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Ranatunga leads Sri Lanka
from front to final Skipper Arjuna Ranatunga led from the front with a spectacular century as a magnificent batting exhibition by the world champions Sri Lanka set them up for a comfortable 87-run victory over New Zealand in the final league match of the Nidahas Trophy cricket tournament at SSC grounds yesterday. Bundling out New Zealand for 206 after amassing 293 for 4, Sri Lankans topped the final points table to enter Tuesday's final against India. Thirty four year old Ranatunga who jokingly boasted after the match that "The most important thing is that the old man can still run" with commentator Ian Chappell, produced an innings which belied his age. The effervescent left hander pulverised the helpless Kiwi attack with his sublime strokes and frustrated them with his cheeky singles and two's on his way to his fourth one day century which set up the tempo for a rapid Sri Lankan total realising at nearly six runs per over. Ranatunga came one place up in a reshuffled Sri Lankan batting order at number four and made the maximum use of the extra overs he had, smashing six fours and two sixes in making his 102 runs off just 98 balls. With his deputy Aravinda de Silva who was also promoted to number 3 from his usual number four slot, Ranatunga added 132 runs for the third wicket in 23 overs at a rate of over six runs per over to fashion the big Sri Lankan total. The pair who got together when the total was on 92 for 2 in the 18th over, lifted the score to 224 by the 41st over putting Sri Lankans firmly on road to victory. In-form De Silva scored his third half century of the tournament and was finally dismissed while attempting to step on the accelerator when he was caught off a top edge at third man by Stephen Fleming to the bowling of Chris Harris. The usually flamboyant right hander who was given an early life when he was on just 13 by Chris Cairns off Chris Harris, played rather a subdued innings, stroking only two boundaries and a solitary six in the 82 balls he faced to make 62. Hard hitting all rounder Upul Chandana, also promoted up the order ahead of recognised batsmen such as Roshan Mahanama and Marvan Atapattu played a typically explosive 27 in 25 balls while partnering Ranatunga for a breezy 58-run fourth wicket stand in eight overs before Ranatunga made his exit in the penultimate over. Ranatunga who was trying to increase the scoring rate further top edged a delivery from Craig McMillan to Fleming at third man with the total on 282. Ranatunga who displayed more interest in his team's total and the scoring rate rather than his personal glory, almost perished in his unselfish cause when he was twice dropped by New Zealanders with the century in sight. Ranatunga was let off by substitute fielder Craig Spearman and Ranatunga's opposite number Fleming at mid wicket on 83 and 86 when he tried to loft Chris Harris and Nathan Astle in a bid to move up the rate. Chandana who justified his promotion slammed an unbeaten 27 in 25 balls with two boundaries. Earlier, openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kauwitharana put together 69 runs in 12 overs to lay the foundation for a big total after Kiwis won the toss and invited the locals in first. Jayasuriya made 24 in 30 balls while Kaluwitharana showed he has returned to very best by striking the ball very confidently with sweet timing and making perfect contact on his way to a dashing 54 in 64 balls. New Zealand were facing an almost impossible task of scoring Sri Lanka's runs in just 41.4 overs in order to obtain the necessary run rate to qualify for the finals. Bryan Young who had been in good form in the Sri Lankan tour, was dismissed early when he played an indiscreet cut shot to a poor ball - a juicy full toss and was superbly caught at cover by Roshan Mahanama. Mahanama, undoubtedly the best fielder in the local side but who has been disappointingly chopped off from the side to tour England next week, etched his name in the one day international records with that catch as only the fourth player in one day international cricket history to claim hundred catches. Newly installed young medium pace bowler Suresh Perera who claimed that wicket for a full toss however not went unpunished for his pathetic standard and was blasted 34 runs in four overs, 17 of which came in the fourth over before being removed from the attack. The merciless assault of New Zealand second wicket pair Nathan Astle and Stephen Fleming should also have served to rub sense into the selectors and others authorities who have a soft corner for the 21-year old. Astle and Fleming shared an entertaining 67 run partnership in nine overs which at one stage put Kiwis on par with the improbable asking rate. But after Fleming was dismissed for 20 in the 11th over New Zealanders failed to keep pace with the mounting required rate while wickets fell at regular intervals. Astle however kept one end determinedly, hitting 74 off 76 balls with six boundaries and three huge sixes. Left arm spinner Niroshan Bandaratilleke bowled admirably and aggressively with the new ball to claim 2 for 35 in nine overs while Muttiah Muralitharan and Upul Chandana also picked two wickets each. But the pick of the bowlers was undoubtedly Sanath Jayasuriya who continued from his magnificent last over against India and bowled superbly to finish with 3 for 28. In the last two overs of his spell, the left arm leg spinner was simply unplayable, obtaining a huge turn to bowl left handers Chris Harris and Daniel Vettori. He conceded just six runs in the last two overs but surprisingly he was taken off the attack and Sri Lankans had their work prolonged, requiring another eight overs to claim the final wicket without Jayasuriya.
Sri Lanka S. Jayasuriya c Cairns b Vettori 24 R. Kaluwitharana c Astle b Harris 54 A. de Silva c Fleming b Harris 62 A. Ranatunga c Fleming b McMillan 102 U. Chandana not out 27 M. Atapattu not out 6 Extras (lb-6 w-12) 18 Total (for four wkts) 293 Fall of wickets: 1-69 2-92 3-224 4-282 Did not bat: R. Mahanama, K. Dharmasena, N. Bandaratileke, M. Muralitharan, S. Perera. Bowling: Cairns 7-0-52-0 (7w), Nash 5-0-30-0 (1w), Vettori 10-0-53-1 (1w), Harris 10-1-44-2 (1w), Wiseman 6-0-32-0 (2w), McMillan 7-0-38-1, Astle 5-0-38-0. New Zealand B.Young c Mahanama b Perera 3 N.Astle c De Silva b Chandana 74 S.Fleming c Dharmasena b Bandaratileke 20 C.McMillan c Muralitharan b Bandaratileke 5 M.Horne c Kaluwitharana b Muralitharan 4 C.Cairns c Kaluwitharana b Jayasuriya 28 C.Harris b Jayasuriya 2 A.Parore not out 28 D.Nash c Chandana b Muralitharan 3 D.Vettori b Jayasuriya 0 P.Wiseman c Dharmasena b Chandana 16 Extras (lb-10 w-12 nb-1) 23 Total (all out, 39.1 overs) 206 Fall of wickets: 1-11 2-78 3-86 4-106 5-152 6-154 7-163 8-172 9-176 10-206. Bowling: Perera 4-0-34-1 (3w), Bandaratileke 9-0-35-2 (2w), Dharmasena 2-0-24-0 (2w), Muralitharan 10-0-49-2 (1nb, 2w), Jayasuriya 8-0-28-3 (3w), Chandana 6.1-0-26-2. Result: Sri Lanka beat New Zealand 87 runs. Man of the Match: A. Ranatunga Final on July 7: Sri Lanka v India at R. Premadasa Stadium (day/night).
CR outclass Army in hostile
game Aggressiveness sadly had to come over morality in the Army -CR match, which the latter won 38-13 at Havelock Park yesterday. Players from both sides were guilty of misconduct, but at times it was evident that fingers were pointed more at the Army players. The first instance for rough play was noticed when Army centre Taniela Kunarara flung CR’s M.J. Mushtaq on to the advertisement boards when without the ball, and minutes later Nalaka Weerakkody seemed to have some trouble with the Army reserves when he was bundled out of touch. CR’s Paul Bennet also got a severe warning from referee Roshan Deen for punching a player mid way in the second half. Army were however in the game till the last fifteen minutes trailing 13-24, before the red shirts scored twice in quick succession to romp home easy winners in the end . CR crossed the Army line twice in the first half through Sajith Mallikarachchi and Alfred Hensman, but Kunarara’s try which brought the soldiers into the game had a touch of Fijian magic in it. The centre chip kicked from inside CR’s forty and picked up the egg shaped object ten metres from the goal line before powering his way over the line. Full back T.D. Silva made a superb conversion to make the score 17-7 at half time. The winners further scored through Benett, Mushtaq and Hensman with the last coming off the wittiness of the CR players who handed the ball to the former Royalist following a quick throw in from mid field. Weerakkody goaled all three tries. Full back Silva converted two penalties in the second half , which happened to be the only scoring for Army. Netball Nationals Hatton National Bank (HNB) successfully defended their National Netball title for the fifth year in succession when they defeated Ports Authority (SLPA) 51-33 at the picturesque Welagedera Stadium here last evening. The victory of the final was always in the balance as both teams were studded with talented National players with many international match experiences, behind them. Both teams lived up to their full potential in the first two quarters going neck to neck in all departments, which was a treat for the spectators. But change of attitude and tactics by the Bankers took the Ports Authority team by surprise. It was this factor that enabled the victorious team to turn the game in their favour. The Bankers which led 13-7 and 13-8 in the first two quarters put victory beyond the Ports Authority, when they won the third quarter 16-6. The SLPA showed a minor blemish in the twilight stages of the match winning the last quarter 12-8, but it was not good enough to upset the victory celebration of NHB. Undoubtedly HNB's shooting star Jayanthi S. de Silva tormented the SLPA team by scoring freely and with sheer accuracy. She scored 21 goals off only 28 attempts with an unbelievable 90% success rate while Deepthi Rupasinghe scored 25 out of 26 attempts. The fine team coordination put together by their coach Lourdes Jayasekera too was a plus point for them. The Ports Authority team debutant Niroshani Samudrika though did not perform well at crucial stages managed to net in 13 goals from 26 chances while National player Manoji Preethika shot 20 out of 34 attempts. The SLPA though had 'big names' like Vajira, Deepthi, Harshani and Damayanthi at their disposal the team did not have a good understanding among them which resulted in the opponents receiving the ball more easily than they expected. However with more practice the SLPA showed promise as maturing into a major force to be reckond with in the very near future. Meanwhile in the Semi-finals Kandy District unleashed a stupendous performance going down 42-43 to SLPA, HNB found their passage to the final with a 61-22 triumph over Kurunegala. The National championship organised jointly by the Netball Federation and Kurunegala NA guided by its President Anoma Jayawardane also awarded Rs. 7500 for the victorious HNB team, while SLPA received Rs. 5000. Kandy NA which edged out Kurunegala 29-16 collected Rs 2500. Salinda Dissanayake, Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Forestry was the chief guest and gave away the awards. Special Merit Awards — Best Defender - Harshani Wijayalath (HNB), Best Shooter - Jayanthi de Silva (HNB), Best Centre Court player - Damayanthi Jayatilleke (HNB), Best outstation player - Dilini Wickramasinghe (Kurunegala NA), Netball queen - Somitha Kumari (HNB), Results - Quarter finals - HNB beat Kegalle 52-5, Kurunegala NA beat Monaragala 36-18, SLPA beat Polonnaruwa 39-14, Kandy beat NYSC 29-18. Sri Lanka raises signals of
warning to Indians Sri Lankan stars have begun to shine after days of cloud-covered skies and melancholy atmosphere. Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva deciding they had lingered too long in the shade of their colleagues who in their sojourn in the darkness had nevertheless done Sri Lanka yeoman service came into their own yesterday. Together they tore the New Zealand bowling apart both playing their stellar roles to perfection in style and manner add at the same time raising signals of warning to their Indian opponents. Taking the cue from the openers Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana they fairly blazed their way to set up the highest total in the series thus far. Both played breath-taking scoring strokes which seemed to set the SSC outfield on fire. Each played a dominating innings stroke for stroke and run for run, but it was Ranatunga who stole the show from his vice captain though there was no attempt whatsoever to monopolise the strike or upstage one over the other. It was perfect understanding and selfless effort on the part of each though even de Silva would scarce challenge his skipper’s ascendant role. Together they put paid to any thought of New Zealand’s chances. It was batting of supreme skill and an exhibition of technical perfection. It was a delight to the eye and a revelation that batsmen could dazzle with skill and style rather than tempestual fireworks. It gladdened the eye and the heart. Sri Lanka and New Zealand went into this match knowing full well that one or the other had to win, at the same time satisfying certain mathematical requirement. So each in turn set out at furious pace. Each maintained a rate of five per over for a start but whereas Sri Lanka continued at that pace without losing wickets, New Zealand could not keep going at that and also keep their wickets intact. Of course, after Sri Lanka had scored nearly 300 in their allotted fifty overs. New Zealand’s fate was sealed more or less and so they died in a gallant attempt. Astle was foremost in the New Zealand charge for victory. He struck the ball fiercely and well to score a most creditable seventy odd runs. Sri Lanka now come to a show down with India in the final to be played Day/Night at the Khettarama Stadium on Tuesday. May good weather prevail. Yasmin and Padmini leave for
Malaysia Two qualified squash coaches Yasmin Zarook and Padmini Samarasinghe left yesterday for Malaysia to participate in the level two Squash Coaching Camp. Yasmin Zarook the National Champion and also the veteran player with Padmini Samarasinghe the Secretary of the Sri Lanka Squash Federation will take part in this coaching camp before the 9th Asian Squash championships scheduled to be held from July 10 to 19 in Malaysia. Zarook will lead the National Women's team in the Asian championships while Padmini Samarasinghe will join as Manager on this tour. According to the Secretary of SLSF Padmini Samarasinghe 16 countries from the Asian region will take part in this tournament. Rest of the Sri Lanka team members will leave on Friday to participate in the tournament. |
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