Tags:
Journalism of Courage
COLOMBO, Aug 31: The young, energetic and supremely-fit Sri Lankans had a surprise in store for the Australian batsmen. On a wicket which looked hard but turned out to be a spinners’ ally, Australia could do no better than struggle to make a score in excess of 200 runs, leaving the final of the Aiwa triangular cricket tournament wide open and giving Sri Lanka a chance to win its first tournament in a year.
Steve Waugh decided to make first use of the wicket and considering the lack of bounce in it and the amount of turn, he may not be too displeased at his decision after watching his team fold up without putting up a very good fight. The Sri Lankans have been very innovative in this tournament and have made changes according to the form book and have not gone by reputations.
Otherwise it would be hard to explain the dropping of Chaminda Vaas. To counter the attacking instincts of Adam Gilchrist, the Sri Lankans opened the attack with off-spinner, Russel Arnold. The move did not appear to have made much difference as the Australians galloped to 37 runs in the sixth over. Then began the reverses and the only exception was skipper Steve Waugh, who too could not play a big innings.
The signs of what to expect came very early, in the manner of Mark Waugh’s dismissal. Mark shaped to cut a ball from Muralitharan which turned and kept low. The spinners took complete control of the match. Sanath Jayasuriya used as many as four bowlers, including himself, to turn their arm to look for the spin in the wicket. Muralitharan was once again on the mark. Upul Chandana, despite his leg spin turning slowly, too had the batsmen in a lot of trouble and finally Jayasuriya bowled in the slog with considerable success.
Against such adverse circumstances, the Australians’ famed running between the wickets too could do nothing, especially the way the Sri Lankans chased the ball and accuracy with which they threw at the stumps. It was an exhilarating display in the field and could well fetch Sri Lanka a surprise win.
Scoreboard
Adam Gilchrist c Jayawardena b Wickramasinge 21, 4 fours, 16b, 25m
(Mistimes drive to wide mid off)
Mark Waugh b Muralitharan 32, four fours, 52b, 78m
(Attempted cut, ball turns and keeps low)
Ricky Ponting run out (de Saram) 18, 36b, 56m
(brilliant throw from point boundary)
Darren Lehmann c & b Chandana 21 34b, 58m
(plays fulltoss back to the bowler)
Steve Waugh b Muralitharan 43, 3 fours, 68b, 73m
(going for a drive, beaten by turn)
Michael Bevan b Chandana 0, 1b, 3m
(stepping out beaten in the air by the turn) Andrew Symonds not out 22, 39b, 64m
Shane Warne c Silva b Arnold 21, 32b, 27m
(caught at wide long on fence) Jason Gillispie b Arnold 14, 16b, 13m
(bowled round his legs) Damien Fleming st Kaluwitharana b Jayasuriya 0, 4b
(drags feet outside the line in an attempt to play across the line)
Glenn McGrath st Kaluwitharana b Jayasuriya 1, 3b, 2m
(steps out for a wild swing)
Extras (lb3, w3, nb3): 9
Total(all out, in 50 overs): 202
Fall of wickets:1-37 (Gilchrist, 6th over), 2-74 (Mark Waugh, 17), 3-75 (Ponting, 17.2), 4-126 (Lehmann, 31.3), 5-126 (Bevan, 31.4), 6-144 (Steve Waugh, 36.1), 7-178 (Warne, 44.2), 8-197 (Symonds, 48.3 overs), 9-198 (Gillispie, 49.2)
Bowling:Zoysa 7-0-31-0, Arnold 8-0-42-2, Wickramasinge 8-0-24-1, Muralitharan 10-1-36-2, Chandana 10-0-33-2, Jayasuriya 7-0-33-2.
