Charged-up Sri Lanka take title

Sri Lanka 299 for 8 (Dilshan 110, Sangakkara 71, Munaf 2-43) beat India 225 (Dhoni 67, Perera 3-36, Randiv 3-40) by 74 runs
Scorecard
How they were out

	Sri Lanka never let the intensity dip after piling on a daunting 299 © Associated Press Enlarge
Related Links News : India consider playing extra batsman Players/Officials: Tillakaratne Dilshan | Suraj Randiv | Thisara Perera | Kumar Sangakkara Matches: Sri Lanka v India at Dambulla Series/Tournaments: Sri Lanka Triangular Series Teams: India | Sri Lanka

These two have binged on each other since July 2008, but what promises to be the one for the road went Sri Lanka's way, ending their run of losses in big home matches. On the tournament's best batting track, though not quite a flat belter, Tillakaratne Dilshan's risk-free yet urgent century and Kumar Sangakkara's delightful half-century set a target never reached under Dambulla lights. When Virender Sehwag left his team-mates - who'd scored 288 runs between them before the start of the final - with 262 to get, it was all but over. The flame flickered for longer than expected, but not nearly long enough.

Umpiring decisions and manic appealing dominated the chase but couldn't alter the expected result. Dinesh Karthik was given out caught off the thigh pad. Virender Sehwag's plumb lbw was not given, but he ran himself out off the same ball. Yuvraj Singh got away with a caught-behind before opening his account but was given out, 26 runs later, off one he didn't seem to have edged. MS Dhoni survived a close lbw call when on 12 but ran out of partners as the asking rate mounted.

The start of the match was much more serene. In fact, off the fourth ball of the game, Praveen Kumar hardly appealed when he had Mahela Jayawardene caught right in front. Jayawardene, promoted because of his technical prowess, put together the best opening stand of the tournament - 121, an association that also set up the highest team total. The way Dilshan and Jayawardene batted, without taking any undue risks, it was easy to see why the previous best of 79 too belonged to them. The ball may not have swung wildly, but the batsmen were tested by the early movement that Praveen and Munaf Patel extracted.

Neither batsman tried expansive shots. In his first three overs, Praveen went too far down the leg side, looking for that magic outswinger, and went for fours through midwicket and fine leg. It wasn't as easy to hit Munaf off his shortish length, around off and with slight seam movement either side. They didn't try to do that; instead they played out Munaf's first four overs for 13, yet the score at the end of those overs read 47 for 0.

Dilshan targeted Ashish Nehra and Ishant Sharma. Nehra's second ball and Ishant's first were punched away for fours. Both the shots were hit along the ground, and involved more enterprise than risk. By the time Ishant's second over yielded six, four and four, Dilshan had moved to 43 off 30, and Sri Lanka to 74 after 12 overs.

Dilshan had assumed total control by then. The punch shot through the off side, with his front foot out of the way, caused the main damage. One of those, off Nehra, brought up his fifty in the 16th over. Nehra's figures then read 4-0-31-0.

Forget the fifth bowler, Dhoni must have started worrying about how to finish the quotas of specialist bowlers, all quicks. Dilshan's pace didn't make the task any easier. Barring one spell near his century, when he spent 38 balls between his 12th and 13th boundaries, the longest Dilshan went without a four was 16 balls.

During that quiet period Sri Lanka lost Jayawardene and Upul Tharanga against the run of play, but Kumar Sangakkara made sure the team didn't fall behind. In the time that Dilshan went from 92 to 100 and Sangakkara hared from 11 to 32, taking Sri Lanka to 194 in the 37th over. Dilshan then threatened more punishment on India, but holed out to long leg.

Sangakkara made up for it and, even with wickets falling at the other end, drive followed elegant drive. The superb acceleration - from 19 off 29 to 70 off 59 - was interrupted by a slower ball from Munaf in the 45th over, but Sri Lanka had reached 261 for 6. Munaf's last three overs went for 14 runs and two wickets, but a target of 300 meant India would need more than just Sehwag.

Sehwag hit six scorching boundaries in the first six overs. Off the last ball of the sixth over, Nuwan Kulasekara had him plumb in front, but umpire Asoka de Silva seemed the only one to disagree. Sehwag got greedy and sought a leg-bye that didn't exist. Chamara Kapugedera was not only alert, he also hit direct.

Thisara Perera, now Sri Lanka's India specialist, and Suraj Randiv, who got nice drift and dip, kept the wicket flow going in the middle.

Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Dhoni tried to buck the trend of India's hopes disappearing with Sehwag, but Sri Lanka were at them all the time. Kohli's uncharacteristic hoick showed the pressure the required rate exerted, Raina's cameo involved too many risks and ended prematurely from India's point of view, and Dhoni's 67 were too late and too few.

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s PP1 PP2 PP3 41-50 overs NB/Wides Sri Lanka 158 30 2 52/0 42/0 49/3 80/5 0/12 India 181 22 4 55/2 33/2 23/1 21/3 4/8

Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at Cricinf

Sehwag backs Indian youngsters

	Virender Sehwag: "We have to give more time to youngsters" © Associated Press Enlarge
Related Links News : Dhoni confident of batting revival Players/Officials: Virender Sehwag Series/Tournaments: Sri Lanka Triangular Series Teams: India

India's misfiring young batsmen are getting plenty of support from their seniors. Two days after captain MS Dhoni said he was not too concerned about the batting collapses in the Dambulla tri-series, Virender Sehwag has also backed his less-experienced team-mates to deliver.

The quartet of Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have managed just 94 runs between them through the tournament. But India are still in the final, on the back of two solo efforts from Sehwag which led to two victories.

"When I was a youngster, it took me almost 50 to 70 innings to perform consistently, so we have to give more time to youngsters," Sehwag said. "We are not worried about them too much because in Dambulla, everybody's not scoring. We have to live with that and give youngsters some confidence and tell them to go out and spend some time at the wicket."

India's batsmen have kept the opposition wicketkeepers and slip fielders busy, giving up nearly half their wickets to catches in that area. Dhoni had called for his batsmen to be more decisive with their stroke-selection, particularly to balls outside off. However, on Wednesday two of India's top-order batsmen, Karthik and Kohli, fell wafting at precisely such deliveries.

"It's very easy to say that you should leave the ball or hit it according to its merit but it's very difficult to react according to the merit of the ball," Sehwag said. "When we were young, it would have been confusing whether to hit or leave. It used to be tempting to hit and we used to get out in that confusion. It's important to either leave or play the balls outside off rather than defending them."

Sehwag, the only batsman from any of the three sides to come to terms with the seam and swing in Dambulla, advised caution in the early stages of the innings. India's scores after 15 overs in their league matches were 54 for 5, 47 for 3, 56 for 3 and 81 for 4.

"If you see off the first 10-15 overs, it becomes easier to bat. But those first few overs are difficult to survive," he said. "If you see off the new ball [even] without scoring much in the first 15 overs, it helps the team a lot."

Saturday's final could well be the last chance for the likes of Kohli and Rohit to press for a permanent place in the side, as senior batsmen including Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir could return to the one-day team for the home series against Australia in October.

Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at Cricinfo

Sehwag, seamers lead India into final

India 223 (Sehwag 110, Southee 4-49, McCullum 3-35) beat New Zealand 118 (Mills 52, Praveen 3-34, Patel 3-21) by 105 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

	It appeared as though Virender Sehwag was batting on a different pitch © AFP Enlarge
Related Links Matches: India v New Zealand at Dambulla Series/Tournaments: Sri Lanka Triangular Series Teams: India | New Zealand

A combination of belligerent hitting by Virender Sehwag and potent seam bowling helped India storm into the final of the tri-series against Sri Lanka with a comprehensive thrashing of New Zealand in the last league game. On a day when a majority of the specialist batsmen on both sides batted with two left feet in bowler-friendly conditions, Sehwag found a way to carve out an aggressive century, scoring more than what all 11 New Zealanders managed between them. The target of 224 was soon out of New Zealand's reach after their top order crumbled against a four-pronged seam attack, a bowling combination you wouldn't associate with Indian sides, especially in the subcontinent.

By the end of the night, you could imagine batsmen queuing up outside Sehwag's door for the inside story on how he managed to dominate everything thrown at him. It was as though he was batting on another surface. Sehwag was unfazed by the early movement and nip off the wicket, which made the seamers potent. He played in a style known only to him and, with the final in three days' time, his innings today will undoubtedly be analysed in detail.

MS Dhoni took the gamble of batting on a fresh pitch, despite India having collapsed for 103 after batting first in their previous match against Sri Lanka. New Zealand's seamers nipped out four wickets by the end of the 13th over with a combination of swing, cut and bounce, which strikes took the sheen off an entertaining start from Sehwag.

Not known for exaggerated foot movements, Sehwag used the crease to loft the seamers over the off side. He barely moved across the stumps but such was his confidence that he stretched to scoop and slash powerfully over backward point. He backed away and slapped the slower bowlers past the infield as well. A more conventional punch through cover brought up his 1000th ODI four, one that was part of a sequence of three consecutive fours off Tim Southee.

India were lucky to have Dhoni at the other end, for he rotated the strike and built a solid partnership with Sehwag. Their stand produced 107, but India needed more from their last capable pair, having only Ravindra Jadeja, who is still trying to find his feet in ODIs, and a long tail to follow. Sehwag, however, didn't alter his approach. He continued to charge the spinners, lifting Kane Williamson inside out over extra cover for boundaries, and also cleverly picked the gaps at fine leg off the seamers. He played an upper cut over the vacant slip cordon shortly after getting to his century, but the fun ended for India when Sehwag found deep midwicket when on 110. His dismissal was against the run of play.

Dhoni, who had batted carefully, had to try to reclaim the advantage for India, but New Zealand took control. Having grafted to 38 off 75 balls, Dhoni edged a Nathan McCullum delivery while trying to drive. The dismissals of Sehwag and Dhoni in quick succession meant a premature end to the innings was inevitable. Soon after New Zealand picked up the final wicket, though, their control over the game came to a grinding halt.

They had no-one with Sehwag's calibre and temperament to take the initiative, irrespective of the damage being done at the other end. They were exposed against the moving ball and even seasoned performers struggled. Praveen Kumar started the slide in conditions tailored to his variety of bowling, trapping Martin Guptill leg before in first over.

There was no respite from the other end as Ashish Nehra, with his extra pace when compared to Praveen, got the ball to nip in sharply to the right-handers, slicing them in half. A lot depended on the experienced Ross Taylor, but he was just as circumspect as the rest. He expected the ball to move in, but it went the other way and took a thick outside edge, giving Praveen his second wicket.

New Zealand's chase was irreparably damaged when their senior-most batsman, Scott Styris, chopped one on to his stumps without moving his feet. Grant Elliott knew that the best way to counter the swing was to cover the line and smother the movement. He regularly shuffled across the stumps, committing to the movement even before delivery, but his method didn't yield runs as almost every defensive push found fielders. Williamson, who finally scored an international run in his third innings, was dismissed by an Ishant Sharma delivery which cut in and took the edge onto the stumps. Munaf, who was miserly to begin with, bagged two lbws with with his probing line.

Kyle Mills' blitz only succeeded in saving New Zealand the embarrassment of being bowled out for less than 100.

Kanishkaa Balachandran is a sub-editor at Cricinfo

Taylor, Styris star in hard-earned win for New Zealanders

Cricinfo staff

August 4, 2010

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New Zealanders 220 for 7 (Taylor 67, Styris 57) beat Sri Lanka Board President's XI 219 for 9 (Perera 62*, Tuffey 2-34, McKay 2-38) by three wickets
Scorecard

	New Zealanders' seamers had the home batsmen in trouble early on © AFP Enlarge
Related Links Players/Officials: Thisara Perera | Scott Styris | Ross Taylor Matches: Sri Lanka Board President's XI v New Zealanders at Colombo (SSC) Series/Tournaments: Sri Lanka Triangular Series Teams: New Zealand | Sri Lanka

New Zealanders endured poor passages of play in the latter stages of either innings, but did enough to seal victory against Sri Lanka Board President's XI in their first match on tour. The win was easier than suggested by the eventual three-wicket margin, as Ross Taylor and Scott Styris struck fluent fifties before the visitors crossed the line with 72 balls to spare.

BP XI elected to bat first, but did not account for their opponents' inspired fast-bowling pack. Things began to go awry in the third over when Daryl Tuffey breached Mahela Udawatte's defence with nine runs on the board. Dinesh Chandimal was run out for two in the next over, exposing the middle order. They did not fare too well as three wickets fell for the addition of just one run: Lahiru Thirimanne edged Tuffey behind, while Chamara Silva and Thilina Kandamby did likewise against Tim Southee and Jacob Oram respectively. The score read 34 for 5 in 12 overs and BP XI desperately needed a repair job.

Kosala Kulasekara put his head down in the company of Milinda Siriwardana and they steadied the ship, adding 29 in 10.4 overs before Clint McKay got into the flow of things, getting the former to give Gareth Hopkins his fourth catch behind the wickets. With both teams having twelve players to choose from, BP XI were batting fairly deep and it worked in their favour. Farveez Maharoof kept Siriwardana company for a 64-run stand for the seventh wicket, off 93 balls. Just when they looked set to step up, New Zealanders managed to dismiss both batsmen before they could reach fifties.

That the hosts had something to bowl at was down to the effort of Thisara Perera who stunned the bowlers with an impressive assault. Southee suffered the most damage, going for 64 while the rest of his colleagues finished with respectable figures. Perera smashed eight fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 39-ball 62, as the last 7.5 overs went for 81 runs. Seekkuge Prasanna gave him good support, lashing a six and two fours in his 18 as BP XI finished with 219.

New Zealanders' chase faced an early setback when Nuwan Pradeep got BJ Watling to nick one behind for four. However, Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor made light of his fall, adding 65 at better than a-run-a-ball. Guptill struck three fours in his 33-ball 26 before Prasanna struck him in front of the stumps. Thereafter Scott Styris laced into the bowling in an aggressive partnership with Taylor to put the result beyond doubt.

Taylor played some pleasing shots, picking seven fours and a six before Kandamby sent him back after a partnership of 95 in 14.1 overs. Styris smashed two sixes and five fours, racing to 57 off 45 balls before he too fell to Kandamby's wiles in the 30th over. New Zealanders had a few nervous moments, losing Grant Elliott and Hopkins, with 23 runs still to get. Oram however held one end up while Tuffey lashed four fours to ensure there was no upset.

Sri Lanka tri-series 2010

Welegedara, Kandamby left out of tri-series

Cricinfo staff

August 7, 2010

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	Chamara Silva is back in Sri Lanka's ODI side © Getty Images Enlarge
Related Links Players/Officials: Dilhara Fernando | Thilina Kandamby | Chamara Silva | Chanaka Welegedara Series/Tournaments: Sri Lanka Triangular Series Teams: Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka have left out left-arm seamer Chanaka Welegedara, allrounder Farveez Maharoof and batsman Thilina Kandamby for the tri-series, which begins on August 10 in Dambulla. Chamara Silva, who last played in the tri-series also involving India and Zimbabwe in May and June, makes a return, as does fast bowler Dilhara Fernando. Sri Lanka have also picked allrounder Thisara Perera, who was the leading wicket-taker in the one-day games on the A tour of Australia in June and July.

Muttiah Muralitharan, who recently retired from Tests, was rested, though he has made himself available for selection for the 2011 World Cup. Maharoof's omission is surprising because the allrounder impressed in the Asia Cup, taking a hat-trick during a five-wicket haul in the league match against India.

Silva, at one point, was a regular in Sri Lanka's middle order until a series of low scores cost him his place in the Asia Cup. Fernando played in the second Test against India at the SSC, while Perera represented Sri Lanka in 10 ODIs and was also part of the Chennai Super Kings squad in the IPL. The other participating teams in the tri-series are India and New Zealand and all the matches will be held in Dambulla.

Squad: Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), Mahela Jayawardene (vc), Chamara Silva, Thisara Perera, Dilhara Fernando, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Angelo Mathews, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Kapugedera, Suraj Randiv, Ajantha Mendis, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Rangana Herath.

India v New Zealand, 1st ODI, Dambulla

India undone by 'spongy' bounce

Siddarth Ravindran in Dambulla

August 11, 2010

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	Ravindra Jadeja was one of several Indian batsmen caught at slip © AFP Enlarge
Related Links Players/Officials: MS Dhoni | Scott Styris Matches: India v New Zealand at Dambulla Series/Tournaments: Sri Lanka Triangular Series | New Zealand tour of Sri Lanka Teams: India | New Zealand

Every now and then the Indian batting is tested in difficult one-day conditions, and they usually tend to come up short, though not as spectacularly as against New Zealand in the opening match of the tri-series. Last year, they batted first on a damp pitch in Guwahati and were sliced to 27 for 5 by Mitchell Johnson and Doug Bollinger before Praveen Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja partially revived India with half-centuries. There was no lower-order rescue on Monday, and India slid to the lowest total in ODIs this year.

There wasn't the exaggerated movement which worked so well for India in the Asia Cup final, but the bounce and slowness of the track proved too much. MS Dhoni explained that while the pacy short ball has troubled some of the Indian batsmen, it was not what they were up against in Dambulla.

"This is completely different bounce, it is very spongy, bowlers are bowling 125-126 and the keeper is standing where he usually does for Shoaib Akhtar," Dhoni said. "You can't really drive off the backfoot, the only option is to cut and pull, and if the bowler doesn't give room, it is very difficult to score."

There were no magic deliveries from New Zealand to warrant such a limp display. All Daryl Tuffey and Kyle Mills did was keep the ball a touch short and maintain tight lines, which was enough to coax India's batsmen to give the New Zealand slip cordon a thorough workout. Rohit Sharma opened the face to steer to slip, Suresh Raina attempted a cover drive away from his body to edge to slip, Yuvraj Singh fished outside off to nick it to slip.

"Players in the subcontinent generally don't like the ball anywhere above the waist," Scott Styris said. "Not because they are scared but because it is different compared to the usual subcontinental wicket. This has lot more bounce and we learnt that during the practice sessions. We really wanted to put some short balls in there."

Styris had played a big role in New Zealand recovering from a top-order collapse, his 190-run partnership with Ross Taylor effectively putting the match beyond India. Dhoni was unhappy about the mistakes in the field that allowed New Zealand to reach such a commanding total. "There were a couple of missed chances, Styris missed stumping [when he was on 16], Ross Taylor's dropped catch [on 45 by Suresh Raina], still if we had got both of them they still would have got at least 200 which the way they bowled would have been very difficult to chase."

New Zealand packed their side with quick bowlers, a strategy which worked well for them, but India were left with only two quick bowlers for much of the innings after Abhimanyu Mithun's heat stroke. While the new-ball bowlers, Praveen Kumar and Ashish Nehra, took 7 for 90 between them, India's spinners were caned for 161 runs in 26 overs. "We had four fast bowlers and they had three. That was the difference," Styris said. "We knew that they didn't have reserves."

Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at Cricinfo

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