Srilanka VS Australia..Live updates...

SL 14/0 2 OVERS...BRIGHT START... 👏 👏

SL 26/1 4.3 OVERS...JAYASURIYA OUT... 😭 ..how come its only me 2day..where r d oders..????

SL 22 overs 81/3...

oh no jayasuriya OUT!! 😭 😭 😭

Sri Lanka 27/2 (5.6 ov) - Sangakara OUT!!😭

Jayawardene- 0
Tharanga- 6

****

Sri Lanka 27/3 (6.4 ov)- Tharanga OUT!!😭

LPC Silva - 0
Jawardene - 0

very interesting match..like reharsal of final.. 😛

I think they'll be able to get 250

Thanks for the updates,

Everyone has gone back to schools/college today, so vacations are so over so no one is around

41st over: WICKET - Dilshan c Hodge b Tait 7, SL 178-6
It's three in four overs! Dilshan tries to pull the returning Tait, gets hurried up and spoons it straight to Hodge at midwicket. 40th over: WICKET - Jayawardene st Gilchrist b Hogg 72, SL 173-5
That's a biggie, and what a dismissal - Hoggie drifts one past the edge of the the groping Jayawardene's bat, Gilchrist spots the toe has inched forward and the bails are off. Doctrove gives it without so much as a whisper to the third umpo. 2-35 off 10 for Hoggy, and Hussey runs over for a high five. 39th over: SL 173-4
Tillakaratne Dilshan in, and Clarke's tidy darts continue - just four more singles. 38th over: WICKET - Silva c Clarke b Hogg 64, SL 167-4
That's blown it - Silva tries to slog-sweep Hoggy, gets a top-edge and Clarke bags the easiest of snags at short fine leg. Big jump in the air from bowler, 'keeper and sundry fielders. 37th over: SL 167-3
Four singles off Clarke - partnership up to 140. 36th over: SL 163-3
Delightful shot from Skipper - the most delicate of late-dabs off Hogg for four down to third man. Rumour has it that former Aussie paceman Carl Rackemann is in the ground - wonder if he fancies a joust at breaking this partnership? 35th over: SL 156-3
Silva's ditched his lid as the heat builds, and he pulls Clarke happily. Good running by this pair - they work ones and twos at will as Clarke goes for eight off the over. Innings-saving partnership, this - 250's looking very possible again. 34th over: SL 148-3
Nice from Jawaw - he steps away to cut Hoggy square. Haydos powers round the cover boundary and makes a diving save before hurling the ball back in with the strength of a bionic man. 33rd over: SL 141-3
That's Silva's 50 too, coming off 90 balls. Taito gets the smallest slice of revenge for his flaying in the last over by cracking the skipper on the elbow with a snorting bouncer but then gets popped away for single after single. 32nd over: SL 134-3
Ponto's had enough - he turns to Bracks to tighten things up. Does a job, too - with Gillie standing up, Silva plays and misses twice outside off-stump. Mike Hussey jogs across at the end of the over and gives Bracken a friendly pat on the rump. 31st over: SL 133-3
Absolute stinker from Taito - Jawaw tucks in to a leg-stump line with a flicked four over an unimpressed McGrath at short fine leg and then middles him way, way over midwicket for a massive six. Chuck in the wide down leg and the easy two off the final ball, and you've got yourself a far-from-happy Ponto. Half-ton for his opposite number. 30th over: SL 119-3
You can't argue with a powerplay to liven things up - Jawaw goes down on one knee against McGrath and pops him through leg slip for the cheekiest of fours. 29th over: SL 113-3
Taito is also back on as Ponting punts on a twin pace attack for the powerplay. Silva's well set now, though, and he drives the wayward one through the covers for a super four. He tries a pull next ball that nearly gets through him - prompting Jaya to have a quiet word - something along the lines of "behave" by the look of things. 28th over: SL 109-3
Punters decides enough is enough for this stand, and throws the ball back to Glenn McGrath. The Aussie skipper also takes the final powerplay and, after a quick single, Jaya digs one just over the head of Brad Hodge at short midwicket for a couple - Pigeon's not happy and demands Hodge grow 10 inches by the next over. Jaya ends the over with a wonderful clout over mid-off for four. 27th over: SL 102-3
Partnership up to 75 as Silva sweeps Clarkie. Gillie chews the webbing of his gloves. 26th over: SL 96-3
Silva finally gets hold of Hogg, pull-sweeping him square for the first four in living memory. Hogg winces and wipes his hand in the dust. 25th over: SL 91-3
More Clarkie, firing it in on middle with zero turn. We've hit the mid-innings slump here - neither the wicket-tastic thrash of the early overs nor the frantic slapping of the finale. 24th over: SL 90-3
Jawaw tries to clout Hogg to leg but has to settle for a single and dooblay. Out on the boundary, Tait's back on his yellow juice - hope none of the boys have played a cruel practical joke on him. 23rd over: SL 85-3
Clarke on for a slice of his own spin pie, and a slipped-out full toss gets walloped by Silva through Hogg's hands at short third man for two. The Aussie pair both look suitably ashamed. 22nd over: SL 81-3
Hogg's loving this - he's never been given this much respect in all his twirling days. Silva wants to get after him but he can't get close. From Andy in Leeds: "I'm sure Brad will stamp his authority and send 'em packing. He may even post a century - letters know." 21st over: SL 79-3
If only Symmo could tempt with his floater as well as Hoggy - he's straying down leg, and there's singles all over the place. Silva deflects cheekily to fine leg for four, and Symonds boots thin air in frustration. 20th over: SL 72-3
Silva's tempted by Hogg's floater, but changes his mind mid-joust and stabs it to slip. Hogg's on 0-5 off three - useful. 19th over: SL 70-3
Two to Silva as Symmo goes to leg, but there's a little pressure building here. Dirs should be the favourite on the dancing front, by the way - his electric boogaloo is quite something. 18th over: SL 67-3
Just one off Hogg's over. The postman always delivers etc etc. 17th over: SL 66-3
Andrew Symonds comes on, tying his dreds up before he does so. He starts off with his medium wobblers, and there's easy singles all over. There's a large block of Aussie fans that are dressed in such similar fashion they could be clones - all in yellow sun-hats and white sleeveless tops featuring a logo of a six-pack of a well-known lager that tastes of slightly less than london tap water. 16th over: SL 61-3
Brad Hogg for a twirl, left-arm over, and he keeps it tidy - just two singles. Used to be a postman, Brad Hogg. If anyone's bothered. 15th over: SL 59-3
Taito returns, and after the obligatory wide Jawaw drives him through point for two. He then goes straight with a textbook effort, and is so focused on holding his elbow-high pose for the cameras that he only gets a oner for it. From Gus in Bristol, TMS inbox: "Could we take a poll on what people think Murali is doing on his day off? Skydiving, building sandcastles, scuba-diving?" 14th over: SL 53-3
That's how you do it, says McGrath - bang on the spot, and just two singles. Tait glugs on a bright yellow beverage out on the boundary. Incredible attention to details, the Aussies under John Buchanan - they've even got their water in team colours. From James Middleton in Kent, TMS inbox: "Just wondering who, if it has been decided yet, gets to do the text commentary on the final out of you, Mr Dirs and the other, new chap. Do you draw straws or have some sort of three-way pistols-at-dawn scenario?" It goes to public vote, James - they're sacking off Any Dream Will Do on BBC1 next Saturday night and having Dirs, me and AN Other on instead. We've got to sing, dance and juggle in front of a panel of critical judges, with a public phone vote deciding the winner. 13th over: SL 51-3
Tait back on, and he's having a stinker - Silva gets a thick edge past the huge hams of Haydos at slip for four, and then slams a cut to the point boundary for another. A nose-cutter of a bouncer then gets called a wide, and Tait sugar-bowls the umpire mid-pitch. 0-27 off three for Taito. Ouch. 12th over: SL 42-3
Skipper takes things into his own hands, cracking McGrath over square leg with vigour and then gloving an attempted bouncer down to fine leg for four more. McGrath throws his hands in the air like a stroppy child who's just been told to go to bed early. 11th over: SL 34-3
Super stuff from Bracks - just a single to Jawaw. He's returned 2-8 off his six overs so far - the very antithesis of Mahmood. 10th over: SL 33-3
Five dotters from McGrath, and then Silva leans into an over-pitched one and creams him straight for four. Two huge cruise ships are parked in the harbour. Can't imagine anything worse than a cruise, myself - like a floating Butlin's with compulsory tap-dancing lessons, failed boy-band member singing popular classics and widespread seasickness. And no escape. 9th over: SL 29-3
Bracks to Skipper Jayawardene, and those pingers landing on middle and angling across are no fun to get away at all - it's another maiden. Plenty of yelp from Gillie behind the timbers; Haydos stands at slip with legs spread wide, chomping mechanically on a huge wad of gum. 8th over: SL 29-3
Maiden from McGrath, with Chamara Silva almost frozen in fear at the crease. From Steve Lowther in Manchester, TMS inbox: "I think Tait could be more accurately described as doing the sugar-bowl mid-pitch. Unless he had one arm on his hip and the other arm extended into a mock spout?" Good point Steve - you've rumbled me as a tea-bag-in-cup man. No class, that's the problem. 7th over: WICKET - Tharanga c Hayden b Bracken 6, SL 27-3
Hold on to your mouses - I mean mices - Tharanga's gone too! Left-arm-over Bracks tempts him into a lusty drive, there's an edge and Hayden bags the chance at first slip. Ponto dived across from second slip but pulled his podgy porkers out of the way just in time, and Hulk took the snag. 6th over: WICKET - Sangakkara lbw McGrath 0, SL 27-2
First over from McGrath, a massive appeal as Sanga shuffles back - and Aleem Dar has seen enough. Up goes the finger. Smiles all over Ponting's face - he's taking the credit for that bowling change - but Sanga's not a happy chap. Replays show that might have been going over the top. Hmmm... 5th over: WICKET - Jayasuriya lbw Bracken 12, SL 26-1
Swayze strikes, firing one into Jaya's motionless front pad as the old boy looks to flick to leg. Umpire Doctrove has his finger up in a flash, and Sri Lanka's number-one walloper is on his way. 4th over: SL 25-0
Taito's having a flinging ' mare - an attempted bouncer gets a top edge from Jaya and sails over Gillie's head for a one-bounce four. Jaya then gets on the drive for two down the ground, and Tait does the tea-pot mid-pitch. From Matthew in Sunderland, TMS inbox: "Is it just me who doesn't like the thought of one of Matty Hayden's 'protein shakes'?" 3rd over: SL 16-0
Bracks continues with two slips and a gully, long hair flapping in the style of Patrick Swayze in Point Break or Robbie Savage in a wind tunnel. Just a single and leg bye off the over. 2nd over: SL 14-0
Shaun Tait from the other end, grunting in Seles fashion as he releases the ball. There's more grunting from his skipper as his third ball sizzles down the leg side and sails away for five wides, Gilchrist waving a token glove at it as it disappears down to fine leg. Sunny day in Grenada, with a decent smattering of Aussie fans in the shady stands. 1st over: SL 5-0
Right - here we go - Sri Lanka trying to end Australia's 25-match unbeaten run in the World Cup, although not that hard. Nathan Bracken opens the attack to Upal Tharanga, who's probably been told by Tom Moody to bat with his eyes shut. Nate bends two past the outside edge before Thara grabs a single. Jayasuriya then drives uncertainly and whistles it between cover and point for the first four of the day.

49th over: WICKET - Bandara c Hogg b McGrath 17, SL 218-9
McGrath needed that - Maharoof had just driven him straight for a textbook four and then got a thick inside edge for another, and there were all sorts of sulks going on. Then Banda mis-times a pull, sends the ball loopiong towards midwicket and Hogg strolls round to do the honours. 48th over: SL 206-8
Banda goes again against Clarke, and it's another six to the same location - high over wide long-on. 16 off 17 for the other Malinga. 47th over: SL 197-8
Bandara tries to do his bit to up it - he swings freely at McGrath and connects beautifully for a whopping six. Glenn kicks the turf. 46th over: SL 189-8
Make that 3-11 for Bracks - they can't get him away at all. 15 overs since the last boundary, and the run-rate's down to just over four an over. 45th over: SL 187-8
Not sure Maharoof and new man Bandara fancy this much - it's all got a bit pacey. Tait concludes with two bouncers and just three singles off his final over. His figures: 2-68 off 10. A group of Aussie sheiks - green headresses, yellow everywhere else - jump for joy. 44th over: WICKET - Kulasekara c Hayden b Bracken 1, SL 184-8
Bracken back, and he's in the wickets from the off - running one across the clueless Kula, taking the edge and celebrating as Hayden leans to his left to bag the chance. Bracks' figures so far: 3-9 off eight overs. With three maidens. 43rd over: WICKET - Arnold b Tait 3, SL 183-7
Good come-back from Taito, this - Russel tries to pull off the back foot against a fast short one and plays straight onto his timbers. It's all falling apart here, and the zinc cream-covered Aussies are cockahoop.

42nd over: SL 180-6
Clarke's doing the bizzo for his team here - just two off the over, and 28 off his seven so far. Maharoof and Arnold together, but the momentum has gone.

Australia need 148 runs in 220 balls with 9 wickets in hand at 4.04 RPO

Australia


79/1

In 13.2 overs
Run Rate: 5.93

Originally posted by: Super~Star~Sri

They are playing pretty good... However, i want Srilanka to win... 152-3... 74 to win.

yea...looks like this will be fast as the aussies are having great overs...jayasuriya is also gettting very angry...

but i am enjoying it...u?

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The top captains in this Cup have produced moments of inspiration that defies cricketing logic - or at least, the sort of cricketing logic you can see from the outside looking in.

Stephen Fleming, opting for McMillan the other day when the game was getting away from him, was one; Mahela Jayawardene, bowling Russel Arnold against Australia in the 11th over of the innings, with the power play on and openers Mathew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist moving into rampage mode, is another.

The two openers had started slowly, even a touch shakily - not so much because of the bowling, which was in the hands of the steady Fernando and the waryward Maharoof, but because the field was set to deny their pet shots.

Time and again both openers, and Gilchrist in particular, unfurled drives and cuts that were intercepted by the fielders and, after a bit of that, you could sense frustration beginning to build.

What Lanka lacked at that point was a bowler who could cash in. In the normal course, Lanka begins with Malinga and Vaas, and Fernando coming behind them is ideally poised to bowl a few tight overs and keep the pressure up. Here, Fernando had to lead the attack, and there was precious little of it, quality-wise, to lead.

Enter Arnold. It was almost exit Arnold - Hayden greeted him with two big strides, an elongation of the arms that got the bat under the ball, and a smash that lifted it clean over extra cover for six. Jayawardene pushed his long off deep, and brought long on in, well inside the circle. Hayden decided to punish that field, looked to go over long on, and mishit - the turn, plus the shut face of the bat, combined to squirt the ball in the direction of Dilshan, at midwicket, instead (41/30; 76/1).

In his next over, Arnold removed Gilchrist who, on the day, was only an approximation of his best. The delivery was fired in outside off, turning in; Gilchrist sought to defend but was late getting his bat in line, and he ended up taking it on the pad in line with the stumps (30/49).

That brought Ponting and Clarke together, and with the power plays in place, both batsmen began playing shots from the get go. Clarke produced two fluid cover drives off Fernando; Ponting skipped down the track to take Bandara on, and crashed him down the ground, to bring up the 100 of the Australian innings off just 116 deliveries.

Clarke in fact seemed to be in a mood; his driving through covers and extra covers was increasingly eye-catching. That one drive too many, though, led to his downfall - Clarke came skipping down the track to Bandara looking to go through extra cover, but failed to keep the shot down owing to not quite getting to the pitch; Dilshan went low and dived forward to hold an inch or less off the turf. Clarke wasn't sure the catch was clean, but the umpires were, and that was that (23/31; 126/3).

At the halfway mark, Australia has the chase in control with Ponting looking in immaculate form. Sri Lanka has settled on its spinners to slow things down and try to apply the choke - the question seems to be, how long can they prevent Australia from going past the mark?

Australia progression: 1-25 overs

5 overs: 18/0 @ 3.60 (Hayden 4/11; Gilchrist 9/21); Required rate 4.64

10 overs: 59/0 @ 5.90 (Hayden 26/22; Gilchrist 27/41); Required rate 4.20

15 overs: 85/2 @ 5.66 (Clarke 1/3; Ponting 6/12); Required rate 4.05

20 overs: 114/2 @ 5.70 (Clarke 15/19; Ponting 21/26); Required rate 3.76

25 overs: 132/3 @ 5.28 (Symonds 5/10; Ponting 26/34); Required rate 3.80

Sri Lanka innings

They are calling today's game at the National Stadium, at St George's in Grenada, a preview of the final - and they might not be far off the mark.

Australia is the most dominant team of this World Cup, and Sri Lanka thus far has looked the most rounded - in a sense, the progress of the two teams through this Cup thus far is 'd'j' vu all over again', reprising to a remarkable extent the events of the 1996 Cup.

Neither team needs this result to get into the semifinal; both teams likely came into the game with goals in mind, things they want to try out, lessons they want to learn, points they want to prove and disprove.

From that point of view, the team lineup is illuminating. Both teams had one forced change through injury: Australia sat out Shane Watson, who is nursing a calf injury, and Lanka omitted Lasith Malinga, whose ankle is reportedly recovering nicely, but who coach Tom Moody feels is best held back, and allowed to heal more.

The real pre-match stunner though came from Sri Lanka: its team list omitted both Chaminda Vaas, and Muthaiah Muralitharan, replacing them with Kulasekara and Malinga Bandara.

The question is why, and one possible answer could be this: Had Sri Lanka played its best team and lost, nothing would be gained, and a bit of mental pressure could result (Having said this, top teams realize more than the others that much of this 'mental pressure' business is hogwash; that it all boils down to what you do on the day, not what you have done, or had done to you, before).

Follow that line of thinking a bit more: Here, Sri Lanka plays what is a virtual second string attack. Its batsmen get a good look at the opposition bowling; by the same token, it denies Ponting and the others an opportunity to see, in actual match situation, what some of Sri Lanka's more recent tactical innovations (Murali round the wicket to the right handers comes immediately to mind, but it is not the only one) are like, when you are squaring up to it.

And since 'psychological points' is so beloved of commentators and analysts, how about this?: If you can put runs on the board and even with a second string attack, make Australia sweat to get past the line, then the 'psychological point' is simply this: gee, you think this is tough, what are you going to do when up against Vaas, Malinga and Murali?

All good fun, this - but to walk much of that talk, Sri Lanka needs runs on the board; around 250 would be a good score, on a track that is likely to get slower and lower, and turn more, as the game progresses.

That is likely what Jayawardene had in mind as a plan, when he opted for first strike on winning the toss. That plan though didn't quite materialize, thanks to Australia taking out three early wickets.

Nathan Bracken drew first blood in the fifth over, when he set Jayasuriya up with deliveries seaming away, then bowled one much fuller, and on the stumps. Jayasuriya looked to play it off his pads but, where he normally looks to whip with a great deal of force, here he was forced into a tentative push. The ball straightened, where the batsman looked for it to deviate, and took the pad for umpire Billy Doctrove to rule in favor of the bowler (12/12; 26/1).

Kumar Sangakkara was a touch unlucky. Glenn McGrath, taking over from the hugely erratic Shaun Tait (his first ball was about three feet down the leg side and swung another three feet away) after the Aussie quick had gone 2-0-18-0, pitched one on length on off, moving it in. Sangakkara squared up in defense but missed the line of the ball and was hit on the pad. The strike was high, and it seemed the ball would bounce over, but umpire Aleem Dar reckoned otherwise (0/6; 27/2).

Upul Tharanga has never really looked the part throughout this competition; most times, he has neither exploded off the blocks, nor looked impressive defending and playing the waiting game. In 1996, the Lankans had Romesh Kaluwitharana, and the advantage was that Kalu was given license to go flat out irrespective; the Lankans figured that if he fired, they were off and running especially with Jayasuriya doing his bit at the other end; if he failed, Asanka Gurusinghe would come in and hold the bowling at bay while creating a platform for Aravinda and Arjuna.

Tharanga hasn't been able to duplicate Kalu's efforts from then, and that in turn has transferred enormous pressure on Sangakkara. Here again, the southpaw scratched around for some 22 unimpressive deliveries for his 6, before pushing hard at a Bracken delivery on off seaming away, to get the edge through to Mathew Hayden at first slip (6/22; 27/3).

That wicket fell in the 7th over. From that point on, Mahela Jayawardene and Chamara Silva dug deep, putting together a reviving partnership that added 50 in 82 deliveries, and at the halfway stage looks to have repaired some of the damage of the early loss of wickets.

Neither batsman was in a position to really attack; both played well within themselves and used nudges and pushes more than the bludgeon to get their runs, but at the halfway mark, both have been playing with considerable freedom, and are seemingly set.

Jayawardene in particular looks interesting. He began the competition on a horrific run of form; his early outings merely made matters worse, and even when he began turning it around, the runs were coming but without the authority, and flair, that is his trademark.

Here, he is batting very close to his best. The footwork is back as is the timing; the shot selection thus far has been impeccable, as has his sense of where the gaps are.

At the halfway mark, the honors remain with Australia - but gradually, the batting side is forcing its way back into this game, and it is all set up for a great second half.

Sri Lanka Progression: 1-25 overs

5 overs: 26/1 @ 5.20 (Tharanga 5/16; Sangakkara 0/3)

10 overs: 33/3 @ 3.30 (Chamara Silva 4/14; Jayawardene 0/9)

15 overs: 59/3 @ 3.93 (Silva 15/30; Jayawardene 13/23)

20 overs: 73/3 @ 3.68 (Silva 21/47; Jayawardene 18/30)

25 overs: 91/3 @ 3.64 (Silva 32/65; Jayawardene 27/49)

Overs 26-50

Mahela Jayawardene got to his 50 off 64 balls; Chamara Silva took 91.

That pretty much says it, right there, about the difference in approach of the two right-handers. Silva, normally a free flowing batsman, preferred in this innings to work the ball around; Jayawardene, till this point of the competition not in prime form, chose this innings to work his way back to something approximating his best.

The two batted in second gear till around the 29th over; the first signal that the Lankans felt confident enough to move up the gears came in the 29th, when Shaun Tait came back into the attack and Silva promptly went forward, then down on one knee, to drive effortlessly through the covers.

It was Jayawardene though who really turned it on. McGrath came on in the 30th and the Lankan captain went right across his stumps, ending up well outside off, and paddling him with considerable cheek to the fine leg fence.

In Tait's next over, Jayawardene played an incredible short arm pull, first coming onto the front foot, then leaning back and playing the shot almost off his eyebrows, to power the ball high over the square leg boundary. Tait responded with an attempted yorker, and Mahela flicked through square leg again, this time for a brace.

The Lankans appeared to have batted themselves into an excellent position, with two set batsmen at the crease, the Aussie bowling tamed, and a partnership of 140 off 185 deliveries negating the loss of early wickets. But then, disaster struck, in the form of Brad Hogg who produced two excellent deliveries to take wickets in successive overs.

In the 38th, he flighted one up on middle and leg, inviting the sweep with his fine leg brought up. The ball bit, bounced and turned; Silva went for the sweep, couldn't handle the bounce, and top edged to Clarke at short fine leg - the placing of Clarke, one of their best fielders, there in itself indicating that the Aussies were working towards this particular mode of dismissal (64/107; 167/4).

In his next over, the 40th, Hogg took out Jayawardene. Again, the ball was well flighted and looped, this time on an inch better than good length. Mahela was drawn forward, looking to play with the turn; the ball beat the bat in flight, went past the bat and Gilchrist had the bails off before the batsman could ground his bat (72/88; 174/5). It was a very good innings that, unfortunately for Lanka, ended just when the captain should have been looking to bat through.

Give the Aussies a sniff, and they will take the game away from you in patented fashion. The fielders come in, scoring becomes progressively difficult, and the bowlers hold their line, leaving it to the batsmen to succumb to the pressure of needing runs at the business end of the innings.

Tillekeratne Dilshan was the first to feel the pressure. Tait, in another show of faith by his captain despite some extremely wayward bowling, got the ball back in the 41st, and a short ball outside off saw Dilshan make a total mess of an attempted hook; the ball went up for Brad Hodge to hold with ease at square leg (7/13; 178/6).

Next up, Arnold - whose presence in this lineup is increasingly mystifying. Tait bowled the full, yorker length a couple of times, then banged one down. Arnold tried to swipe it away, was in no position to play the shot, and managed only to drag it back onto his stumps (3/10; 183/7).

Nathan Bracken had been brilliant right through the game. His first spell read 6-2-8-2; he was brought back for an over when McGrath and Tait went for runs in the 30-over region, and upgraded his analysis to 7-2-9-2. From halfway through his first spell, he was bowling like a very fast left arm spinner, jagging the ball away from right handers at pace, with Gilchrist standing right up and keeping superbly.

In the 44th, he kept beating Kulasekhara's outside edge with a series of superb deliveries. Ponting brought in a slip, Bracken produced a ball just a touch fuller, Kulasekhara drove at it, and the edge was pouched by Hayden in, guess where, slip (1/5; 184/8). It was great cricket all round - good thinking by Ponting, perfect execution by Bracken, and an outstanding catch by Hayden, who had to go real low real quick to hold (1/5; 184/8).

The boundaries had dried up once Jayasuriya left; Bandara in the 47th over ended the drought, smacking a short ball outside off, from McGrath, up and over midwicket for a big six. He seemed to like the taste of it - in his next over, he came dancing down at Michael Clarke and swung, high, wide, and effectively over the long on boundary.

The 49th over was McGrath's - or rather, Maharoof's. Outside of Jayawardene, McGrath had held the line against all other Lankan batsmen; right at the death, it was his turn to get rattled as the Lankans cashed in on his lack of pace. The first ball was an attempted yorker that Maharoof drove, with great finesse, back down the ground for four. The next was a no ball; the ball after that saw Maharoof have a whirl, all arms and flailing bat, and squeeze the ball off his inner edge, down to fine leg for four more.

A few singles followed, and off the last ball of his spell, he produced a short delivery that Bandara tried to pull. He was moving forward, though, when the ball was delivered, and ended up cramped for room, managing only to hit it off the high part of the bat to Hogg at midwicket (17/19; 218/9). The 34 run partnership, at a tick over 6 rpo, had halted the slump and given the Lankans a few valuable runs to work with.

Bracken bowled the last over, and Maharoof cashed in. He first stepped into a delivery and smacked it over mid off; he then backed away and flashed, getting the hard outer edge and smearing the ball between the slip and the keeper for four more. An attempt to chip a yorker length ball down the ground saw Maharoof mishit, however, and play it to Symonds at long on to end the Lankan innings with two deliveries to go of the allotted 50 overs (25/22; 226 all out).

Bracken was the standout performer for the Aussies with the ball; McGrath did well in patches and Hogg was tight and controlled throughout. Tait was clearly a disappointment - on the day, his bowling was, to use the inelegant phrase, as directionless as a cow pissing on a rock.

226 is not a total likely to challenge the Aussies - especially with three top flight Lankan bowlers missing from the lineup. But there is still just enough up there to challenge the Aussies, especially when the spinners come on.

Progression: 26-50 overs

30 overs: 119/3 @ 3.96 (Jayawardene 40/60; Silva 47.84)

35 overs: 156/3 @ 4.45 (Jayawardene 61/100; Silva 63/103)

40 overs: 174/5 @ 4.35 (Arnold 0/2; Dilshan 4/7)

45 overs: 187/8 @ 4.15 (Bandara 2/7; Maharoof 3/5)


http://www.rediff.com/wc2007/2007/apr/16aus1.htm

Originally posted by: Super~Star~Sri

sim_indian, thanks for sharing...

no problem...it looks like we're the only ones here😔

but great partnership going on...