Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Hat-trick Slinga helps Lanka end series 2-3

A sensational hat-trick from Lasith Malinga turned the tides on Australia as the Aussies were bowled out for 211 from 210/5. The hosts then chased it with ease.

Not for the first time in the series, Aussie skipper Michael Clarke called incorrectly. His counterpart Dilshan got what he wanted - winning the toss. However, instead of choosing to bat, he opted to bowl. 

He got success instantaneously as Shaminda Eranga cleaned up Shaun Marsh for 2. Shane Watson and Ricky Ponting then stabilized things in the middle and took Australia to 52/1 at the end of the Quick Start Overs. Dilshan took the Bowling Powerplay and Angelo Mathews got rid of Ponting for 31.

Watson and Clarke then started to build a partnership and ended Powerplay 2 on 22/1, taking Australia to 74/2 in 15 overs. The pair had added 56 and were beginning to up the run-rate when Ajantha Mendis got rid of Watson for 56. That led to a bit of a collapse as Australia slipped to 167/5 in the 38th over.

David Hussey and Brad Haddin, who had been sent down the order, started to counter-attack. The run-rate was beginning to cause some problems for Sri Lanka when Ajantha Mendis cleaned up the former for 46. The 46th over witnessed history as Lasith Malinga produced a scintillating display of bowling. 

He first cleaned up Mitchell Johnson, then trapped John Hastings and finally, cleaned up Xavier Doherty in three balls, becoming the first bowler to pick up his third ODI hat-trick. Australia had been pummeled into submission as they were bowled out for 211, losing their last 5 wickets for just 1 run. Shane Watson top scored with 56 while David Hussey earned a Batting Momentum of 62. For the Lankans, Malinga and Ajantha Mendis picked up 3 wickets each but Angelo Mathews earned a Bowling Efficiency of 232.

Have a look at the scorecard.

Australia came out firing on all cylinders defending a modest target of 212. Johnson got Upul Tharanga in the very first over and James Pattinson then struck twice to leave Sri Lanka reeling at 33/3 in the 6th over. Mahela Jayawardena and Chamara Silva then got together to consolidate and ended the Quick Start Overs on 65/3.

Powerplay 2 was taken in the 11th over by Michael Clarke but it did not help as the Lankans added 28 runs in these 5 overs and reached 93/3 at the end of 15 overs. Silva played an array of strokes and the partnership grew stronger,  going part the 100-run mark. Xavier Doherty finally got Silva for 63 and Sri Lanka’s middle order was exposed with another 68 runs needed.

But calm and cool Jayawardena ensured that there was no trouble as he added 51 with Mathews and nearly sealed the win. Mahela departed for a well-made 71. There was some stutter towards the end but Sri Lanka eventually reached home in the 47th over with 4 wickets in hand.

Mahela Jayawardena top scored with 71 but Chamara Silva earned a Batting Momentum of 81. James Pattinson was the most impressive bowler with 2/41 in 10 overs, with a Bowling Efficiency of 171.

Though Sri Lanka won the game quite comfortably, they just managed to edge out the Aussies with a value of 49 to 48 of their counterparts on the Castrol Index. The Quick Start Overs belonged to Australia while the Extreme Performance Ones went to the Lankans. The Batting Momentum and Bowling Efficiency departments belonged to the hosts.

Lasith Malinga was named the Man Of The Match for his hat-trick and earned 25 points on the Castrol Index for his efforts. But the best performer of the evening was Angelo Mathews who earned 61 points while for Australia, it was Shane Watson who got 44 points.

Michael Clarke was named the Man Of The Series for scoring 242 runs in 5 matches with 2 half centuries. By virtue of this win, Sri Lanka earned their second victory of the series but Australia won the 5-match series 3-2.

The two teams now clash in a 3-match Test series starting on Wednesday, 31 August, 2011 at 0430 GMT.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Swann spins England to series whitewash

A mesmerizing spell of spin bowling by Graeme Swann where he claimed six wickets was too hot to handle for the Indian batsmen as they suffer an innings defeat and a humiliating whitewash as well in the series.

After winning the toss, English skipper Andrew Strauss chose to bowl in overcast conditions on a greenish track. The Indian seamers found some swing but in the absence of Praveen Kumar, could not do much and England capitalized. Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook pummelled the Indians to all parts after a cautious start. The bowlers never got their line and rhythm and England went in to Lunch on Day 1 at 75/0 with a Castrol Index of 16 as compared to 3 of India.

Ishant struck early on Day 2, getting Cook in the first over of the day. Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen saw off the rest of the session, taking England to 126/2 at Lunch with a Castrol Index of 26 leading by 15.

Session 2 saw some extravagant hitting as Pietersen opened up and started to hit the Indian bowlers  pretty hard. The pair of Pietersen and Bell hammered 170 runs in 38 overs without losing a wicket. England had raced away to 68 points on the Castrol Index with a lead of 62.

Third session meant more leather hunt for the Indians and they conceded 161 runs in 34 overs. But they managed to get something from the session, taking the wicket of Pietersen for 175. England ended the day on 457/3, gaining 109 points on the Index, with a lead of 101.

The morning session on Day 3 provided a bit of a respite for the Indian bowlers as they managed to pick up three wickets but the runs continued to flow, with England amassing 134 runs in 30 runs reaching 591/6, reaching 143 points on the Castrol Index while India had moved to 22.

The entire second session on Day 3 was washed out due to rain and England declared at the start of the third session. Ian Bell top scored with a fine 235 and earned a Batting Momentum of 246 while  Pietersen made 175. For India, Sreesanth was the pick of the bowlers with 3/123 earning a Bowling  Efficiency of 59.

It was a horrid final session for India as they lost 5 wickets with 103 runs on the board. Sehwag,  Laxman, Tendulkar, Raina and nigh-watchman Ishant Sharma were the men dismissed. India were trailing by 488 runs and had earned 45 points on the Castrol Index while England had romped to 179.

India lost Dhoni early in the first session next morning but were much more positive on Day 4. Dravid held the innings at one end and received excellent support from Amit Mishra as India went in to Lunch with their score on 218/6, trailing by 373 runs. Dravid had reached his third century of the series. India had moved to 72 points on the Castrol Index with England on 174.

England eventually managed to bowl out India in the second session but not before India had reached 300. Rahul Dravid stayed unbeaten on 146 and finished with a Batting Momentum of 260. For England, Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann picked up 3 wickets apiece with the latter earning a Bowling Efficiency of 73. England enforced the follow on and Dravid and Virender Sehwag saw off the period without any damage with the score reading 25/0. India were trailing by 266 runs with all their wickets intact. The visitors had climbed to 96 points on the Index but the 4 wickets taken by England took the hosts to 205.

Dravid was dismissed in a controversial manner at the start of the third session and was followed by Sehwag as well. VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar then came together and added 54 runs in quick time. But towards the end of the day, James Anderson produced a beauty to clean up Laxman and India went in with the score of 129/3, trailing by 162 runs. Tendulkar stayed unbeaten on 35. This solid batting display took India to 121 points on Index with England way ahead on 218.

India started off with Day 5 very well through Sachin Tendulkar and Amit Mishra who came in as the nightwatchman. They went through the entire first session batting with confidence and maintained a healthy run rate. It was for the first time in the series that India went through an entire session without losing a wicket. After the lunch break, India came out and continued with their good work. Mishra stroked his way to a half century and then stepped on the gas. Tendulkar meanwhile, went into a bit of a shell that slowed down the scoring rate. Mishra finally lost his wicket after a well made 84. He completely deserved a century but it wasn’t to be. Tendulkar by then had reached the nervous ninties and was on 91 when tragedy struck. He walked across to whip a Bresnan delivery to the on side but missed. Umpire Tucker upheld England’s appeal and sent the master batsman on his way nine agonizing runs short of a 100th international ton.

Following those two wickets, India collapsed with Raina the next man to depart for another duck. Dhoni did not last long after as well as he flashed at one outside off to gift an easy catch to slips. The concussed Gambhir gutted it out in the middle for his 3 off 27 balls but once he was out, India were all but out of the game. England wrapped up the tail fairly quickly and strolled to a convincing innings and 8 run victory that took them to the top of the standings in Test cricket.

Have a look at the scorecard.

Ian Bell was awarded the Man of the Match for his double ton (235) in the first innings, earning an Overall Castrol Index of 246. The Man of the Series for England was Stuart Broad for his incredible 25 wickets while Rahul Dravid took home the Indian honours for his solitary war against England.

These two teams now brace themselves for a 5-match ODI series and one-off T20I at Manchester on 31st of August at 1700 GMT.