Sri Lanka go 2-0 up over BlackCaps in ODI series

By Fathima Zanaida

PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka (TheSportsNEXT) November 7, 2012: Sri Lanka defeated New Zealand by seven wickets after Duckworth-Lewis Method calculations in yet another rain-affected match played at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday evening.

Former skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan was the star of the show for the home side as the opening batsman struck an unbeaten hundred to guide Sri Lanka to an impressive victory.

Sri Lanka’s new Twenty20 skipper Angelo Mathews also redeemed himself in the One-dayers with gutsy unbeaten half century as Sri Lanka chased down their target with 11 balls to spare for the loss of only three wickets.

Batting first, New Zealand scored 188 for six from 33 overs after rain once again forced officials to reduce the size of the match.

Opening batsman BJ Watling stepped up his game and scored 96 not out form 88 balls hitting 12 boundaries but he largely lacked support from the other batsmen as Rob Nicol (7 from 16), Brendon McCullum (13 from 25), skipper Ross Taylor (7 from 16 – 1 four), Jacob Oram (2 from 4), and Kane Williamson (5 from 6), all failed to help the side get a respectable total.

Jeevan Mendis took two wickets for 34 runs while Lasith Malinga (1/40), Nuwan Kulasekara (1/45), and Angelo Mathews (1/15) grabbed one wicket apiece.

Sri Lanka were given the target of 197 runs from 33 overs after applying the Duckworth-Lewis Method which looked a little stiff for the second-batting side.

Sri Lanka lost Upul Tharanga (10 from 13 – 2 fours), Kumar Sangakkara (15 from 27), and skipper Mahela Jayawardene (5 from 6) early in the run-chase but Tillakaratne Dilshan (102 not out from 95 – 12 fours, 1 six) kept his fight alive and found perfect partner in Angelo Mathews (54 not out from 47 – 7 fours).

Dilshan and Mathews added 127 runs for the fourth wicket from 98 balls which proved the difference between the two sides as New Zealand once again couldn’t seal the deal despite of coming close to that elusive victory in Sri Lanka.

Tillakaratne Dilshan was declared Man of the Match for his brilliant unbeaten knock of 102 runs.

The series now moves to Hambantota where the two teams will play the final two One Day Internationals on November 10 and 12.

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Rain leaves Sri Lanka, Kiwis with no result in one-off T20I

By Fathima Zanaida

PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka (TheSportsNEXT) October 30, 2012: Mother Nature had the final say at Pallekele International Stadium on Tuesday when rain forced a no result in the one-off Twenty20 International match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

After the match was reduced to 14 overs a side due to torrential rain, New Zealand managed to score 74 for 14 overs.

Sri Lankans were given a target of 72 runs from 14 overs after the Duckworth/Lewis Method calculations.

Sri Lanka were six for no loss from two overs when it poured down for one final time to force the ICC match officials to eventually abandon the match.

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Angelo Mathews handed Sri Lanka T20 captaincy

By Fathima Zanaida

Angelo Mathews given role to lead young Sri Lankan Twenty20 side

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (TheSportsNEXT) October 24, 2012: The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Wednesday appointed all-rounder Angelo Mathews as Sri Lankan Twenty20 skipper for a period of a year.

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Angelo Mathews’ stint as T20 captain will start on October 30 when Sri Lanka will take on New Zealand in one of the two Twenty20 Internationals at Pallekele.

Sri Lankan captaincy slot was left vacant by Mahela Jayawardene who resigned from the position after failing to lead his country to World Twenty20 title on home soil earlier this month.

Angelo Mathews, 25, has been performing his duties as vice captain of Sri Lankan cricket team since July 2012 and is the most likely option to lead his country in all formats after Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara will call it quits.

The SLC Chief Selector Ashantha de Mel told reporters, "We are giving Mathews a free hand to captain the Twenty20 side for a year, after which we will review his performance”.

The orthodox fast bowler Lasith Malinga has been appointed as vice-captain of the Sri Lankan Twenty20 team.

The Sri Lankan selectors are also likely to name a new Test and ODI captain by February 2013 when Mahela Jayawardene would reconsider his options as skipper in both Test matches and One Day Internationals after tour to Australia.

New Zealand are starting their tour to Sri Lanka from October 30, 2012 and will play two Test matches, five One Day Internationals, and two Twenty20 Internationals.

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Pakistan start ICCWT20 with 13-run win over New Zealand

By Fathima Zanaida

Man of the Match: Nasir Jamshed of Pakistan

 

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (TheSportsNEXT) September 23, 2012: Pakistan started their ICC World Twenty20 2012 (ICCWT20) campaign on a winning note on Sunday when they defeated fighting New Zealand by 13 runs at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.

Victory was attributed mainly to brilliant individual performances by Nasir Jamshed, skipper Mohammad Hafeez, and Saeed Ajmal.

Pakistan scored 177 for six from their 20 overs and then restricted BlackCaps to 164 for nine despite of late charge by their skipper Ross Taylor.

Pakistan skipper Mohammad Hafeez won the toss and decided to bat first on a placid batting track at Pallekele and soon he along with Imran Nazir (25 from 16 – 5 fours) started confidently. Only when Imran Nazir started looking solid he offered a caught-and-bowled chance to Tim Southee who accepted it gracefully to leave Pakistan 47/1 in the 6^th over.

However, left-hand batsman Nasir Jamshed (56 from 35 – 2 fours, 4 sixes) stormed his way into the crease and make a solid impact on the game as he blasted two outrageous maximums over extra cover position off New Zealand spinners.

Pakistan added 76 runs for the second wicket before skipper Mohammad Hafeez (43 from 38 – 2 fours, 2 sixes) misjudged a length delivery from James Franklyn and lost his stumps as he looked for quick runs to up the run rate in the 14^th over.

The dismissal of captain put pressure on the incoming batsmen and Kamran Akmal (3 from 3) found it tough to make himself at home in the center and soon Nasir Jamshed followed him.

Only when it all started to look falling apart for Pakistan, Umar Akmal (23 from 15 – 3 fours, 1 six), Shoaib Malik (9 not out from 7 – 1 four) and former skipper Shahid Afridi (12 from 6 – 2 fours) delivered the final punch as Pakistan raced to a formidable total of 177 for six from their 20 overs.

Tim Southee was the most successful bowler for BlackCaps as he went for 31 from his four overs and took two wickets. All-rounder Jacob Oram also captured two wickets but gave away 44 runs from his spell. Veteran left-arm off-spinner Daniel Vettori once again proved his worth in the side as he gave away only 23 runs from his quota for a wicket while James Franklyn bowled only one over and grabbed the prized scalp of Pakistani skipper for seven runs.

Interestingly, fifth bowler proved quite an expensive choice for New Zealand as they used three bowlers to bowl four overs where Nathan McCullum (2-0-23-0), Adam Milne (1-0-12-0), and James Franklyn (1-0-7-1) combined went for 42 runs.

Since the pitch was assisting batsmen more than bowlers, the chase was always on and young New Zealand openers Rob Nicol (33 from 28 -3 fours, 1 six) and Kane Williamson (15 from 13 – 2 fours) gave them a confident start by putting on 53 runs for the opening wicket.

Shahid Afridi came to rescue Pakistan yet again as he got rid of dangerous-looking Rob Nicol before a combination of Nasir Jamshed and Mohammad Hafeez caught Kane Williams short of his crease.

New Zealand’s most explosive batsman Brendon McCullum (32 from 31 – 4 fours, 1 six) was still at the crease but skipper Ross Taylor made a surprising move of promoting Daniel Vettori (18 from 16 – 1 four) up the order at two-down position.

The two batsmen added 48 runs for third wicket before Saeed Ajmal hunted Vettori as his first scalp of the evening.

With pressure of huge asking run-rate mounting on Kiwi batsmen, McCullum tried to step out of the crease against fast bowler Umar Gul who fired one into the block-hole and inside edge rolled on to the stumps to end a little cameo of the Kiwi wicketkeeper.

Saeed Ajmal soon got rid of all-rounder Jacob Oram (11 from 7 – 2 fours) but New Zealand were still looking strong in the run-chase as the ball was coming nicely on to the bat.

BlackCaps skipper Ross Taylor (26 from 11 – 3 fours, 1 six) came to the crease and played a blinder as he helped the New Zealand to get closer of the target and James Franklin (13 from 6 – 1 four, 1 six) also hit a fabulous maximum off Sohail Tanvir to make it an interesting thrilling game but both lost their wickets in 18^th and 19^th over respectively.

New Zealand needed 21 runs from the last eight balls but limped to 164 for nine from their 20 overs, falling 13 runs short of the target as their hopes of qualifying into the next stage hinges on Pakistan vs Bangladesh match scheduled for September 25, 2012.

Skipper Mohammad Hafeez once again proved an economic option for Pakistan as he went for only 15 runs from his four overs but star of the show was Saeed Ajmal who once again reminded the International Cricket Council of his sheer class by taking four wickets for only 30 runs. Shahid Afridi also bowled well and exhibited glimpses of regaining form as he captured a wicket for 30 runs.

Pakistan’s worries remained in the fast bowling department as Umar Gul, Yasir Arafat and Sohail Tanvir all went for plenty collectively going for 84 runs from their eight overs. On the other hand, Pakistan’s spinners once again saved the day as they collectively leaked only 75 runs from their 12 overs.

Opening batsman Nasir Jamshed was declared Man of the Match for his fluent innings of 56 runs.

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