Tuesday, Feb 11, 2003
Tuesday, Feb 11, 2003 |
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World Cup
By Vijay Lokapally
LEADING FROM THE FRONT: Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya pulls Shane Bond to the fence watched by New Zealand wicketkeeper Lou Vincent at Bloemfontein on Monday. — Photo: V.V. Krishnan
The Kiwis play the West Indies and South Africa before their scheduled clash with Kenya and need to stay unbeaten to avoid an early exit. For an ICC Cricket World Cup match of immense importance and expectations, it was a let down in terms of spectator participation and the overall quality of the contest. The match lacked the atmosphere with the second-half of the day made eventful by a fighting century from Scott Styris, a token show of defiance amidst ruins around him. True, Sri Lanka's performance gave the team a grand fillip ahead of some crucial group `B' match, thanks essentially to skipper Sanath Jayasuriya setting a glorious example. Jayasuriya's maiden century in World Cup fitted the occasion even if a poor number of spectators applauded the brilliant effort. The lack of audience was a sore point and the tournament director Dr. Ali Bacher was at pains to explain possible reasons.
Outstanding knock and lucky one too
New Zealand was never in the match from the time Jayasuriya took it away with an outstanding knock. He was lucky when umpire Neil Mallender failed to pick the snick with the batsman on 18. Bowler Daryl Tuffey let out a vociferous appeal but Jayasuriya survived. Much to the chagrin of the Kiwis who may be justified in holding that one error as the turning point of the contest. For them, the turning point of the tournament too. The Kiwi response to the challenge was meek. Once Nathan Astle and Stephen Fleming became victims of nerves with the innings just two overs old, the team just collapsed. There was not one batsman in its ranks to assume the role of a destroyer and the Lankans stuck to the basics of good line and length to finish the job in style. The bounce that Kiwi skipper Fleming expected to unnerve the Sri Lankans remained a misnomer. There was bounce but not disconcerting enough to shake the Lankans and it was Jayasuriya's sensible attitude that played such a significant part in his team putting it across an overconfident side in such an authoritative fashion.
Percentage cricket
The pitch held no alarms for Jayasuriya and even though runs were hard to come by in the morning the Lankans did not discard their plans to play percentage cricket. Jayasuriya did not go blazing after the bowlers and neither did Hashan Tillekeratne lose his composure at any stage. Their 170-run partnership played the leading role in Sri Lanka setting the opposition a stiff target after being asked to bat. Batting was a challenge on two counts. The boundary was long and the Kiwi fielding electric. The fact that the first four of the Lankan innings was struck in only the seventh over lent credence to the argument that the batsmen would have to earn their runs. The partnership between Jayasuriya and Tillekeratne ensured the Kiwis would need to work hard and the subsequent events showed it to be true. The Kiwis had a plan which worked for a while — to stifle Jayasuriya square of the wicket and deny him the length to drive. The wily fox waited, and once he had the measure of the Kiwis, batted as is his wont. The ball flew over point and hit the boards at midwicket in a flash as the champion batsman feasted on the attack with a flurry of strokes in all directions. Fleming may not have reckoned confronting a very determined Jayasuriya. There was a pattern to the Lankan's batting this day. He presented a very matured front and avoided the mistakes, the giant live screen at the ground making the replays such a big privilege for those wanting to learn and improve. The batsman could instantly analyse his weak points and Jayasuriya simply grew in stature as the innings progressed. There were shades of the dashing Jayasuriya once he hopped past a disciplined half-century. But what stood out in his knock was his desire to adapt, playing the ball on merit because Sri Lanka could not afford adventurism. A slump saw Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene and Aravinda de Silva leave in succession but Tillekeratne, who hit his first half-century in 17 innings, hung on to come good at the appropriate time. Jayasuriya's form had been a source of worry to the Kiwis. His dazzling centuries against Australia and England in the recent tri-series had warmed up this explosive batter for the World Cup and he paced his knock most skilfully to take charge of the situation. To his credit, he played the dominant part in the second-wicket partnership after Marvan Atapattu had perished to his patent flick.
Priceless innings
Tillekeratne deserved praise. He grew in his skipper's company and put Sri Lanka in the position to dictate. His dismissal may have caused a mild flutter but New Zealand lacked the bowler to exploit the opportunities. In fact, Astle made a huge contribution by trapping Jayasuriya, veteran Aravinda and the ebullient Kumar Sangakkara but the Lankans fought their way to a decent total. The innings had a distinct character as Sri Lanka maintained a steady run-rate right through. Tillekeratne came good after a long phase of failures. His last half-century was made against Australia in January 1999. For a batsman who got just one match in the last World Cup, it was a fine start for Tillekeratne, who had to prove his fitness and utility before convincing the selectors. At 35, his experience obviously came in quite handy for this left-hander, who was hampered by cramps in the latter part of his committed essay but compiled a priceless innings to justify his skipper's persistence faith in him. New Zealand was rocked early when Astle ran himself out and then Fleming was surprised by the bounce and movement. When Craig McMillan too met the same fate the writing was on the wall for New Zealand . A brief resistance was scripted by Scott Styris and Chris Cairns but the spin of Aravinda accounted for the latter and the match was as good as dead when Lou Vincent perished to a poor shot. Styris went on to complete a century which hardly helped his team's cause this day. New Zealand was thoroughly outplayed by a far superior side. SCOREBOARD
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