" Royal Stag " caused Sumangala Thero to Take Over Dambulla from SLC..

The Chief Incumbent of Dambulla Rajamaha Vihara Buddhist temple Ven. Inamaluwe Sumangala Thero has asked Sri Lanka Cricket to show cause within 14 days for violating the agreement between the temple authorities and Sri Lanka Cricket over the lease of land for Dambulla International Cricket Stadium.

The Ven. Thero has pointed out that the Sri Lanka Cricket cannot allow serving liquor or tobacco in the cricket stadium according to the article 05 of the agreement that prevent such actions.

However, this condition has been reportedly violated at the tri-nation one day series recently held in Dambulla International Cricket Stadium. 

According to the agreement between the Temple and Sri Lanka Cricket, the temple can take possession of all movable and immovable property in case of violation of the agreement, the Thero has pointed out to Sri Lanka Cricket.

Dhoni Focus On their Fielding....

Dambulla: The two league matches between India and Sri Lanka were embroiled in controversies, the first a no-ball incident and the second one was ruined by dodgy umpiring decisions, but Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni hoped that final will be played in good spirit.

India have beaten Sri Lanka in four finals in the past two years in the Island country, with the most recent being the Asia Cup in June, and the visitors would seek their fifth successive win in the Summit Clash on Saturday.

“I think it is a small thing that really matters, you know. If you take care of small things the big steps they take care of themselves. So it will be all the small and basic things,” Dhoni told a press conference which he addressed 45 minutes after the schedule time.

“Depends on what you are doing first, batting or bowling. If bowling first try to make use of conditions. There will be a strong breeze going across the field. If the bowlers can take help of that and if we get early wickets and restrict the opposition in accumulating too many runs,” he said ahead of tomorrow’s final.”

“Fielding will be crucial because we have seen every 10 runs the opposition scores it can really count at the end of the game. I think we will take care of the basics and stick to the basics,” he insisted.

Dhoni said all the three teams in the tri-series have struggled at the sporting pitch at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium and his side would not worry about their performance so far.

“We try to keep it simple. If you look worried about something then the players will always look worried. I think this has been a series of ups and downs. Not only for our batsmen but for all three teams which participated.”

“The new ball spell has been important. What we have seen is there have been batting collapses and sides have been bundled out for 100, 120 or 140 odd runs,” he said when asked about the poor form of the middle order batsmen.



“I think the new ball will be very crucial. It is important to just see the new ball off. How you do that it is not really important, whether it looks good or does not. I think it will be crucial not to lose too many early wickets. That will be one of the main strategies that will be used by both the teams,” he said.

Dhoni was also hopeful that Saturday’s final will be played in good spirit.

“We try to avoid as much controversy as possible. But in between we have seen some of the batsmen get fine. Either the skipper gets fined for bowling slow. You can go on with that. Hopefully no more controversies and as far as going hard is concerned we try to do things in our groove that is what our strength is,” he said.

“Our strength is not to go out and be really verbal. We have been a side that cheers up the bowler but at the same time try not to get very personal with the batsmen. So we have tried to keep a distance with the opposition batsman batting at the crease. I hope to keep it the same. Hopefully it will be a non controversial final and will be a good final for the spectators as well,” said Dhoni.

Asked about the inconsistent batting show of his side in the series, also involving New Zealand, Dhoni said, “Well of course it is. Specially if you see the number of runs scored by the batsmen. That is a major concern right now. But we are hoping it turns out well tomorrow.”

“We will get a par score that the bowlers can help us defend. How we achieve that par score, who scores does not really matter till somebody scores and we get those 220 or 240 odd runs,” he said.

“Our lower order batting has got affected as Harbhajan (Singh) and Zaheer Khan contribute with the bat also. However the role of the bowler is to bowl well,” he added.

• The key is to win matches consistently - Sanga
• Seamers take Sri Lanka to final...

Virender Sehwag has been the only batsman who has been performing in this tournament and Dhoni hoped the other batsman would also click tomorrow so that too much pressure is not put on the swashbuckling opener.

“We don’t want to put undue pressure on Sehwag. He is a free flowing cricketer. He is a natural aggressive cricketer. I think he should still back himself and bat the way he bats. As far as form is concerned, one gets back to form in one match and he could get out of form in two matches. Being the finals, a contributory effort will be needed.

“As long as you are there you try to make a platform wherein the other batsmen who come after you they are able to perform. I think it will be a very contributory effort. But if we win the final because of an individual brilliance the team wont really mind it. But hopefully it being a team sport everyone will try to do his job. I think it is the result that
will matter,” he said.

Asked about his strategy tomorrow, Dhoni said, “There is no fixed plan. Lot of time we slogged. After Asia Cup there were about 10-12 matches where there had been no chance to slog. We are just feeling the flow of the bat. It is not because of any strategy.”

Dhoni refused to reveal the team composition and whether Ravinder Jadeja would be be brought in or not, saying it would depend on the playing conditions tomorrow.

“Winning combination is important but we have to see what kind of wicket is given to us. And accordingly we will select our eleven. So if we feel that the wicket is dry and is not very hard and can assist spinners then definitely Jadeja will get a spot.

“But if we feel that the spinners will not get that much assistance and we will need another batsman then Jadeja will have to miss. We will see exactly and decide after we see the wicket before the game,” he said.

Dhoni was happy that his side had a good practice session ahead of the final.

“It was a good practice session (today). The centre wicket practice session is always a better one because you exactly know where the ball is going and whether you have fielders there or not. I think we made the most of it. We had a long practice session and we are just hoping that everybody gears up well,” he said.

Asked what has changed since winning four finals in Sri Lanka, Dhoni said, “Well we have won many tosses. Before the Asia Cup I think it was in Premadasa Stadium where we won four tosses out of five.

Before that we played at Dambulla in the initial part of the series. Even in that we won many tosses.

“I think in this tournament we have found that toss is not the factor unlike in earlier series when you win the toss and make 240-250 runs and the opposition finds it difficult to score under the lights while chasing. But we found a change when we played at the Asia Cup. I think when we played on a fresh wicket instead of a used up wicket then we found that chasing was not that difficult.”

SOURCE : ZEECRIC

Taylor-Dhoni "Do or Die" situation...!

Actual Semifinal to the Tri Series Final.....

Match Facts

Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Start time 14.30 (0900 GMT)


The word most conspicuously absent in all press conferences this tournament is 'momentum'. The schizophrenic performances of all three teams in Dambulla - crushing opponents one day, and being crushed themselves the next - has meant no team could claim whatever advantage momentum allegedly provides. The topsy-turvy league phase reaches its conclusion on Wednesday when India and New Zealand face off in an elimination match.

New Zealand's inexperienced batting line-up remains their biggest concern. The relaxed format of the tournament and the unseasonal rain which washed out their match against Sri Lanka means their batsmen have, amazingly, not had a bat in the middle for a dozen days, which the captain Ross Taylor said is "going to give a little more anxiety than the actual game itself."

MS Dhoni's captaincy record of winning every tournament in Sri Lanka is also under threat after India's batting failures in two matches. One heartening factor for Dhoni is the glimpses of form Yuvraj Singh showed during Sunday's humiliating defeat. India have alternated between wins and losses in the previous six matches, a trend which Dhoni will hope extends for one more game.

Form guide

(most recent first)
India: LWLWL
New Zealand: LWWLL

Watch out for...

Scott Styris is enjoying a run-filled year and his 168 one-day caps will be essential to a batting unit light in international exposure. He has found the conditions in Dambulla helpful to his steady bowling, finishing with 2 for 36 in ten overs in the previous match.

MS Dhoni is the top-ranked one-day batsman in the world, but has been part of two shambolic Indian collapses. With some of the youngsters in the middle order finding it hard to adjust to the seaming pitches in the tournament, the team is looking to their captain to deliver.

Team news

New Zealand welcome Martin Guptill back at the top of the order after missing a game due to injury. Their only fitness concern is Kane Williamson, who has a bicep injury and couldn't bowl or throw on Monday. If Williamson is missing, Nathan McCullum's place is likely to be secure.

New Zealand (probable): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 BJ Watling, 3 Ross Taylor (capt), 4 Kane Williamson/ Peter Ingram, 5 Scott Styris, 6 Grant Elliott, 7 Gareth Hopkins (wk), 8 Jacob Oram, 9 Daryl Tuffey, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Andy McKay/Nathan McCullum

India had no injury worries on the eve of the match. Despite the pummeling against Sri Lanka, it's unlikely there will be too many changes to the side. Again, the decision will be on whether to bring in Virat Kohli at the expense of either Dinesh Karthik or Rohit Sharma.

India (probable) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Dinesh Karthik, 3 Rohit Sharma/Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Praveen Kumar, 9 Pragyan Ojha, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Ashish Nehra

Pitch and conditions

A fresh pitch will be used for the match but MS Dhoni, who inspected the pitch after the Indian net session, expected it to behave similar to the ones used earlier in the tournament. "Initially, there will be a bit of help for the seamers. During the daytime, they can swing the ball with the breeze. And under the lights, it always swings here."

Of as much interest is the weather. It was cloudy on Tuesday and drizzled in the morning, and light rain is predicted for Wednesday. Taylor has shown a preference to chase if there is a chance of the D/L method needing to be applied, but could stick with the bat-first policy captains have traditionally favoured in Dambulla day-nighters if the skies are clear.

Quotes

"It's just a game of cricket and every game you play you play to win, we don't want to put any more pressure on ourselves and that's the attitude we'll be going with."
Ross Taylor isn't getting too worked up about the hype of a must-win match

"We just have to be careful not to fish at the ball. Rather we will have to just leave or play a shot."
Some words of advice from MS Dhoni about tackling the moving ball

SOURCE : ESPN

The key is to win matches consistently - Sanga

After reaching the finals of the tri-series with one of Sri Lanka's biggest wins over India, Kumar Sangakkara has said the team must aim at winning consistently, irrespective of the margin of victory. In front of a raucous Sunday crowd, Sri Lanka rolled MS Dhoni's side over for 103, inflicting the largest defeat in India's history in terms of balls remaining.   


"It's a good preparation for the final, but that is a new game six days away," Sangakkara said. "The key is to win matches consistently, wins like this (or) close matches, it doesn't matter if we win matches consistently."


The likes of Muttiah Muralitharan, Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas aren't a part of the current squad, but all of them played their part in Sri Lanka's 245-run walloping of India in the finals of the Coca Cola Champions Trophy in 2000, a victory which Sangakkara termed as their best against India. "The best win against India I guess was in Sharjah, very early in my career, we got 299 and India were 54 all out I think," he said. "That was a great win and that was a great side, with this particular side, with some of our greats who have retired, it's great for our confidence that we can still do things like this."

One of the minor surprises during Sri Lanka's chase on Sunday was the promotion of Mahela Jayawardene to the top of the order, pushing the specialist opener, Upul Tharanga, down to No. 3. Jayawardene didn't open the innings for a decade after his debut in one-dayers, but has two hundreds in the five times he has opened, and has also recently taken to opening for Sri Lanka in Twenty20s.

"We've got to understand that players evolve, MJ is the best batsman we have without a doubt, to me he's been ideal for us in the middle order," Sangakkara said. "But Mahela over the last year and a half has shown a liking to open, if his mindset is more free to go up top of the order, then guys like me, other players must back that decision, we've got to move down the order and take responsibility."

Sangakkara said the move was a one-off, and the Jayawardene wasn't yet penciled in for the opener's slot for the final. Sri Lanka have five days to plan their strategy for the final, and the team decided to take Monday off, heading to the beaches of Trincomalee, two-and-half hours away from Dambulla.

Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at Cricinfo

 Feeds: Siddarth Ravindran

Source :© ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Highlights IND vs SL [22nd Aug @ Dambulla]

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Nothing worked for us today: Dhoni

Dambulla: India were handed the worst ODI defeat in terms of balls remaining by Sri Lanka here and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni conceded nothing worked right for his side in the tri-series match except for the fact that Yuvraj Singh returned among runs.

"Nothing worked today. We didn`t get the kind of start we needed and so not enough runs for the bowlers to defend after batting first. Sri Lankan bowlers bowled in the right channels and pushed us into making the mistakes," Dhoni said after his side`s eight-wicket defeat.

India now face a must-win situation against New Zealand in their last match to enter Saturday`s final and Dhoni admitted that it is now or never for his side.

"Next game is like a semi-final now. We have to do well in that match or we have to pack up and go back home," the Indian skipper said.

He said the only positive thing India derived from today`s match was Yuvraj Singh, who returned to the playing XI after missing a match due to dengue fever.

Yuvraj was the sole Indian batsmen to produce some resistance before the disciplined Lankan seam bowling attack with a gritty 64-ball 38.

"Yuvraj batted well. That was the positive thing. He is a crucial man at the middle order. He is the kind of guy who can graft for runs and also hit big shots. His performance today must have boosted his confidence," Dhoni said.

Meanwhile, Dhoni`s counterpart Kumar Sangakkara said his bowlers set up the platform for the easy win, which ensured Sri Lanka`s place in the final of the tri-series.

"We would have batted first had we won the toss. But our bowlers, from the first ball on, bowled great lines and great lengths. We have got a varied attack," he said.

He also said that opening with the batting Mahela Jayawardene was a tactical decision which paid off.

"We opened with Mahela Jayawardene because sometimes he is wasted in the middle order. If he bats that well, we can let him bat freely at the top. This might be something we might see more often," Sangakkara said.

Man-of-the-match Thisara Perera, who notched up his maiden five-wicket haul today, said, "I really enjoyed this match, these are my best figures. Hopefully I can carry on from this performance. I also work hard on batting and hard hitting too."

SOURCE : ZEECRIC

Seamers take Sri Lanka to final...!!

Sri Lanka came into the game needing to win to stay alive in the tournament. Their captain had made some prickly comments - "We don't try and hide behind the press or hide behind our board" - on the eve of the game. One of their players was coming back from a ban and another had lost his match fee the previous time these two teams faced. One expected this game to be spicy. One anticipated some heat in the middle. One thought there would be a great fight. However, India succumbed so meekly that Sri Lanka waltzed through to the tri-series final without breaking into a sweat. India, after slipping to their worst defeat in terms of balls remaining, face New Zealand on Wednesday in a knockout.

The Sri Lankan seamers, led by Thisara Perera, owned the first half of the game as India were shot out for 103. What stood out was Sri Lanka's discipline in executing their plan to perfection. What surprised you was how easily India fell into the individual traps. And the chase was over in a blink.

Sri Lanka had a plan for each batsman, simple in its thought and perfect in its execution. Far too often these days, Dinesh Karthik's plan to tackle the moving ball, while opening, has been too one-dimensional: He walks down the track in an effort to make the bowler change the length. Nearly always, Kumar Sangakkara counters it by standing up to the stumps. If Karthik has a plan B, it doesn't really come through with any sort of clarity. Today, again, Karthik began to stutter once Sangakkara stood up. Nuwan Kulasekara is known for his incutters but he kept pushing them away from Karthik's outside edge. Sure enough, he fell to a delivery that straightened outside off, though the replays didn't confirm the edge.

For some time now, Rohit Sharma's iffy foot work has dragged him into trouble. Time and again, he presses that front leg far too across and tries to get the bat around the front pad. Often, he doesn't manage to do it in time. Today, too, he fell, trapped right in front by Angelo Mathews. The discipline in the plan came through again: For five deliveries (four in the over before the dismissal), Mathews took it away from Rohit before he brought one back in to get his man. India's other young middle-order hope Suresh Raina was repeatedly tested with deliveries in the off-stump corridor. Raina, who's recently been in good form, struggled to get on the front foot and paid the price. He edged one from Mathews, which led to a fierce appeal from all the close-in fielders, but wasn't given out. He poked at a similar delivery from Perera and didn't seem to get an inside edge but was given out this time.

India slid further as MS Dhoni fell after a scratchy innings. In the recent past, he has developed a habit of walking forward and across and poking with uncertainty at seaming deliveries. Often, it has landed him in trouble. Today, he twice edged Perera just past the lone slip fielder placed slightly wide. On both occasions, Sangakkara was standing up to the stumps. As soon as Sangakkara went back, Dhoni walked forward and across, reached for another Perera delivery, got the outside edge and was caught.

Only Yuvraj Singh looked in any sort of control. He unfurled a couple of gorgeous drives - one was caressed through extra cover and the other sped away between the bowler and mid-off. He hit a stunning six over wide long-off but fell, given out lbw when a Lasith Malinga delivery not only hit him outside the off stump but was also missing it. And the lower order didn't last long - Ravindra Jadeja squeezed out to gully, Praveen Kumar fell to an over-ambitious hit, Ashish Nehra was bounced out, and Perera completed his maiden five-for when he bowled Ishant Sharma.

India's troubles had started early once their best batsman Virender Sehwag fell, trapped lbw by a trademark incutter from Kulasekara; the replays showed it would have clipped the leg stump. And Sri Lanka closed in.

When the TV cameras cast their digital eye on the stands at the start of the morning, it caught a banner: 'Randiv we are with you '. As it turned out, he didn't have to bowl in the end. Another one went up at the half-way mark: "Tandoori chicken for Lion's dinner- Rs 104". Back in India, at least one news channel screamed - "Umpires cheat India". It was a day when emotions ran high.

Sri Lanka 104 for 2 (Dilshan 35, Jayawardene 33) beat India 103 (Yuvraj 38, Perera 5-28) by eight wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

SOURCE : ESPN

Sanga charged with level 2 offence for collision

Dambulla: There seems to be no respite for controversy-ridden Sri Lanka as the hosts were today involved in yet another unsavoury incident with skipper Kumar Sangakkara colliding with New Zealand all-rounder Nathan McCullum in a tri-series match here on Friday.

The incident happened in the 26.5 over, when after flicking a ball to fine-leg region, Sangakkara bumped into McCullum while trying to ground his bat to take his run.

The bowler didn’t like it and complained to the umpires, who reported it to the Match Referee and Sangakkara was charged with a level 2 offence for the incident.

Talking about the incident, former skipper Mahela Jayawardene said it was not done intentionally by Sangakkara as he was “blinded” when he took the run.

“It was not intentional. Sangakkara collided with a bowlers and the bowler complained to the umpire. But Sangakkara didn’t do it intentionally. He was blind when he took the run. Both the players spoke about it in the dressing room,” Jayawardene said.



This incident comes days after Sri Lanka were embroiled in a demoralising no-ball controversy in their second game against India on Monday.

Off-spinner Suraj Randiv was banned for one game by Sri Lanka Cricket for bowling a no-ball to Virender Sehwag at the fag end of the match to deprive the Indian opener his century.

• Rain abandon match as Lanka, NZ share points

Senior batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan docked of his entire match fee after local media reported that he coaxed Randiv to bowl the no-ball.

The SLC also reprimanded Sangakkara that no such incident should happen in future.

Rain forces abandonment again...

Dambulla: New Zealand captain Ross Taylor won the toss and elected to bowl first against Sri Lanka in their tri-nation ODI cricket series match here on Friday.

Persistent rain at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Thursday resulted in the abandonment of the Sri Lanka and New Zealand match and will now be played on Friday.

New Zealand went against the grain, choosing to field first to let their fast bowlers exploit the overcast conditions, but it was when they took the pace off that they pulled Sri Lanka back after a frenetic start. Tillakaratne Dilshan, responsible for that fiery opening, missed a fifty for the second time in a row as Scott Styris and Jacob Oram followed in that noble dibbly-dobbly tradition, bowling accurate offcutters, giving Sri Lanka zero pace and room. The moisture in the pitch did help them to get some movement, which meant the batsmen did not take any risks against them.

Sri Lanka might have gone from 65 for 1 in 11 overs to just 105 for 2 in 25, but they perhaps held the upper hand, having kept wickets in hand and setting themselves up for a score in excess of 230, usually a winning total under the Dambulla lights. Kumar Sangakkara, who began with two lovely boundaries, had to curb his strokeplay, but didn't look in much trouble.

The prevalent state of affairs was completely different from how the game started. There was some movement available for both Daryl Tuffey and Kyle Mills, but Dilshan hit them both hard, on both sides of the wicket. Mills was handed an especially raw treatment, going for five fours in five balls, two of them pulls and three forced away through the off side. The last of those hits took Dilshan to 36 off 20, but that was his last boundary. Both bowlers started bowling tighter lines, and Tuffey got Upul Tharanga with a bouncer in the 10th over.

Sangakkara then began well before Styris and Oram tightened their grips around the scoring. Dilshan, especially, didn't get anything to hit. He managed eight runs off his last 31 balls, and was bowled off a Styris offcutter that stayed slightly low. The edginess was obvious, with a tendency to leave stumps exposed when looking for room. Sangakkara, though, looked less perturbed by the 12-over choke hold of the slow-medium duo, which yielded only two boundaries and 34 runs. That he was unbeaten, along with Mahela Jayawardene, meant Sri Lanka had the wickets in hand to go for a late assault.

The player who did it should be punished as it is against the spirit of cricket - Sanga

Dambulla: Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara finally took full moral responsibility for Suraj Randiv’s no-ball fiasco that denied Indian legend Virender Sehwag a well-deserved ton during their team’s 6-wicket defeat to India on Monday.

Addressing the media in Dambulla, Sangakkara, who was also in the scanner for instructing Randiv to bowl a no-ball, said: “I take full moral responsibility on behalf of the Sri Lankan team for the entire fiasco and it’s now with the Sri Lankan Cricket Board to take whatever decision they take against the offending player.”

He said that the player, who had instructed Randiv to bowl a no-ball when Sehwag was on 99, should be punished. “The player who did it should be punished as it is against the spirit of cricket,” said the Sri Lankan captain.

He also said that the team has put the incident behind them and want to move on. Though, he assured that in future, Sri Lankan would try to adhere to the spirit of cricket and would never indulge in such activities. 

“We have put the entire incident behind us and want to move on in the series,” said Sangakkara ahead of their crucial do-or-die match against New Zealand tomorrow. 

Earlier, it was reported that it was not captain Kumar Sangakkara but Sri Lankan opening batsman Tillekeratne Dilshan who instructed off-spinner Suraj Randiv to bowl a no-ball so as to prevent Virender Sehwag from completing his century. 

Sri Lankan media reported on Wednesday that Dilshan, Sehwag’s Delhi Daredevils team-mate, who was at cover point when Randiv bowled that infamous no-ball, shouted in Sinhalese (oney nam, no-ball ekak danna puluwan), instructing Randiv that ‘if you want, you can bowl a no-ball’. 

Earlier in the day, Sri Lankan cricket board was examining stump microphone audios to determine whether Sangakkara or any of his teammates had played a role in coaxing Suraj Randiv to bowl a ‘no-ball’ to prevent Sehwag from scoring a century.

Earlier, it was reported that a six-member committee of Sri Lanka Cricket would meet this afternoon to take action on the recommendations of team manager who probed the `no-ball` controversy during the home side’s tri-series match against India on Monday.

"A six-member interim committee has been set up by the SLC to consider the recommendations in the report submitted by team manager last night," a top source said today.

The meeting will be held after 2 pm local time in Colombo.

The source said the meeting will focus on the video footages of the last three balls of India`s run chase in the tri-series match which the visiting side won by six wickets.

Sri Lanka Cricket interim chairman DS de Silva will head the committee while his secretary Nishantha Ranatunga and treasurer Sujeewa Rajapakse and three other SLC officials are the other members.

Sehwag was just one short of his 13th ODI hundred when off-spinner Suraj Randiv, who had not bowled a no ball in the Test or ODI series this season, bowled one which was hit by the opener for a six.

SOURCE : ZEECRIC

Sanga says the team is not distracted by the no-ball controversy.

 Anyone looking to predict how the second half of the tri-series will pan out will have a hard time finding a pattern from the first set of league matches. Consistency has eluded all three teams, each of whom have had one comfortable victory and one big defeat so far. The team losing on Thursday will be left staring at a must-win situation in their final league match.


Missing out on a bonus point has left Sri Lanka at a bit of a disadvantage, but their immediate challenge will be to switch the focus back to cricket after the brouhaha over the Suraj Randiv no-ball incident. There have been accusations of breaching the spirit of cricket, apologies aplenty and an internal probe into the incident by the Sri Lankan board. The controversy overshadowed a comprehensive defeat to India, after which Kumar Sangakkara criticised his team for batting that was "not at all professional and not up to standard at this level of cricket".

New Zealand are coming off a five-day break in their first tournament after a few months off. Their captain Ross Taylor thinks the extra rest could work in their favour since Sri Lanka are playing their third straight match of the tri-series after coming into the tournament on the back of a draining three-Test series against India. One of New Zealand's main worries will be the top-order batting. They have lost three wickets cheaply in both matches, leaving the middle order plenty of rescue-and-recovery work.

Form guide

(most recent first)
Sri Lanka: LWLWW
New Zealand:LWWLL

Watch out for...

Kane Williamson has had a difficult initiation to international cricket, he's yet to score a run after two innings. Talked up by Ross Taylor ahead of the series and rated as New Zealand's best backfoot player by the coach of his domestic side, Northern Districts, 20-year-old Williamson will be keen to justify the hype surrounding his call-up.

Another player who has had a couple of failures in the tournament is Mahela Jayawardene. A couple of months ago in Dambulla, he effortlessly piled on the runs during the Asia Cup to smoothen Sri Lanka's path to the final. He will be looking to recapture that form as the tussle for a final's spot heats up.

Team news

Given how little New Zealand have seen of Ajantha Mendis, the spinner could get a look-in ahead of Dilhara Fernando. It remains to be seen whether Sri Lanka will tinker with their lower middle order of Thilan Samaraweera and Chamara Kapugedera.

Sri Lanka: 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Thilan Samaraweera, 7 Chamara Kapugedera, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Suraj Randiv, 10 Ajantha Mendis/Dilhara Fernando, 11 Lasith Malinga

Allrounder Jacob Oram is expected to be back after missing the previous match due to a hamstring problem. New Zealand are likely to have to choose between Andy McKay and Tim Southee, both of whom had poor games against Sri Lanka last Friday, for a fast bowling slot.

New Zealand: 1 Martin Guptill, 2 BJ Watling, 3 Ross Taylor (capt), 4 Kane Williamson, 5 Scott Styris, 6 Jacob Oram, 7 Gareth Hopkins (wk), 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Daryl Tuffey, 11 Tim Southee/Andy McKay

Pitch and conditions

The match will be played on the same pitch used for previous matches. Both captains have talked about how the ball seams more under lights but swings less than it does during the day. Ross Taylor reckons 230-240 will be a par score.

The three captains have had differing views on the importance of the toss: MS Dhoni thinks it crucial, Taylor says it doesn't have big influence on the game while Sangakkara says it gives a slight advantage. Expect the captain calling correctly to choose to bat, though.

Quotes

"The openers are there and it is a tough job when the ball does swing around. I am sure they are used to it and hopefully we can lose less wickets at the top and give ourselves a better chance through the middle."
Ross Taylor backs his struggling top order to come good

"As professionals, whatever happens before games or after games, it's immaterial when we go onto the field. There the focus is to win the game and try things out."
Kumar Sangakkara says the team is not distracted by the no-ball controversy

Source : ESPN

India make a strong comeback into the tri-series

 Dambulla: Virender Sehwag`s scintillating knock of 99* couple with a tremendous show by the bowlers helped India make a strong comeback into the tri-series, defeating host Sri Lanka by 6 wickets after the disastrous outing in the first match against New Zealand. 

But the match ended with high drama as Sehwag, who was batting on 99, needed a single to give India a huge win with a bonus point. But, Suraj Randiv, it seemed, deliberately over-stepped and the delivery was declared a no-ball, which ultimately denied the Indian batting genius a well-deserved century. Sehwag hit 11 fours and two sixes during his stay at the crease. 

Sehwag, like always, tried to give India a whirlwind start. But as soon as he realized that the wicket was not helping his kind of strokeplay, he went into the shell and built his innings with ones and twos with occasional boundaries. 

Despite losing three wickets early on, Suresh Raina and Virender Sehwag joined in the middle and forged a valuable 59-run stand that inched India towards a victory. But in their pursuit to earn a bonus point, Raina tried to up the tempo of the run-rate which ultimately proved disastrous for him as he was caught on the on-side boundary for 21. 

After Raina’s departure, it was Dhoni who assisted Sehwag and the duo took India to an easy victory. Dhoni also played sensibly and remained unbeaten on 23. When Sehwag realized that the threat was over for his team, he cut lose and slammed some lusty hits on the on-side. 

It was a tremendous knock by Sehwag, considering the conditions and the opposition. He paced his innings so well that he never looked to be in a hurry but still scored almost a run-a-ball unbeaten 99.

Chasing just 171 for victory, India got off to a relatively good start, putting up 30 runs, but soon after that Dinesh Karthik threw his wicket away, trying to slash one out of the ground off Angelo Mathews. Karthik, who played a sedate knock, went for just 10, giving Sri Lanka their first wicket.

Virat Kohli, who was making a comeback, lost his wicket for a duck as paceman Dilhara Fernando induced an outside edge of Kohli’s bat which was cleanly taken behind the wicket by skipper Sangakkara.

Rohit Sharma’s poor form with the bat continued as he was removed LBW by Angelo Mathews, who gave two crucial blows to the Indian camp in two back-to-back overs, making India’s chase difficult on a not so easy Dambulla turf. Sharma also could not open his account.

Earlier, a superb show by the bowlers helped India bowl Sri Lanka out for a paltry 170.

First, Indian pace quartet of Praven Kumar (2/20), Ashish Nehra (1/39) and Ishant Shrma (2/32) wrecked the top order of Sri Lankan batting. Then, it was the spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja (2/34) and Pragyan Ojha (3/36), who walloped the Sri Lankan late order and dismissed them for a low score.

It was due to Tilakratne Dilshan’s 45 and Suraj Randiv’s 43 that saved Sri Lanka from the ignominy of being skittled out for a total below 100.

Electing to bat first, Sri Lanka started inauspiciously as they lost four wickets before their score could reach 50 and from then on they could not recover, losing wickets at regular intervals as India tightened the nose around the Sri Lankan batsmen.

Indian new-ball bowlers- Praveen Kumar and Ashish Nehra- gave them a dream start, negating Sri Lanka`s intention of getting an early advantage of the conditions. However, it did not happen as Praveen Kumar bowled out star Lankan opener Upul Tharanga for a duck off the very first delivery of the match.

Kumar spoiled all plans of Lankan party as he pitched the ball beautifully on the middle. Tharanga lost complete track of the delivery as he came forward to defend it, which instead, found its way up to the top of the off stump.

Later, Nehra coaxed Sangakkara (2) to pull his short delivery, which went high up in the air and landed straight into the hands of Pragyan Ojha at fine leg.

A couple of overs later, Kumar struck again and had Mahela Jayawardene plumb in front of the wickets and dismissed him for 4.

Ishant Sharma inflicted yet another blow on the Lankan side as he sent Thilan Samaraweera packing for just 7. Sri Lanka, at that time, were tottering at 44/4.

Tillakaratne Dilshan was playing well at the other end, trying to give some stability to the shivering innings. But Dilshan’s patience finally ran out as Indian left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha outfoxed him for 45, made off 62 balls.

Ravindra Jadeja, then, joined the wicket-taking party for India as he picked up all-rounder Angelo Mathews for 15, to give Sri Lanka their sixth blow. Jadeja, who was being criticized for not being able to perform well in recent times, deceived Matthews with a straight one that trapped him in front of the wicket.

Chamara Kapugedera (10) also did not last long as he was done in by the guile of Ravindra Jadeja’s spin.

Sri Lanka lost their 8th wicket as paceman Ishant Sharma removed Nuwan Kulasekara for 22. Kulasekara, who was trying to rebuild Sri Lankan innings along with Suraj Randiv (43), tried to steer one to third-man but gave wicket-keeper Dhoni a simple catch behind the wicket.

Suraj Randiv fought hard for his 43 that helped their innings gain some respectibilty at the end.

India went into the match without middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh, who was down with dengue fever, and pacer Abhimanyu Mithun. Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma were drafted in their place.

Sharma had recovered from a knee injury.

Sri Lanka dropped Rangana Herath and Ajantha Mendis and called in spinner Suraj Randiv and pacer Dilhara Fernando for the match.

The Teams:

India: MS Dhoni (c), Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra and Pragyan Ojha.

Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (c), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Kapugedera, Angelo Mathews, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suraj Randiv, Lasith Malinga and Dilhara Fernando.

SOURCE :Zeecric Bureau

Sangakkara wary of wounded India’s comeback....

Dambulla: India might have been robbed off valuable practice ahead of their second tri-series match, but Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara does not feel that the visitors will be under prepared for Sunday’s game and his side is wary of their sub-continental neighbours.

India’s Saturday practice session was reduced to a mere fielding drill as the visiting team preferred not to have any batting practice due to poor pitches.

An angry M S Dhoni had walked out of the session after finding the practice pitches damp and full of grass and Dinesh Karthik injured his thumb.

“I don’t think India are going into tomorrow’s match unprepared. Sides don’t practice one day, it doesn’t mean you aren’t prepared. We would like to practice properly every day but preparation is something sides do very differently,” Sangakkara said at the pre-match press conference.



“It will depend on what they are thinking about and the Indian team know that they are a good side.

“In ODI and T20 cricket, it doesn’t matter what you have done even the day before. If you come in and perform well the next day, you can still win. So we know how dangerous India is. We know what we have got to do, so we will try and do our disciplines better than India hopefully tomorrow,” he added.

Sangakkara said despite missing pace spearhead Zaheer Khan, Indian fast bowlers have done well on the tour so far.

“I think the Indian bowlers are all very good bowlers. It doesn’t matter whether (Abhimanyu) Mithun was new. I thought he bowled exceptionally well during the Test series and he didn’t do anything wrong in the first one-dayer either.

“I think the fatigue got to him maybe a bit. Whatever the bowlers do, I think they will enjoy bowling on a track like this,” he said.

Sangakkara emphasised the need to rotate pacers in the wake of increasing workload and put the onus on the selectors to take decisions in this regard.

The Lankan captain also said that the players have to be assured of their places when rotation policy is implemented otherwise it will create mistrust and rift in the side.

“From team point of view, we can recommend rest to certain players, especially fast bowlers because of their load. But the final call has to come from selectors, otherwise there is too much responsibility on individual player.

“And when you have a rotational policy, I think it is important that the player has the confidence that if you are rotated out of the team, you get first choice back. It doesn’t matter if your replacement scores a hundred or a double.”

“I think everyone must understand that and must be convinced about merits of rotational policy. Bowlers will be rotated more often and batsmen less because you want a batsman to be always among runs,” he said.

Source: ZEECRIC

‎"If you can't win batting under lights, you are not a good team". - Sanga

The recent contests between Sri Lanka and India have had an interesting subplot: Kumar Sangakkara v MS Dhoni. The Indian captain made his views clear about the floodlights in Dambulla, the poor practice pitches, the toss factor, and the difficulty of chasing a target. Sangakkara, on the other hand, said, "If you can't win batting under lights, you are not a good team". He wasn't responding to Dhoni at the time, but Sri Lanka chased a target with ease against New Zealand, after India had lost to the same team by 200 runs. Both Sangakkara and Dhoni are also planning for the World Cup, assessing the arsenal at their disposal. Monday's game gives them another opportunity to find answers to certain questions.

India's questions are several: Is Ravindra Jadeja good enough? Is there an in-form allrounder who can replace Jadeja, or should the part-time spinners fill the role of the fifth bowler in the subcontinent? Is medium-pacer Abhimanyu Mithun good enough? Should Virat Kohli play in the middle order, or should Rohit Sharma be persisted with? Will Ishant Sharma's form dip further if he is looted for runs in this format? And how long will Dinesh Karthik continue to squander starts?

For quite some time Sri Lanka, too, have had problems with their combination. Can Chamara Kapugedera grab one of his numerous opportunities, or it time to give Dinesh Chandimal a run? Is Thilan Samaraweera a good fit for ODIs or should he be replaced with either Chamara Silva or Thisara Perera? Should Suraj Randiv be played with Ajantha Mendis or with Rangana Herath? Should Dilhara Fernando be given a game here and there?

In the short term, however, Monday's match is crucial to India's hopes of staying alive in the tri-series but they have been dealt a blow by the absence of Yuvraj Singh, who has been diagnosed with dengue fever. Ashish Nehra, who has some trouble with his gluteus muscles, is also uncertain.

A second defeat, following the bonus-point loss to New Zealand, will make it hard for Dhoni's men to engineer a turnaround. An Indian victory will leave all three teams on a win each and the tri-series wide open.