Usual suspects hurt NZ

Sangakkaras 111 and Muralis 4/25 leads Lanka to emphatic 112-run win.

It may have been their first neutral game during this World Cup campaign,but everything that took place at the Wankhede Stadium resembled a Lankan home ground quite distinctively. It could well have been Colombo or Galle,as the usual pressure of losing early wickets caused the rise of the usual suspects to rescue the team with the bat,before their age-old hero spun them to victory with the ball.

Kumar Sangakkara,deputy Mahela Jayawardene and the irrepressible Muttiah Muralitharan rolled back both space and time to take Sri Lanka to the top of Group A on a massive wave of momentum. The trio led from the front,Sangakkara and Jayawardene sharing a crucial century stand their 11th in ODI cricket,record ninth for the third wicket before Murali strangled the Kiwi middle-order with four wickets,completing an emphatic 112-run victory.

NZ would have backed themselves to chase down the target of 266 as long as the dangerous Ross Taylor was at the crease. But after toying with the Kiwis mind with a series of doosras and top spinners,Murali trapped Taylor in the crease to the conventional off-spinner.

He had earlier foxed young Kane Williamson with the doosra,and went on to take the wickets of Scott Styris and James Franklin,the last of the recognised NZ batsmen. All the while bowling with a dodgy knee that saw him leave the field twice,and with a soaking wet ball that had to be rubbed dry of dew every time it was bowled. Muralis miserly spell of eight overs for 25 runs hypnotised the flat-footed Kiwis,even as they tried to keep up with the required run-rate before ultimately being bowled out for 153 with 15 overs to spare.

That they were even chasing a decent total was thanks to Jayawardene and Sangakkara. With two wickets down that of the in-form Upul Tharanga and the destructive Tillakaratne Dilshan for next to nothing,NZ would be forgiven for thinking they had the upper hand. But over the last 11 years since they have batted together,whenever the opposition has struck the early blows,Sangakkara and Jayawardene invariably rescue the side.

On Friday,with Lanka once again in trouble at 19/2,the duo battled for their side. It wasnt as though the Kiwis didnt have their chances. Batting on 34,Jayawardene lobbed back a delivery that seemed to stop on him.

No harm seemed to have been done as the ball looped harmlessly to the right of the bowler. McCullum dove full length towards the safely falling delivery,and emerged miraculously clutching the ball in the tips of his right fingers with a victorious roar.

Caught or dropped?

Story continues below this ad

The matter went up to the third umpire who gave the reprieve to Jayawardene,although the fans thought otherwise. But as far as the pair was concerned,there was no looking back after that,as the two plotted their rescue act. Sangakkara broke the shackles in the 35th over,lifting Scott Styris down the ground for his first six,while Jayawardene followed it up with a four dabbed fine in the same over. The Lankans took the batting powerplay in the 37th over and yet again a settled batsman fell. Tim Southee got his sights set and landed the perfect delivery,one that trapped Jayawardene plumb in front for a 90-ball 66. But at 164/3,the rescue was complete,and so was the partnership of 145 runs.

The skipper though,pressed forward with increased tempo to reach his first in nearly two years moving from 79 to 100 in the space of seven balls. He fell a couple of overs after that for 111,but he along with his able aide,had done their job.

Lights out at Wankhede

With one ball remaining in the 27th over,play was halted for a few moments when one of the floodlight towers failed momentarily. SL skipper Kumar Sangakkara said after the match that such glitches do tend to happen,and did not take away from the rest of stadium which he termed as wonderful. Spare generators will be provided to the stadium,which next hosts the final on April 2. ENS