Cricket Tournaments

Home team Sri Lanka’s selection for the Asia Cup, under new chairman of selectors Aravinda de Silva, saw a couple of expected decisions being taken, as also a few surprising ones. Sanath Jayasuriya’s exclusion falls in the former category while Ajantha Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal’s non-selection should be part of the latter sort.

Starting with Jayasuriya, his former teammate de Silva aptly pointed out that the veteran left-hander has had a torrid time with the bat over the last 12 months. As such, his axing was a matter of when and not if. Jayasuriya is 40 now and though the World Cup is less than a year away, the chances of him making the cut are the slimmest.

This is because, he hasn’t been contributing with the ball either. The last selection committee had made it clear that Jayasuriya was now being considered as a bowler, who could bat. And since, he has from fulfilled the criteria, the decision to drop him was a step in the right direction by de Silva and co.

The selectors have also made a progressive move by giving Farveez Maharoof another chance for the Asia Cup. Okay, he hasn’t been in the best of form lately. But, the fact is that he is the best bowling all-rounder the Lankans have in their kitty at the moment. Also, he has just fully recovered from injuries; so his past performances must be ignored, and his case must be viewed in a fresh perspective.

Further, as rightly pointed out by de Silva, Angelo Mathews is a very good batting all-rounder. And so, it was equally important for the Lankans to have someone like Maharoof in the team, with Jayasuriya not doing the job. As for the great man, it would be fair to say, he should gracefully retire.

This is not to state that Jayasuriya cannot be in contention for the World Cup team. But, even if he is selected, the chances of him making a decent impression aren’t very strong, considering his poor run of scores, which has lasted for well over a year. This clearly indicates that it is not due to lack of form, but the age factor catching up with him.

One of the biggest surprises thrown up by the new selection panel was the decision to leave out Ajantha Mendis. Interestingly, de Silva refused to term his non-inclusion as ‘dropped’, and instead stated he was left out for ‘tactical reasons’. The rationale seems rather bizarre, but it was good to see de Silva revealing that it was the result of a discussion between the captain and the team management.

When such strange choices are made, it is of utmost importance to consult the skipper and the senior players, else it can very well result into a revolt, as seem on numerous occasions in the past. For Lankan cricket’s sake, one only hopes that the secret formula works, otherwise they will have to face a lot of brickbats. On the contrary, if the risk pays off one must salute de Silva and his men.

Meanwhile, the decision to call back left-arm spinner Rangana Herath must be seen as a brave one. Herath has always performed exceedingly well in the limited opportunities that he has been presented with, and so it was only fair that Mendis’ place in the squad went to him.

Apart from his experience, he will also lend some variety to the bowling attack, which features the legendary Muttiah Muralitharan and the ever-improving Suraj Randiv.

The Lankan selectors also taught their Indian counterparts a lesson in choosing a team. While the Indians have handed ODI spots to Saurabh Tiwary and Ashok Dinda on a platter, Sri Lanka have not included Dinesh Chandimal, who recently scored a match-winning hundred against India, as well as Jeevan Mendis, who also impressed in Zimbabwe.

Putting things into perspective, the selection committee has asked them to hone their skills against an Australian A side, letting the senior and more deserving members of the team keep their place.

Deciding on a cricket team is a far from easy task. And, while de Silva and co. have taken a couple of controversial decisions, it won’t be wrong to say that, at least, they are thinking in the right direction. And, being so, the results should come sooner or later.

India and Sri Lanka will lock horns once again, for a change in a tri-series also featuring Bangladesh. Lanka and Bangladesh will kick off the tournament at the Shere Bangla stadium in Mirpur.

While Sri Lanka have had a long and hard tour of India, Bangladesh will be fresh after a two-month break. Still, Lanka would be expected to go into the game as favourites.

This, despite the fact that they have dropped some of their seniors. Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis all will be missing from the absence in the Bangladesh, so it remains to be seen how they perform in the trio’s absence. They certainly were below par in India recently.

Bangladesh, meanwhile, will be buoyed by their 2009 record even though they were against weaker teams. But they were impressive nonetheless. The Bangladeshis will also have fond memories of their battle against the Lankans last year.

They defeated Lanka in a match and had them in dire straits in the final before they managed to recover. They will also have the home advantage so Lanka definitely cannot take them lightly anymore. The only factor that might go against the home side might be the fact they haven’t had an international outing for a while. And the Lankans must try and take advantage of that.

Sri Lanka would be hoping for the top-order to continue the great work they did in India. Tillakaratne Dilshan will be their trump card once again. However, one cannot ignore his batting partner Upul Tharanga either. The southpaw really came of age in India and will like to carry on the good form.

Ditto with skipper Kumar Sangakkara, who played some blinders in India. Unfortunately, the trio’s hard work was undone by the middle-order. And thus a lot better will be expected from the likes of Thilan Samaraweera, Thilina Kandamby while Chamara Silva gets another opportunity to cement his place.

There have been some changes in the bowling department too. Spinning all-rounder Muthumudalige Pushpakumara and left-arm seamer Thilan Thushara will support Suraj Randiv and Chanaka Welagedera.

Bangladesh too have a good bunch of talent at their disposal. In the batting department, they no longer depend only on inconsistent Mohammad Ashraful. Tamim Iqbal, skipper Shakib Al Hasan and wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim have all been making worthy contributions. That said, it will only help if Ashraful bats like an experienced hand.

Speaking of Bangladesh’s bowling, Rubel Hossain was undoubtedly one of the stars of the side last year and will be expected to continue the same in the New Year.

Among the others, spinner Abdur Razzak has been performing consistently for Bangladesh for a couple of seasons now, so they definitely don’t posses of the worst bowling attack in the world. Thus, one has got to believe that Lanka will be in for a tight contest despite being the pedigreed of the two sides.

What transpired at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in Delhi on Sunday was embarrassing and extremely sad. It was the last cricketing day of the year for Sri Lanka and India.

Both teams and more importantly the spectators, who had turned up in large numbers and with loads of expectations, did not deserve such an inexplicable fiasco. Surely, such things cannot happen in a nation that, everyone knows, can hold world cricket to ransom on the basis of the huge money it brings into the game. Then again, as the popular saying goes, it happens only in India.

The catastrophe in waiting was predictable even before the game began. During the pre-match pitch report, Sunil Gavaskar compared the surface to a hair-weaving job — bald patches interspersed with grass coverings. No one could predict how the pitch would play and so, not surprisingly, MS Dhoni decided to bowl first and have a look. The delay due to misty conditions only turned out to be the calm before the storm.

To take nothing away from Zaheer Khan, he bowled a peach of a delivery to send back the in-from Upul Tharanga off the first ball. But what followed from thereon can be attributed neither to the batters nor the bowlers.

It was the Kotla pitch that was dictating the terms of play. It was as if the curators had given ghostly qualities to the pitch, as some balls leapt close to or over the batsmen’s shoulder after pitching and others rolled along the square, hardly having any life as it trudged into the keeper’s gloves. And when such things happen, the chances of serious injuries to batsmen become imminent.

One can even go to the extent of saying that it was surprising Kumar Sangakkara waited for so long before calling off the game – over 20 overs. Yes, such was the viciousness of Kolta on Sunday.

Tillakaratne Dilshan was hit on the elbow by one that reared up from a good length, while Sanath Jayasuriya took one on the shoulder from a delivery that had pitched in an area close by. Luckily, no one was seriously injured and before anyone did, the suave Sangakkara took the smart decision of stepping in and bringing the curtains down on the game abruptly.

While one feels extremely sad for the fans, there are no two ways about it that the Lankan captain made the right choice. If anything, the DDCA must be held responsible.

They had enough time to prepare a good international pitch. Unfortunately, what they offered was no acceptable even by gully cricket standards. This is what happens when the reins of sports are handed over to the power-greedy politicians. Everyone wants things their way and the end result is the curator doesn’t have a proper say, leading to vicious results.

Of course, this is not the first time such an incident has occurred in India. 12 years ago, an ODI in Indore had to be abandoned between the same two teams for the same reason.

The men in charge over there have since got their act right and Indore games have produced some fabulous entertainment. DDCA too must act swiftly and move over this shameful episode, more so because they are scheduled to host four matches during the 2011 World Cup.

History repeated itself for Sri Lanka once again as their middle and lower order crumbled for third game in a row at Cuttack. While they were lucky to get away with it at Nagpur, the collapse was too magnanimous to allow the visitors to escape in the day-night encounter on Monday. The failure of the middle-order batsmen has meant that the great starts provided by the top three are constantly going in vain.

Most sides would die to have their first three batsmen in supreme form. Unfortunately, the Lankans are just not being able to capitalize on it. And being the most experienced hand in the middle-order, former captain Mahela Jayawardene must accept some part of the blame for the team’s failures. When you consider that the others like Thilina Kandamby and Chamara Kapugedera are relatively inexperienced, a lot of onus naturally falls on Jayawardene to perform. He is capable of not only scoring big runs, but also guiding the youngsters, considering he was leading the same bunch of guys not so long ago. The series is not over yet, so if Jayawardene can step up and deliver, he can still play a pivotal role in turning around Lanka’s fortunes.

Plenty has been written about the exclusion of Sanath Jayasuriya. Many have termed it unfair. True, Jayasuriya has been a great servant of Lankan cricket for two decades, but it is also a fact that he cannot walk into the team just on the basis past achievements. And so keeping sentiments aside, one will realize that the kind of form Upul Tharanga and Tillakartne Dilshan are in, there is no place for Jayasuriya at the top of the other. If anything, he can be slotted in as an all-rounder at number six, replacing one of the youngsters. This ploy was tried in the opening game and though it did not come off, there is no harm in giving it another go considering the brittle resistance the middle-order has been putting up.

The Lankan bowling hasn’t been extraordinary in any sense, but on subcontinent wickets bowlers are bound to be tanked around. Even so, the comeback of Lasith Malinga will be welcomed by the team. He may not have posed many threats to the Indian batsmen at Cuttack, but he can prove to be quite a handful if he gets it right in the coming games. Further, Chanaka Welegedara and rookie spinner Surav Randiv also have been extremely impressive with the ball. Ironically, in the bowling department too, the experienced men like Nuwan Kulasekara and Ajantha Mendis have let the team down. To be fair to Lanka, they have been hit badly by injuries. However, at the international level that cannot be an excuse to under perform.

While the Sri Lankans would be hoping that the middle-order and the bowlers get their act right, at the same time they would also be praying that Dilshan, Tharanga and Sangakkara continue in the same vein. And if all things fall in place, there might as well be another turnaround in the series.

There was little going against India in the fourth ODI at Mohali. They won the toss, got the better of the bowling conditions, restricted Australia to an easily achievable target and even put up an unexpected sparking performance in the field. Yet, they ended up on the losing side. It can only be put down to a complacent effort by their batsmen on a pitch where the ball was coming on to the bat very nicely till the very end. All India needed was a reasonable score from one of their top order batsmen and decent contributions from a couple of the others and they would have cantered home rather easily. Not only have the home side squandered a rare opportunity to go 3-1 up against Australia, they have also given the ‘wounded’ Aussies a new lease of life in the tournament. And we all know how dangerous they can get once they smell blood.

The entire Indian batting line-up needs to be held responsible for the defeat, may be with the exception of Virender Sehwag, who, it seems, has been given the license (or may be he has taken it himself) of going after every delivery. While it has been absolutely entertaining to watch him taking on the bowlers, how the Indians would wish he can carry on a bit longer. It’s not all that difficult for the man. Asking him to change his natural style would only backfire on India; if only he can be slightly judicious in his shot selection in the remainder of the series, Australia’s woes would be compounded to magnanimous proportions. As it is they are struggling to put together a fit XI. The Indians cannot get a better opportunity to put it across the Aussies, something they have failed to do in a long time at home against the world champions.

Sri Lanka recently sent out the message to the veteran Sanath Jayasuriya that his spot in the ODI team is not guaranteed anymore, unless he performs with some degree of consistency. It may be too early, but the same principle must also apply to Sachin Tendulkar. He hasn’t crossed 50 in any of the four ODIs and the poor decision he got at Mohali cannot be considered as an excuse. The Indian team management must ask itself and Sachin the tough put pertinent question – will he still be around when the 2011 World Cup comes. One is not querying Sachin’s commitment, but it has been often proved in recent times that his splitting the Gambhir-Sehwag combo has harmed the team’s chances.

Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja are still young, yet they need to learn sooner rather than later. What is disappointing is that they aren’t really making a concerted effort to dig themselves in when the team needs. Kohli played an expansive stroke before getting set, whereas Jadeja ran himself out needlessly. Suresh Raina has been on the international circuit for a couple of seasons now and he, more than the other youngsters, needs to put his hand up and lead the brigade of the young guns. When he made his comeback last year, he stroked some sparking centuries. Even though against minnows, the tons made one believe that he was ready to climb up the ladder. That though is yet to happen and, like Rohit Sharma, Raina too will face exclusion unless he performs soon.

A lot to improve upon for India as they head into the next game. The hosts would have reclaimed the top spot had they beat the Aussies at Mohali. But considering their disappointing performance, it is clear that they are not yet ready to take over the numero uno slot.

It would have been heartbreak for the Pakistani supporters, present at Lord’s this Sunday, had Pakistan lost another T20 final. It would have been a big shock for all Pakistani Cricket fans worldwide. However, history did not repeat itself as Pakistan shrugged of last T20 World Cup defeat to notch up a convincing win against Sri Lanka, who had through the whole tournament not lost a single match. In fact, Sri Lanka had the better of Pakistan in a Super 8 Game in this tournament. Pakistan played the role of giant killer, as they beat South Africa in the Semifinals and then steam rolled over Sri Lanka in the Men’s T20 World Cup Final.

It has been a sort of remarkable turnaround for Pakistani cricket, after so many incidents happening in their country and cricket being banned in their soil. Pakistan thus became the only team to have beaten both Sri Lanka and South Africa in this World Cup. A remarkable achievement indeed, considering the fact that both these teams have been in prime form and played magnificent cricket, except during the crunch time when they faced Pakistan in a do or die encounter. Perhaps the moral of the story for this edition of T20 World Cup will be that, to win some you need to loose some and play well when it matters.

Winning the toss Sri Lanka opted to bat first, as they wanted to set a decent total for the Pakistani team and put them under pressure. Their tactic soon backfired as the Pakistani youngster Mohammad Aamer got the better of Dilshan in the very first over of the match. With their best batsman in the tournament gone for a duck, Sri Lanka lacked ideas to come back into the match. The change in the batting line up also backfired as Jehan Mubarak was snapped up by Abdur Razaq, ex-ICL player for the second duck of the innings.

Pakistan now had a firm control on the match. Sanath Jayasuriya, the Sri Lankan veteran with a whole lot of experience, tried to steer away Sri Lanka from this position but failed to do so after scoring just 17 runs to become Razaq’s second victim. Things got worse as Jayawardene got out in quick succession to Razaq. The only person left defending the Sri Lankan fort was their captain Kumara Sangakara. The Pakistani bowlers were unrelenting and did not loose focus in the match as Sri Lanka were left tottering at 70-6 after 13 overs.

The rescue act for Sri Lanka started with the partnership between Sangakara and Angelo Matthews, as they took the fight back to Pakistan. Sangakara remained unbeaten on 64 and Matthews scored valuable 35 run with both standing their ground until the end of this innings, as Sri Lanka managed to score 138 runs with an unbroken 68 runs partnership between these two Lankan lions. The score seemed a little less for the high profile Pakistani batting line up, but it still gave hope to Sri Lanka for putting up a fight in the second half of the match.

Coming into bat with a target of 139, the Pakistani openers started cautiously. With the total well entrenched in their minds, the Pakistani openers played normal cricketing shots as Sri Lanka were left searching for answers to get a break through. Sangakara tried six different bowlers in the first six overs of the innings to find a break through that never happened. Pakistani openers on the other hand did not spare an inch for the Lankans to come back into the match. It was then left to the experience of Jayasuriya to get the first wicket for Sri Lanka and affect a batting collapse for Pakistan.

However, the duo of Mallik and Afridi played a brand of cautious cricket unlike to their reputation, to take Pakistan closer to the target as Pakistan reached the 100 mark within the 15th over. With things, getting out of control Sangakara tried to use the experience of Malinga, Muralitharan, and Menids to restrict the flow of runs. However, nothing seemed to work this time as some magnificent hitting from Afridi and an unbroken partnership between both of them saw Pakistan to their second major title, the first one coming in 1992 when they won the 50 over version in Australia.

The win was dedicated to Bob Woolmer, the former Pakistan and South Africa coach, as Pakistan did not get twice unlucky. The Lankans had themselves to blame, as they never looked in control of the match. Pakistan with this victory has proved once again that they cannot be taken for granted in International Cricket. When Pakistan plays good cricket the world has to stand up and salute them.

21st June, the historic day in Cricket history, especially for Pakistan it’s the unforgettable day. Pakistani Fan’s prayers accepted, and Pakistan won over by high spirits and delight. Afridi swung willow wand and leaded the Pakistan to become ICC World T20 Champions. Pakistan determination, spirit and brilliancy in the game were apparent and each player gave his every bit of effort for the fancied victory. Expectations were high from Pakistan; to be pressurized instead it uplifted the spirits and motivated Pakistan to believe in itself. Consequently, we have Pakistan as ICC World T20 Champions beating considerably Sri Lanka off 8 wickets.

London Lord’s stadium, Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first, though decision was sensible but it wasn’t fateful for the Sri Lanka. Lankans came to bat but blunder started from very first over; Aamer taking essential wicket of Tilakaratne Dilshan (0), then in second over Jehan Mubarak (0) was ducked by Razzaq. Then Sanath Jayasuriya(17), Mahela Jayawardena (1), Chamara Silva (14)and Isuru Udana (1); batting line up collapsed in a nick of time. But Kumar Sangakkar (64) on the other end was still holding the pitch and hopes, with vital support of Angelo Mathews (35); Sri Lankan total reached 138 runs off 6 wickets.

Pakistan bowling was spectacular, we could see the Pakistan bowling magic thrilling to fans and threatening to Sri Lanka. Pakistani bowlers Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Aamer, Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi were outstanding and line and length was just near to perfect. Every Pakistani bowler bowl seemed tough to play, and every fielder clenching for the one’s and two’s equally bitter the batsman and made every effort of batsman worthless. Senior player Abdul Razzaq had been lucky for the Pakistan, with his return Pakistan spirits uplifted and in the final we saw he him out performing Sri Lanka by taking 3 wickets.

Lankans put forth 139 runs target, Pakistan was confident to achieve it and win the championship. This kind of optimism was radiant on every Pakistani player, and something like hunger we felt in them to win this world cup. As expected each player entertained spectators, Kamran Akmal (37) and Shahzaib Hasan (19) from the first over made Lankans restless and power play also proved to be fruitless. After Akmal, Afridi came to bat, and fans roared as he walked out of pavilion. Expectations, and prayers were being chanted and every bit of it got fulfilled. Shahid Afridi knocked unbeaten 54 runs of 40 balls and Shoaib Malik (24) also contributed well enough. Pakistan won the match by 8 wickets sparing 8 balls.

Afridi and Razzaq terrific performance just made the day only for Pakistan. After Sri Lanka qualifying for the finals Afridi growled to them to beware. In the same manner Afridi executed and terrified Lankans with his terrific performance eventually leading the Pakistan to the T20 World Cup win. Whole stadium was loaded with Pakistani supporters they cheered outrageously for the Pakistan in the End.

On, 19 June 2009 in second semifinal of ICC World T20 at Kennington Oval, we saw tremendous expertise from Lankans side and insensibility and spiritlessness from Indies. Opening batsman Dilshan played like a maestro and mesmerized whole audience with his unbeaten innings of 96 runs coming off just 57 balls. Dilshan is high scorer from Lankans side in ICC World T20, led Lankans to the truly deserved victory over uninspiring Indies.

Sri Lankan innings was fluctuating, in 15th over Lankans were at 98 runs off 3 wickets, reaching above 150 runs total was somewhat difficult on slower and bowler friendly pitch of Oval. But in the last five overs with the DIlshan on the field Lankans knocked whopping 60 runs, taking total to 158 runs off 5 wickets. Dilshan innings was the major contribution to the total, rest the Lankans batsmen were not able to put up better support. Sanath Jayasuriya (24), Kumar Sangakkara (0), Mahela Jayawardena (2), Chamara Silva (11) and Jehan Mubarak (7) were not able to sustain on field and support to Dilshan. Even though Dilshan remain consistent without any support from other teammates throughout the innings and aggregated challenging score of 158 runs on slower pitch like Oval.

As the Gayle’s bowler were being attributed mystique and powerful mix of spinners and pacers, all proved futile in front of Dilshan. Gayle’s bowlers were not able to confine Dilshan and still the bowling was commendable, every boundary was tough though but Dilshan knocks showed it lot easier. Tight field by Gayle’s company was commendable and fielders were diving for every single shoot to prevent boundaries even two’s. Jerome Taylor, Sulleman Benn , and Kieron Pollard took 1-1 wicket and Dwayne Bravo expensive though took 2 wickets.

West Indians came to bat to face 159 runs target; 159 runs target was pretty much tough on the slower pitch of Oval still it was expected from Indies, they would be tough competition. But the disaster happened Angelo Mathews took 3 wickets in very first over, Indies were dumbfounded. Roaring audience in support of Lankans with uninterrupted commentary started coming from commentary box of Lankans making it to the finals. Gayle (63) was the only batsman to sustain on the pitch rest batting line up of Indies felled like the stock rates on the Wall Street.

Sri Lankans bowlers and Dilshan were remarkable and outstanding in the last semifinal, purely out doing Indies in every aspect of the game. Angelo Mathews and Star Player Muttiah Muralidaran took 3-3 wickets, Ajantha Mendis took 2 wickets and Isuru Udana and Lasith Malinga took 1-1 wicket. Lankans jamboree of bowlers were superb and astounding; Lankans bowlers bowled every type of bowling with Yorkers to off spin, leg spin and short balls with the better line and length gave no room to Indies to go for the shoots.

Malinga taking the last wicket in the 17th over Indies were all out on 101 runs and Lankans winning the match by big margin of 57 runs.