Sunday, August 21, 2011

Bangladesh save pride, end series 2-3 with big win

Skipper Shakib Al Hasan led from the front with an all-round display as Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe by 93 runs in the fifth and final ODI, with the hosts winning the series 3-2.

Zimbabwean skipper Brendan Taylor won the toss and from what happened in the previous game, decided to bowl. Bangladesh openers Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes got off to a cautious start before Meth got the latter caught by Taibu for 9, having been dropped just 2 balls before. Ashraful and Tamim then saw off the remainder of the over as Bangladesh ended the Quick Start Overs on 40/1.

The pair saw off the period of Powerplay 2 as well and Bangladesh scored 19 runs in these 5 overs and were 59/1 in 15 overs. There were a series of small but significant partnerships as Bangladesh consolidated. A few key strikes from Ray Price then put the hosts in trouble and they were 127/5 in the 30th over.

Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah then got together to rescue the ship. The pair stabilized the innings with a 107-run stand for the sixth wicket. When Keegan Meth cleaned up Shakib for 79, Bangladesh were in a very comfortable position at 234/6 in 48 overs.

Some lusty hitting towards the end took Bangladesh to 253/6 in 50 overs as they scored 86/1 in the last 10 overs, of which, 38/0 came in 5 Extreme Performance Overs and the remaining 48 came in Powerplay 3. Shakib top scored with 79 with a Batting Momentum of 120, well supported by Mahmudullah who stayed unbeaten on 60. For Zimbabwe, Ray Price picked up 3 wickets and earned a Bowling Efficiency of 184 while Meth bagged 2 scalps.

Have a look at the scorecard.

The run chase started off on a poor note for Zimbabwe. Rubel Hossain dealt a severe blow to the hosts as he got Taylor(0) caught by Rahim on his very first delivery. Sibanda and Masakadza then got together and steadied the ship a bit.

The pair saw off the period of the Quick Start Overs with ease, attacking and counter-attacking as Zimbabwe raced to 47/1 in 10 overs. Shakib broke the 57-run stand for the second wicket getting Sibanda(34) caught by Kayes at short third man. Masakadza was then joined by Tatenda Taibu and the pair took Zimbabwe to 69/2 at the end of 15 overs.

There was then a stutter as Zimbabwe were reduced to 73/4 in the 18th over. Two new batsmen came to the crease in the form of Forster Mutizwa and Malcolm Waller. The pair added some sanity to the proceedings and added 67 for the fifth wicket.

But then, a crazy run out of Mutizwa changed the course of the game and the innings collapsed with Zimbabwe finishing on 160/9, losing by 93 runs. Keegan Meth was unfit to bat and hence the match got over there. Malcolm Waller made 51 with a Batting Momentum of 58 while Mahmudullah picked up 3 wickets, earning a Bowling Efficiency of 198.

Bangladesh finished with a Castrol Index of 52 as compared to 33 of the hosts with Zimbabwe winning the department of Quick Start Overs. Shakib Al Hasan was named the Man Of The Match for his all-round efforts and finished with an Index value of 83, the best of the match. For Zimbabwe, Ray Price earned 44 points.

Brian Vitori was named the Man Of The Series for taking 11 wickets in 3 games.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Embarrassing loss sees Lanka lose series

On a pitch that looked good for a score of 250-plus, Sri Lanka were bowled out for just 132, a target that the Australians chased down in 28 overs for the loss of five wickets.

The first match of the series in Colombo, the pitch was different from the previous ones in that it was dry and was expected to be quite a turner. Thillakaratne Dilshan won the toss and chose to bat first, a choice that Michael Clarke said he would have made as well.

The Lankans lost two quick wickets early on - Dilshan and Upul Tharanga - but Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena embarked on a rebuilding operation. They put on 71 runs together. It was an important stand, if a little slow.

But Sangakkara fell while trying to smash a ball from Xavier Doherty for a six, and that set off a bit of a chain reaction. Chamara Silva fell in the same over and Angelo Mathews in Doherty’s next. 101/5 quickly descended to 132 all out. The penultimate wicket was that of Jayawardena, who stuck it out even as the wickets fell all around him.

While Doherty bagged the Man-of-the-Match award for his career-best figures of 4/28, Brett Lee turned out to be the top performer on the Castrol Index, with figures of 4/15.

With such a low total to defend, the Lankans needed early wickets and Dilshan threw Ajantha Mendis the ball in the second over. The Aussies did look a little uncomfortable against him and against the pace of Lasith Malinga. He took two wickets in the seventh over, including that of Ricky Ponting, but Shaun Marsh (brought in for this match) and captain Michael Clarke put on almost all of the runs.

Just 10 runs shy of victory, Marsh edged a delivery from debutant Seekkuge Prasanna and two more batsmen followed in the same over! An incredible match for him, but it was a little too late and Clarke and Brad Haddin saw off the remaining runs.

Australia have won the series 3-1 with one match to go. That match will be played on Monday, 22 August at 1430 local time (0900 GMT).