From the publishers of THE HINDU Vol. 24 :: No. 32 :: Aug. 11 - 17, 2001	Home Contents
	COCA-COLA TRI-SERIES/SRI LANKA V NEW ZEALAND Host just too good S. DINAKAR IT is not often that New Zealand, a spirited side that understands the dynamics of one-day cricket, loses a match by 106 runs. But then, it was one of those days when the Sri Lankans were simply brilliant. N. BALAJI The classy Mahela Jayawardene responded to the challenge magnificently on the day, scoring a rapid half-century. Jacob Oram is at the receiving end here. At the Sinhalese Sports Club ground in Colombo, the host ensured its berth in the final of the Coca-Cola triangular series, whipping the Kiwis with an awesome performance. With rain delaying the start by nearly three hours, the number of overs were reduced to 36-a-side, yet the Lankan batsmen roared, making 221 and the bowlers never really gave the New Zealanders a chance. There had been a fair deal of criticism about the home side's debacle in the earlier game against India, a setback that followed three successive victories, and coach Dav Whatmore had gone to the extent of saying his side was complacent. The Lankans were stung, and they did respond in style. And none responded better than Mahela Jayawardene, whose place appeared in jeopardy before the game, after a string of poor scores, where his shot selection came under scrutiny. Yet, the team management backed the cricketer, with Whatmore stating Jayawardene was a quality cricketer and that everyone went through a bad patch. It was a big game for the strokemaker and he came through the test of fire with his guns blazing. Skipper Sanath Jayasuriya made a 22-ball 20, Avishka Gunawardene, earning a recall due to the truncated nature of the contest, scored 38 (51b), Romesh Kaluwitharana (25, 36b) chipped in with his bit, the solid Marvan Atapattu contributed 34 (39b), but it was Jayawardene's 46-ball 58 that took one's breath away. N. BALAJI Chaminda Vaas made it a no contest with a probing first spell in which he came up with three telling strikes, one of which was Jacob Oram, caught by Arnold. On a wicket where there was seam movement for the pacemen, he was quite magnificent, striking the ball through the gaps with crisp, elegant shots on either side of the wicket. The feature of the knock was the ease with which he waded into the bowling, not for a moment did he appear an out-of-form player finding his feet back. It was an essay where his feet were moving well and the ball was hitting the middle of the willow. Perhaps he was inspired by some scintillating music by a band just below the press box, perhaps he wanted to prove his detractors wrong... whatever the reason, Lanka had rediscovered a valuable performer in the end. Nothing illustrated the magnificence of Jayawardene's strokeplay better than a stunning straight six off paceman Dion Nash, the best bowler in the Kiwi ranks. The Lankan thumped Oram through the mid-wicket for four to celebrate his half-century, and when he was finally dismissed for 58 (4x4, 2x6), Jayawardene walked back to a rousing reception from a small but passionate crowd. The Kiwis were clearly rattled by the Lankan onslaught - the dependable Russel Arnold too came up with a quick-fire 22 off just 17 balls - and the usual discipline in bowling and fielding was not in view. The pitch had both bounce and movement. While it is true that the Kiwis were under tremendous pressure to score right from the start to mount a serious challenge, credit is due to the Lankan bowlers from shutting out the opposition completely, not giving them a hint of chance. N. BALAJI Dilhara Fernando exults after dismissing Nathan Astle. It was Chaminda Vaas who pushed the Kiwis on to the back-foot with an incisive spell of left-arm seam bowling, angling the ball away, straightening it, and seldom straying in length or direction. Operating at the other end was the fiery Dilhara Fernando, sharing the new ball for the first time in the tournament. The muscular Lankan appeared charged, and there was no respite for the batsmen. It was a severe test for the Kiwis and they were not quite equal to the challenge. Mathew Sinclair was the first to perish, shuffling across to a delivery that straightened from Vaas and being trapped leg-before. The big-built Jacob Oram soon followed, nicking Vaas to Arnold at second slip, and when skipper Stephen Fleming edged the same bowler to Gunawardene at first slip, the Kiwis had lost their first three wickets inside 20 runs. To make matters worse, McMillan was soon run out and the chase was never really on. And then, after Dion Nash and Chris Harris offered some resistance, taking the score to 57, the Kiwis lost three wickets at the same score, the hardworking off-spinner Kumara Dharmasena picking two of them - Adam Parore and Daniel Vettori. The contest was virtually over. The rest of the events were a mere formality. On this day, the Lankans were just too good. The scores: Sri Lanka: S. Jayasuriya c Tuffey b Mills 20; A. Gunawardene c Sinclair b Harris 38; R. Kaluwitharana (run out) 25; M. Atapattu st Parore b Vettori 34; M. Jayawardene c Nash b McMillan 58; R. Arnold (not out) 22; S. Perera b McMillan 1; C. Vaas (not out) 4; Extras (lb-10, w-7, nb-2) 19. Total (for six wkts. in 36 overs) 221. Fall of wickets: 1-32, 2-89, 3-109, 4-165, 5-208, 6-211. New Zealand bowling: Tuffey 3-0-18-0; Mills 4-0-22-1; Nash 6-0-36-0; Oram 6-0-41-0; Harris 7-0-39-1; Vettori 8-1-38-1; McMillan 2-1-17-2. N. BALAJI The hard-working Kumara Dharmasena has Adam Parore caught and bowled. New Zealand: M. Sinclair lbw b Vaas 1; N. Astle c Gunawardene b Fernando 4; J. Oram c Arnold b Vaas 0; S. Fleming c Gunawardene b Vaas 6; C. McMillan (run out) 0; D. Nash (run out) 23; C. Harris lbw b Fernando 18; A. Parore c & b Dharmasena 0; D. Vettori lbw b Dharmasena 0; K. Mills (not out) 18; D. Tuffey (not out) 20; Extras (b-6, lb-5, w-13, nb-1) 25. Total (for nine wkts. in 36 overs) 115. Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-3, 3-16, 4-18, 5-18, 6-57, 7-57, 8-57, 9-83. Sri Lanka bowling: Vaas 7-1-20-3; Fernando 7-2-19-2; Perera 4-0-24-0; Muralitharan 8-1-21-0; Dharmasena 7-1-16-2; Jayasuriya 2-1-2-0; Arnold 1-0-2-0. A dangerous bowler THE Lankans believe they can launch a worthwhile challenge in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. And on the seaming, bouncy wickets there, the pace bowlers will have a major role to play. The selection of the Lankan side for the Coca-Cola triangular series is a case in point. There are five pacemen in the squad, though it was clear that on the Lankan wickets, at least one of them will not have any role to play in the tournament. Coach Dav Whatmore made it clear the other day that the idea was to groom a couple of pacemen, enabling them to get a feel of the big game atmosphere even if they did not actually get to play in the event. Leading the pace pack is an experienced hand who has been of enormous value to the Lankan side. Yes, Chaminda Vaas is still around, hounding the batsmen with his bag of tricks. The left-arm seamer is slower these days, but the canny customer invariably puts the ball in the right spot, making each delivery count, bringing all his experience into play. This quality was very much evident against New Zealand, when Vaas made it a no contest with a probing first spell, where he scalped Mathew Sinclair, Jacob Oram and Stephen Fleming, three telling strikes. When he finds his rhythm, Vaas can be a dangerous bowler, possessing both the ability to angle the ball away from the right-hander and then compound his problems by straightening it into him, the hallmark of a quality left-arm seamer. And then he can switch his line to the southpaws, operating from round the wicket and testing them outside the off-stump. The dismissals of left-handers Oram and Fleming, both caught in the slip cordon, is a case in point. Chasing a daunting 221 in 36 overs, the Kiwis required a good start, but found themselves blown away by Vaas' burst. The left-armer had reached a much cherished goal of 200 ODI wickets in the previous game, forcing India's Rahul Dravid to nick one to 'keeper Romesh Kaluwitharana, and the manner in which his team-mates converged on him revealed the significance of the moment for Vaas and Sri Lankan cricket. Success has not come easy for Vaas. He has had his share of fitness problems in an enduring, endearing career, but has shown the strength of mind to tide over his back injuries. Having honed his skills in the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai like so many young Lankan pacemen, Vaas, who learnt invaluable lessons from the Aussie pace great Dennis Lillee, has put them to good use over the years. A dangerous batsman down the order, Vaas' batting may have gone off the boil in recent times, but he can still present a formidable challenge with the ball. Incidentally, the Lankan's pace bowling idol, not surprisingly, is Wasim Akram, probably the greatest left-arm seamer to have played this game. Now Vaas is the leader of the pace pack, that has among others, Dilhara Fernando, who can be breathtakingly quick, and the promising Suresh Perera, who has the ability to move the ball away from the right-hander. As a senior bowler there is that much more responsibility on him these days, but then he is relishing the challenge. Ask the Kiwis. Contents • Daily Sports • The Hindu • Business Line • Frontline • Home Copyrights © 2001 The Sportstar Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Sportstar.