‘INDIA-SPECIALIST’ PERERA CRUSADES SRI LANKA INTO FINAL

Having done predominantly in matches involving the opposition as India, Perera justified his selection into the side as he took his maiden five-wicket haul to restrict the Indians to a paltry 103.

After winning the toss for the first time in the series, India skipper Dhoni was very happy to bat as his openers watched out the first half-hour carefully. But Kulasekara struck twice to get rid of both the openers as the visitors were reduced to 38/2 in the Quick Start Overs, followed by 18/1 in Powerplay 2. Since then it was a regular procession of wickets as the seamers kept on picking up wickets and the Indian batsmen had no answer. Yuvraj Singh tried to keep the fight going as he helped India score 20/1 in Powerplay 3, but after he was dismissed, the innings was virtually over as the tourists folded up for 103. Thissara Perera was the star for the Lankans, taking 5/28 in 7.4 overs with a maiden, finishing on a BOWLING EFFICIENCY OF 411.

The Islanders had to bat out for 35 minutes before the scheduled break in between the innings and Dilshan and Jayawardene came out firing on all cylinders, adding 63 runs in 8 overs before the break. After the break, the pair started on a bang again but Ishant Sharma’s wickets of successive deliveries helped reduce the Lankans to 79/2 in the Quick Start Overs and they scored 21/0 in Powerplay 2. Sangakkara and Tharanga led their team to a comfortable 8-wicket win after that. Ishant Sharma finished with a BOWLING EFFICIENCY OF 127 for his double-wicket burst.

SRI LANKA ended on a much higher Castrol Index of 167 as compared to India’s 49 and nearly outdid them in every department, except Powerplay 2, where the visiting side came on top. THISSARA PERERA was named the MAN-OF-THE-MATCH for his 5/28, finishing on an overall Castrol Index of 305. INDIA next take on NEW ZEALAND in the sixth and final league game of the tri-series on Wednesday, 25th of August, 2010 at 0900 GMT at this same venue in a virtual semi-final.