Tag: Mahela Jayawardene

Cricket: Dunedin double header to settle series

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With New Zealand in the box seat of the one day series the Dunedin double will settle the series in New Zealand’s favour or allow Sri Lanka to play for a drawn in Wellington.  New Zealand are odds on favourites after an excellent chase in Nelson.

The dept the New Zealand team is building is proving a little too challenging for a Sri Lanka team, who for the most part, are out of form.

The Last Time These Two Met

Nelson hosted a close game of cricket on Tuesday that saw the Black Caps get home by four wickets when chasing a tricky 277.  New Zealand’s chase was anchored by the always impressive Kane Williamson, and finished off by a damaging cameo from Luke Ronchi.  Williamson scored his fifth one day international hundred, showing excellent composure as others around him were dismissed in quick succession in a collapse that saw the hosts reduced to 63/3.  Luke Ronchi’s hitting came in the 48th over where he bashed Thisara Perara for 24.

New Zealand’s four wicket win gives them a 2-0 series lead, and takes some of the gloss of Sri Lanka’s decent batting effort.  Batting first the Sri Lankan’s made 276 on the back of Kumar Sangakkara (76) and Mahela Jayawardene (94).  However, the score had had been more devastating if it weren’t for continuous wickets and an inability from the lower order to offer Jayawardene support.

The Teams

New Zealand (likely):  1 Martin Guptill, 2 Brendon McCullum (capt), 3 Tom Latham/Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Grant Elliott, 6 Luke Ronchi (wk) , 7 Corey Anderson, 8 Nathan McCullum/ Daniel Vettori, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Mitchell McClenaghan, 11 Trent Boult

Few changes expected with only the spin option to be determined.  Nathan McCullum looks more likely.

Sri Lanka (likely):  1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Angelo Mathews (capt), 6 Lahiru Thirimanne, 7 Thisara Perara, 8 Jeevan Mendis, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Sachithra Senanayake, 11 Suranga Lakmal/Rangana Herath

The world is awaiting the return of Lasith Malinga but unfortunately he won’t be fit until February.

The Key Players

Nathan McCullum/ Daniel Vettori – New Zealand won’t play two spinners in any of their World Cup matches, meaning a tense duel is emerging between Vettori and McCullum to secure the single spot.  By experience, Vettori has the edge.  By wicket-taking intent and strike rate, it’s McCullum.  Economy brings it back towards Vettori.  Either way it’s an intriguing battle, which plays out its next stanza with McCullum scheduled to play in Dunedin.

Tillakaratne Dilshan – Dilshan is in som decent nick at the top of the order and is exuding confidence.  There’s no fear of the Black Caps new ball bowlers, so he should be at his free scoring best again on the pristine University Oval surface.

The Match Odds*

New Zealand – $1.55

Sri Lanka – $3.00

*Courtesy of TopBetta.

The Prediction

New Zealand have the momentum, and they also have a better team of contributors.  From 1-11 the entire team are contributing to totals, wickets and wins, whereas the Sri Lankans are relying on the usual suspects.  If Sri Lanka are to win they need more support from the likes of Thirimanne, Karunaratne, Perara and Mendis.  But we can’t see that happening – we’ll go with NZ to make the series unloseable.

The Longshot

University Oval is short straight so there should be a large number of 6s hit.  How about taking a bet on both teams to hit the same number of 6s.  It’s paying $7.50 at TopBetta.

Cricket: Sri Lanka humble England in epic farewell

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Sri Lanka yet again proved too powerful for a disappointing England side in the final one day international in Colombo overnight.  Tillakaratne Dilshan was the cricketing star of the match scoring 101 and taking 3-37, but Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene were the sentimental stars, playing their final match on home soil.  Neither set the World on fire in this particular game but both are so fondly revered in these parts that it hardly mattered, all that mattered was the farewell and the Sri Lankan win.

For the record, Sri Lanka destroyed England in game seven by 87 runs.  Batting first, the hosts amassed 302-6 from their allotment thanks to the aforementioned Dislhan knock and rollicking fifties from Dinesh Chandimal and Thisara Perera.  The old guard and captain Angelo Matthews added useful contributions and in unison with Dilshan always had the home side heading towards a large total.  Sangakkara did not reach the lofty heights of earlier in the series but when he got to 6 he broke Ricky Ponting’s record of most runs in a calendar year across all formats (FYI, Ponting had 2833 in 2005).

Moeen Ali and Chris Jordan – as he has done through most of the series – were the pick of the England bowlers.  Unfortunately, Ali couldn’t bring the bowling form to his bating.  His premeditated swipe at a straight, innocuous Dilshan ball set the tone for a collapse that would soon become 78-5.  Only Joe Root – again, as he has done all series – showed some fight.  Only the lack of partners got in the way of him putting up another ODI century.  His performances along with those of Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes (notwithstanding the tap he got in this game), and Chris Jordan are the major triumphs of England’s series.

Still of major concern is the form of Alastair Cook.  BBC analyst Simon Hughes commented after the game that the Sri Lankan players appeared to “feel sorry” for the England captain when he was dismissed after a scratchy 32, and even Cook himself has softened his position on whether he’ll captain at the World Cup.  He has hinted that he can have “no complaints” if he is stood down as he has not scored the runs or had the wins he would have liked.

To cap off the farewell and to send the crowd into a fits of joy, Jayawardene and Sangakkara combined to have James Tredwell stumped in the final act of the game.  It wasn’t his first ODI wicket but will probably go down as the most memorable.

Sri Lanka 302 for 6 (Dilshan 101, Chandimal 55*, T Perera 54) beat England 215 (Root 80, Prasanna 3-35, Dilshan 3-37) by 87 runs

Cricket: Sri Lanka restore two game lead with well-timed chase

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The result seemed inevitable throughout much of the game, however, the closeness of the finish was slightly unexpected.  After England made a total that, to the majority of critics, was twenty runs below par, the classy Sri Lankan lynchpins guided a chase effortlessly but didn’t quite close it out until two balls to spare.

Kumar Sangakkara (84) led most of the chase for 266 and it seemed likely he would go on to register a 20th international ODI cricket century.  His surprise exit though, sent a few ripples through the local batsmen; needing captain Angelo Matthews (51*) to steer them home, and in the process record a half-century of his own.

The win, Sri Lanka’s third of the cricket series, was finally delivered by Matthews and Lahiru Thirimanne who enjoyed a stand of 53 that reinforced the good work of Sangakkare and Mahela Jayawardene (44).

In all honesty Sri Lanaka should have been chasing more than 266.  England overcame the early loss of Alex Hales (0) to find themselves in a strong position at 164/3 at the beginning of the batting power play.  That proved the downfall for England who then failed to press on and put the game beyond doubt.  18 from the bat of Eoin Morgan was needed off Tillakaratne Dilshan’s final over just to make the target competitive.  The return to form for Eoin Morgan was one of the bright spots for England.  We anticipated / hoped for his return to form earlier in the week.

The other bright spot was undoubtedly the innings of diminutive right hander James Taylor (90).  After a two year one day cricket hiatus and a nervy start, Taylor settled in for an excellent knock where he manipulated the field nicely and challenged the bowlers to find a length that fit his small stature.  Amongst his and Morgan’s efforts Joe Root added a useful 36 but the others failed to find a suitable scoring method off the stifling Sri Lankan spin.  Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes in particular continue to look like fish out of water against spin.

Looking more comfortable against the spin of Moeen Ali and Joe Root is the entire Sri Lankan order.  Even the short of runs Kusal Perrera (31)  was able to find some form.  They’re also not struggling against seam either.  Steven Finn continues to struggle and only Chris Jordan (2-35) was penetrating in these Colombo conditions.

Significant improvement is needed from England when cricket returns for game 5.  While publicly they will claim they are still in the series, they’re not, and the remaining games will mainly be used to test top order combinations when Alastair Cook’s returns.

England are now at $13 to win the series at Bet365.  A 6-1 series score is at $3.50.

Sri Lanka 267 for 4 (Sangakkara 86, Mathews 51*) beat England 265 (Taylor 90, Morgan 62, Herath 3-36) by six wickets

Cricket: Sri Lanka go two up after emphatic win

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England’s one-day international cricket woes continued with a second loss in game two of their bi-lateral series against Sri Lanka.   The Colombo hosted encounter contrasted significantly from game one, where a flat pitch made for a high scoring encounter. Game two on the other hand was played on a much tackier, much trickier surface, and England’s flailing batsmen struggled to a limp 185 all out.

The sticky pitch was the perfect platform for the Sri Lankan spin attack to strangle and frustrate an England lineup grappling with the balance between aggressiveness and recklessness.  Of their top order, only Joe Root (42) and Ravi Bopara (51) displayed any staying power. Bopara particularly, backing up his strong effort in the first cricket game, crafted a nicely paced half-century without any boundaries. This was after Alastair Cook and Ian Bell both failed again, heaping further pressure on their places in the side. Eoin Morgan too is under increasing pressure. He has failed to pass 50 in any of his last 14 innings.

England’s meek effort reeked of uncertainty and an inability to adapt their gameplan to reach a respectable target.   Hard hands were never going to be suitable for this wicket as Bopara and Root proved as they executed deft flicks and deflections.

Sri Lanka’s response was classy. Cricket run machines Kumar Sangakkara (67) and Mahela Jayawardene (77) effortlessly manipulated bowlers and fielders to chase down England’s modest total for the loss of just two wickets.  Jayawardene was man of the match for his match winnings knock, although the bowling of Tillakaratne Dilshan (2-32) and Ajantha Mendis (3-33) was also deserving of significant praise.

The sleepy run chase was conducted with that much ease it at times look nothing more than an open wicket practice for the veterans. Only Ali and Steven Finn, who was returning from injury, took wickets in an otherwise untroubled and clinical lesson in chasing a cricket total.

As the on day international cricket series heads to Hambantota, England need a confidence building win, whereas Sri Lanka will look to keep the foot firmly down on the throttle in their languid, handsome way.