T20 Cricket Asia » Sri Lanka

T20I – New Zealand Stun Sri Lanka with a 2-0 Verdict!

admin — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 02:16:41 +0000

Brendon McCullum looks to sweep, Sri Lanka v New Zealand, 2nd Twenty20, Colombo, September 4, 2009

The second T20I between Sri Lanka and New Zealand was again played at the RPS in Colombo, and for the fourth time at this stadium, the Sri Lankan side came out second. This game, as compared to the previous one was a rather one-sided one, with New Zealand piling up 170 in the 20 overs and then restricting the Lankans to only 148. Clearly it was a far cry from the side which had only just finished runners-up in the ICC World T20 and then beaten New Zealand in the test series.

The stars of the match for the Kiwis were Jesse Ryder and Brendon McCullum, who added an 84 for the first wicket – McCullum also getting his form back – whereas Martin Guptill closed the innings nicely with a 20-ball 32 to propel the score forward. Ajantha Mendis was the pick of the bowlers with 1/21 off four, along with Sanath Jayasuriya who bagged a wicket more and conceded a run more than Mendis.

In reply, Sri Lanka fell behind early at 11/3, losing their star, Dilshan in the first over and could never recover from that. Captain Sangakkara did get to a 50-ball 69, but with not too many to support him, the Lankans capitulated to 148/8 in the 20 overs.

Sanath Jayasuriya celebrates a caught and bowled dismissal off Brendon McCullum, Sri Lanka v New Zealand, 2nd Twenty20, Colombo, September 4, 2009

Daniel Vettori and Kumar Sangakkara shake hands after the match, Sri Lanka v New Zealand, 2nd Twenty20, Colombo, September 4, 2009

T20I – Sri Lanka Lose Despite Dilshan’s Brilliance

Knight Rider — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 23:30:59 +0000

Jacob Oram celebrates the wicket of Nuwan Kulasekera, Sri Lanka v New Zealand, 1st Twenty20, Colombo, September 2, 2009

Despite Tilakaratne Dilshan’s continuous batting exuberance, the Sri Lankan side collapsed like nine pins while chasing a target of 142 for a win against New Zealand to lose the first T20I by three runs.

With only 142 needed for a win, the Sri Lankan side had raced off to 67/2 in less than seven overs, and needed only 75 runs in 13 overs for a win with eight wickets standing. A walk in the park? Not when you have a middle-order like the Lankans’ in this game. It capitulated like nine pins and there was not a single player who could guide the team to a victory after the Dilshan blitzkrieg (57 off 28 deliveries).

Earlier, the Kiwis had scraped their way up to 141 as well. Again, it was a one-man show, with Ross Taylor taking up the attack to the Lankan spinners. He smashed a 45-ball 60, but there was only Martin Guptill to support him with an innings of 29. Jesse Ryder was the only other batsman to get to double figures with a 13 to his name!

Daniel Vettori who had successfully throttled the Sri Lankan side with figures of 4-0-11-2, was awarded the man-of-the-match award. The second and the last game of the series will be played at the same ground.

Lasith Malinga cleans up Daniel Vettori, Sri Lanka v New Zealand, 1st Twenty20, Colombo, September 2, 2009

Malinga Bandara is congratulated for his catch to remove Jesse Ryder, Sri Lanka v New Zealand, 1st Twenty20, Colombo, September 2, 2009

Pakistan Beat Sri Lanka to Win World T20

Knight Rider — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 19:54:28 +0000

Courtesy Cricinfo and Getty

Pakistan has won the second edition of the ICC World T20 by beating Sri Lanka rather easily by eight wickets in the finals. Sri Lanka had gone into the game having not a single game, but were outplayed by a team that batted, bowled and fielded much better than them.

Sri Lanka had opted to bat first, but lost wickets at regular intervals to slump at 70/6 and with only Kumar Sangakkara at the crease. In partnership with Angelo Mathews, Sangakkara added a nice little 68 to get the Lankans to 138 in their allotted 20 overs. And on a pitch that looked to have something for the pace bowlers, the target looked a trifle dicey.

However, the Pakistani batsmen were disciplined, without being too flashy and yet, scored the runs at the desired rate. The openers, Kamran Akmal and Shahzaib Hasan did get out in quick succession, but Shahid Afridi’s continuing form and Shoaib Malik’s cool head took the Pakistanis past the total and won them the tournament.

Afridi’s knock won him the man-of-the-match, as did his 1/20 in the four overs, while T.Dilshan won the man-of-the-series for being the highest scorer of the tournament. It was a pity that he had to end up being on the losing side today!

Pakistan and Sri Lanka Joint Winners?

Knight Rider — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 20:13:42 +0000

Looks like the duo has been declared joint winners eh? No, that is just posing for the camera ops, but, to be frank, given the things both teams have gone through in the last couple of months, won’t it be a bad idea to do so!?

The last such major tournament which had seen the two teams being declared winners together was the Champions Trophy of 2002, when India and Sri Lanka played the same game twice over, and yet, couldn’t complete it! And no, they did not resume it from where it had been left off on the previous day, but actually went on to restart it; which clearly said that the administrators had lost their heads while framing the rules.

Had such a rule existed in the 1999 World Cup – in England – one can be rest assured that half the games would have been registered as no results through the duration of the tournament!

Coming back to the game in question, Pakistan has been quarantined in the cricketing world after being termed unsafe for travellers, while Sri Lanka had been involved in an unfortunate terrorist attack and have been no better in terms of being terrorism-ravaged.

The picture makes perfect cricket-romantic sense to me!

Sri Lanka Dominate the Aussies Out of the T20 World Cup

JM — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 01:17:18 +0000

Match 8 - Group C
Who: Australia v Sri Lanka
Where: Nottingham
When: Jun 8, 2009
Winner: Sri Lanka won by 6 wickets (with 6 balls remaining)

Australia are Out of the Tournament

A worried Ricky Ponting in the dug-out, Australia v Sri Lanka, ICC World Twenty20, Trent Bridge, June 8, 2009

More Photos

Isuru Udana grabs a sharp caught-and-bowled to remove Michael Clarke, Australia v Sri Lanka, ICC World Twenty20, Trent Bridge, June 8, 2009

Angelo Mathews celebrates his early wicket of David Warner, Australia v Sri Lanka, ICC World Twenty20, Trent Bridge, June 8, 2009

Brad Haddin looks back to see the damage caused by Lasith Malinga, Australia v Sri Lanka, ICC World Twenty20, Trent Bridge, June 8, 2009

Images courtesy of cricinfo and getty images

Australia troop off the field and out of the tournament, Australia v Sri Lanka, ICC World Twenty20, Trent Bridge, June 8, 2009