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Sri Lanka lose "Nidahas" Trophy
after Indian openers set new world record Just as their forefathers fought for freedom of their country, Aravinda de Silva, Roshan Mahanama and the rest of the Sri Lankan cricketers waged a determined battle for the 'Nidahas Trophy' but failed at the threshold of victory as the cricket tournament final ended in a dramatic six run win for India at Premadsa stadium last night. De Silva fighting a battle of his own when he had to get the help of Sanath Jayasuriya as a runner because of an injury, registered a brilliant century against tremendous odds while England tour discard Mahanama showed the true Sri Lankan guts with a gallant 44 as the home team chasing a mammoth Indian total of 307 for 6, fell to 301 all out with victory in sight. De Silva and Mahanama almost carried Lankans to an improbable victory in a magnificent 75 run stand for the fifth wicket which brought them up to 272 for 4 by the 44th over. At that stage Sri Lankans needed just 36 runs in six overs with six wickets in hand but the dismissal of tired out de Silva completely changed the complexion of the game as Indians came back roaring into contention. Under pressure and through panic caused by a quick requirement of runs, Sri Lankan late order failed to respond as Indians tightened the grip. The last six Sri Lankan wickets tumbled for just 29 runs in six overs handing a breath taking victory to the Indians in a match which encompassed all the excitement of a cricket match. In every sense the final lived up to its billing and was as thrilling as it could be. De Silva and Mahanama built their alliance in just 12 overs at rate well over six runs per over before de Silva was dismissed caught at mid on by Harbajan Singh off medium pacer Ajit Agarkar for 105 which made in just 94 balls. It was de Silva's 11th one day century. Mahanama then tried his best to steer the locals to victory, taking all responsibilities on to his shoulders but an unfortunate run out caused by panic signalled his end in the 48 th over and with it also came the end of the victory hopes of Lankans. Mahanama scored 44 in 49 balls in an innings which reflected his skill, fighting qualities and the love for the country's cause. Answering his critics with his bat, Mahanama simply made the national selectors look a bunch of fools who did not select him for the England tour probably through other interests. Earlier de Silva shared another excellent 87 run stand for the third wicket with Marvan Atapattu in 14 overs which realised smoothly at the required rate while putting Sri Lankans right on road to victory. Atapattu made 39 in 52 balls and assisted de Silva nicely in the stand which was broken on 160 when Atapattu was caught at long off attempting a big hit off spinner Harbajan Singh. Skipper Arjuna Ranatunga was shaping up well but fell for a fantastic diving catch by wicket keeper Nayan Mongia off Agarkar for 23 with total on 197 after a 37 run partnership with de Silva. Openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana shared 59 runs in eight overs to do the early hitting but they simply failed to match the remarkable act of the two Indian openers. Earlier a world record opening stand between Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly put India firmly on the victory path. The two in-form batsmen completely dominated the pathetic Sri Lankan bowling attack an raced to an imperious 252-run partnership in only 44 at nearly six runs per over. Master batsman Tendulkar who has been in awesome form in the tournament continued his brilliance smashing a blistering 128 in 131 balls in an innings which ensured him a place in history among the game's greatest. Tendulkar unleashed a magnificent repeater of blazing strokes and smashed eight fours and two sixes on his way to making his 17th one day century which made him joint highest century maker in the one day international history. Desmond Haynes of west Indies also made 17 centuries. During this innings Tendulkar also became only the fourth man in one day history to score 7000 runs. Only Desmond Haynes, Mohammad Azharuddin and Aravinda de Silva have achieved the feat earlier. Left hander Ganguly was also seen in his elegant best, during an innings which on any other day than the little maestro got going could have won the acclaim as the best. Ganguly scored 109 in 136 balls with six fours and two sixes as the pair thrashed the local bowlers mercilessly to all parts of the ground. Finally it was broken and the pair perished in successive balls but they had already done the damage when it happen in the 44th over. Tendulkar was stumped by Sri Lankan wicket keeper Romesh Kaluwitharana when Tendular stepped out to blast Sanath Jayasuriya in an attempt to accelerate further. Third umpire required an awfully long time before finally lighting the red and in the next ball, Muralitharan who started a new over from the other end held a beautiful return catch when Ganguly tried to flick him and provided a top edge. Ganguly earlier had one life on 18 when Kaluwitharana missed ane asy stumping off Bandaratilleka when total was just 51. But Tendulkar's innings was chanceless. After their departure Indians had only another six overs during which they added 55 further runs for the loss of four wickets. Ajay Jadeja played a big role in those overs clobbering two sixes in making 25 off 15 balls. Skipper Mohamed Azharuddinw as unfortunate when Upul Chandana's ball deflected off his leg to stumps to dismiss him for five while left hander Robin Singh made 15 in eight balls. Robin Singh and Jadeja put on 35 runs for the fourth wicket in two overs before Singh was adjudged run out by umpire B. C. Cooray while the TV replays showed bowler Jayasuriya to have dropped the ball before breaking stumps. Cooray did not ask third umpire to make the decision. None of the Sri Lankan bowlers made any impression, when India won the toss and elected to bat first. The record partnership between Tendulkar and Ganguly erased the previous world record opening stand between Kenya's Dipak Chudasama and Kennedy Otieno which stood at 225 since last year. SCOREBOARD India S.Ganguly c and b Muralitharan 109 Extras (lb-3 w-12) 15 Bowling: Wickremasinghe 7-0-43-0 (3w), Bandaratileke 5-0-36-0
(4w), Sri Lanka S.Jayasuriya c Ganguly b Agarkar 32 Extras (b-1 lb-15 w-4 nb-2) 22 Bowling: Agarkar 10-0-53-4 (1w, 1nb), Prasad 10-0-56-1 (1w), Result: India beat Sri Lanka by six runs. Man of the Match: Sachin Tendulkar. NWP Chief Minister wants a Test
venue at Welagedera D. B. Welagedara Stadium in Kurunegala will be upgraded as a Test venue, pledged the Chief Minister of North Western Province (NWP) Nimal Bandara at the opening ceremony of the National Netball Championships here last Saturday. Speaking to ‘The Island’ he said that he would bring in a motion in this regard at this month’s NWP Provincial Council meeting. "All members have accepted this idea and this motion is only a formality" he said. The Chief Minister who is an old boy of Maliyadewa Vidyalaya who played cricket for the school said that there are only two hurdles over this issue to declare this as a ‘Test’ venue. "One is a pavilion and the second is to find additional playing area." The Minister said that there was adequate land close to Athagala rock belonging to the government, which can be acquired to extend the ground. "We are confident that the Cricket Board and Sports Ministry would contribute financially to this project to put up the pavilion and scoreboard. Our Provincial Council will also shoulder part of the financial burden," he said. The Minister said that it was not advisable to spend millions and build a new Test venue. "The Government must upgrade the existing venues before planning to put up new venues at Dambulla." The Minister explained that Kurunegala public had been seriously involved in cricket in the past 40 years and it was unfair to deprive Kurunegala of a Test venue. |
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