat b Kaneria 72 S.T. Jayasuriya c Akmal b Asif 13 K.C. Sangakkara not out 77 D.P.M.D. Jayawardene not out 69 Extras (b-10, lb-1) 11 TOTAL (2 wkts at close, 73 overs, 302 mins) 242 FALL OF WICKETS: 1-53 (Jayasuriya), 2-127 (Tharanga). BOWLING: Asif 14-2-37-1, Gul 15-1-60-0, Kaneria 21-4-78-1, Malik 10-2-24-0, Afridi 6-0-15-0, Razzaq 6-1-15-0, Farhat 1- |
| Sri Lanka rely on pace attack to rattle Indians
Chris Dhambarage reporting from India CRICKET: Sri Lanka will be hoping to rattle the Indians through sheer pace when the two teams clash in the first of the four one day internationals under lights at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata here on Thursday. The Lankans have made vast strides in their bowling department in the past and this will be a great opportunity for them to bounce back against the Asian giants. They have worked a lot where their bowling attack is concerned and this has been the main reason behind their recent success both in England and New Zealand. The entry of fast bowler Lasith Malinga has added a new dimension into the Sri Lankan attack and now they are beginning to make it a habit of winning matches in overseas. The 23 year old paceman turned out to be a tremendous success in New Zealand and his unpredictability has caused many doubts on the minds of several batsmen. Malinga has captured a total of 71 wickets in 21 tests and a further 37 victims from his 25 one dayers with his unusual square arm slinging action making the batsmen find difficult to read. He is certain to be Sri Lanka�s main weapon in this four match series in the absence of stalwarts Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan. The other plus factor is that Malinga has the ability of bowling at a speed of over 150 kilo metres per hour quite regularly and has a positive attitude backed up by his tremendous accuracy. Sri Lanka has now formed a strong pace attack with Dilhara Fernando, Nuwan Kulasekera, Nuwan Zoysa and Farveez Maharoof providing the back up support. Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardena said that the team�s confidence is very high because they have played good cricket during the last six months. �We have been improving steadily and are looking forward to win the series which will boost our morale ahead of the World Cup� added Jayawardena. The Sri Lankan captain also stressed the importance of this series as any kind of cricket before a big tournament is good because the players tend to keep the good habits and the more cricket they play the better prepared they are. In fact the Indian team will come out straight after a successful series against the West Indies where they triumphed 3-1. The Indians are well aware that their opponents had struggled in their last two visits where they were humiliated 1-6 and also failed to reach the semifinals of the International Cricket Council Champions Trophy Mini World Cup last year. In fact Sri Lanka�s overall record in India is not so impressive and they have triumphed only on nine occasions from 33 outings. In contrast at home the Lankans have dominated with a total of 19 wins from their 34 matches and have lost only on nine occasions. In the overall tally Sri Lanka are trailing with 35 victories against India�s 47 wins with eight no results. But since then Sri Lanka have really forced themselves into recognition with their outstanding performances in England and New Zealand. Not only that there are few other players who are really fighting for a place in the World Cup squad and the opening two matches in the series could be really important. Sri Lanka will play their second one dayer on February 11 at the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket ground in Rajkot and the World Cup squads have to be named by February 13. Meanwhile Virender Sehwag and Munaf Patel are expected to make a comeback and make their appearance after being sidelined due to injuries. Munaf has been cleared of his fitness troubles, and was declared fully fit by John Gloster, the physiotherapist of the Indian team. Munaf last played for India in a Test against South Africa. The teams: Sri Lanka (from): Mahela Jayawardena (captain), Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Marvan Atapattu, Russell Arnold, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Upul Chandana, Farveez Maharoof, Malinga Bandara, Nuwan Zoysa, Dilhara Fernando, Nuwan Kulasekera, Lasith Malinga. India (from): Rahul Dravid (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, M.S. Dhoni, R Uthappa, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Dinesh Karthik, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Virender Sehwag, S. Sreesanth. |