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Download PDF Mashrafe Bin Mortaza removed both openers with dangerman Sanath Jayasuriya out for a duck as Sri Lanka struggled to 39 for two in 6 overs in a crucial Super Eights tie of the ICC World Twenty20 Championship in Johannesburg yesterday.
Facing his first ball, Jayasuriya crashed a long hop from Mashrafe to the point boundary where Mahmudullah Riyad, making his tournament debut, was posted precisely and he gleefully obliged.
And then in the sixth over, Mushfiqur Rahim somehow held on to an outside edge from Upul Tharanga (23) off Syed Rasel. The ball lodged in between his legs as he made up for the earlier dropped chance off Kumar Sangakkara in the second over of the innings as Mohammad Ashraful asked the Lankans to bat under lights.
Sangakkara was batting on 6 while captain Mahela Jayawardene was on 2.
Bangladesh replaced all-rounders Alok Kapali and Farhad Reza with two more — Nadif Chowdhury and Mahmudullah Riyad. For Sri Lanka, Farveez Maharoof came in for Gayan Wijekoon.
In the earlier game at the Wanderers, captain Shoaib Malik and Misbahul Haq put on a century partnership as Pakistan stunned Australia by six wickets while in Durban, England lost three wickets in the space of five balls as New Zealand won a tense match by five runs.
The pair of Malik and Misbah put on 119 off 78 balls for the unbroken fifth wicket to help their team recover from 46-4 and surpass Australia’s 164-7 with five balls to spare in a Group F match of the second phase.
Man-of-the-match Misbah smashed an unbeaten 66 off 42 balls and Malik chipped in with 52 not out as Pakistan virtually assured themselves of a place in the semifinals.
England seemed on course for a win when they restricted New Zealand to 164 for nine.
New opening pair Darren Maddy and Vikram Solanki put on 64 for the first wicket. Maddy seemed well on the way to a man-of-the-match performance when he made 50 off 31 balls after pulling off a direct-hit run-out and taking two wickets but he became the first of three run-out victims as the England challenge subsided.
Needing 20 to win off the last two overs, England’s hopes crashed when Owais Shah was run out after he and Luke Wright had put on 42 for the sixth wicket.
New batsman Dimitri Mascarenhas was caught at deep cover off the next ball from Shane Bond and Wright followed in the same way three balls later.
Pakistan’s second win in the group, following the 33-run win over Sri Lanka on Monday, left them needing a point against Bangladesh in Cape Town on Thursday to move into the last four.
Australia, who must beat Sri Lanka on Thursday to stay in contention for the semi-finals, were left to ponder the jinx that the Wanderers ground holds for them.
The result in Durban meant that New Zealand would reach the semifinals while England faced almost certain elimination.
September 19th, 2007 at 3:56 am
reporters are too quick to report sometimes based on truth & most of the time on assumtion.
Our Cricket team still at learners stage in the field of world cricket.
However we should encourage them to be more trained to get a place in the cricket world.