Dilshan 88 helps Sri Lanka to thrash England by massive 157runs.

 #EngvSL : Sri Lanka thrash England at #Durham by 157 runs to level ODI series 1-1


Sri Lanka came up with the perfect response to their defeat in the first one-day international against England as they swept aside the home team in the second meeting at the Riverside, Durham on Sunday.

The England captain, Alastair Cook was injured and could only watch in dismay from the dressing room as optimism generated by their impressive win at The Oval disintegrated in a 157-run defeat.
There was talk of an exciting new era for English cricket after the 81-run win three days earlier, but this was a sobering reminder of recent setbacks as they were destroyed by the Sri Lankans.
The match was effectively settled inside the first seven overs of the England reply to Sri Lanka’s 256-8, a total that owed much to the concentration of Tillakaratne Dilshan in the early stages.
With conditions improving, it was a total that should have been well within England’s reach, but they simply could not cope with the opening spells of Nuwan Kulasekara and Lasith Malinga.
Michael Carberry, recalled because of injury to Cook was the first to go, caught behind by Kumar Sangakkara off the bowling of Kulasekara.
The same pair accounted for the other opening batsman, Ian Bell with the total on 26 and Joe Root swiftly followed, bowled by Malinga before scoring.
When Gary Ballance was lbw to Kulasekara, the Sri Lankan had taken three wickets for one run in 11 deliveries and England were reduced to 29-4.
There was no way back for a team led by Eoin Morgan, although the stand-in skipper and Ravi Bopara finally gave the innings some stability, facing 24 balls without scoring at one stage.
It meant they had added only 17 runs when Bopara was the next to depart, bowled by Sachithra Senanayake.
And the procession continued when Jos Buttler lobbed up the first delivery from Angelo Mathews and Senanayake took an acrobatic catch.
It was the worst shot of an innings with several candidates for that title, reducing England to 55-6 and leaving the new batsman, Chris Jordan, with enough time to show whether he can build an innings as well as score rapid runs.
The answer soon came when he was lbw to Senanayake after scoring just one run in three deliveries. Jordan’s appeal against the decision simply reflected the desperation of the England players.
Morgan remained an obstinate barrier to Sri Lanka and was the main reason they passed their lowest-ever ODI total – 86 against Australia in 2001 — before he was caught on the boundary for 40.
England failed to reach three figures and their total of 99 was their fifth lowest in ODI cricket.
Earlier, Dilshan was the key figure in the Sri Lankan innings when they were put in to bat after losing the toss.
Dilshan was involved in an intriguing battle with James Anderson at at the start of the day as the cloud cover helped the England seam bowler.
Dilshan emerged on top and survived for more than 37 overs to finish with 88 runs before becoming the only victim for Jordan.
Harry Gurney claimed three wickets towards the end of the innings, but Anderson was the pick of the England bowlers and finished with 2-38, including his 250th wicket in ODI cricket.
Ashan Priyanjan added an important 43 runs for the tourists, who set a target of 257 that was never within reach for England because of their feeble batting and the devastating opening burst from Sri Lanka’s pacemen.
Brief Scores:
Sri Lanka 256 for 8 in 50 overs (Tillakaratne Dilshan 88, Ashan Priyanjan 43; James Anderson 2 for 38; Harry Gunrey 3 for 59) beat England 99 all out in 26.1 overs (Eoin Morgan 40; Nuwan Kulasekara 3 for 15, Sachitra Senanayake 4 for 13) by 157 runs.

Mendis and Dilshan tormented the Australians ............

Sri Lanka's captain Tillakaratne Dilshan struck a compelling century then marshalled his team neatly in the field to secure a 35-run victory over Australia in the first Twenty20 international in Kandy.

Sent in to bat at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, the hosts were headed for a total of about 150 before Dilshan (104, 57 balls, 12 fours, five sixes) and the allrounder Jeevan Mendis (29, 19 balls) combined for a stand of 104 runs in a mere 45 balls to lift the hosts to 198 for 3. Dilshan hammered 67 from his final 23 deliveries, a sequence that effectively decided the match.

The Australians' chase was undone by the flat offspin of the debutant Dilruwan Perera (3-26), who provided a reminder there is plenty of slow bowling depth for the Sri Lankans to utilise across the limited overs and Test series to take place through August and September. Rangana Herath (1-11) also posed plenty of problems, much as he had done on his debut against the Australians on their 1999 visit to the island.

Dilshan's was exactly the kind of opening statement a captain desires to make, providing plenty of evidence the Australians will be up against a feisty opponent on this tour. They will also need to sharpen their fielding, as fumbles were a recurring theme of the team's first international since a limited overs series in Bangladesh in April.

Mitchell Johnson, John Hastings and Shane Watson were all taken for more than 11 runs per over, while curiously the spin of Steve O'Keefe and Steve Smith was not fully utilised despite offering a greater level of economy than any of the faster men.

By contrast the Sri Lankans employed three spin bowlers in their defence of the target, and in truth no-one other than the belligerent David Warner (53) ever looked comfortable enough to impose serious pressure on the home attack.

Needing 10 runs an over virtually from the start, Australia's reply was inconvenienced by the early swing of Nuwan Kulasekara (2-39), who found a way through Watson in the third over. Warner was soon finding the boundary, and on one occasion cleared it with a line drive over the bowler's head.

Shaun Marsh was less settled, and misread the first over from the debutant Perera to be lbw for four. David Hussey appeared fortunate that no-one on the field was fully alert to an apparent thin edge behind off the bowling of Dhammika Prasad, but next over he was nowhere near a sharp off break from Perera that tilted middle stump.

Cameron White managed only one boundary before he too was defeated by a Perera offbreak that straightened from around the wicket, and at 63 for 4 Australia's chase was looking decidedly sick. It deteriorated further when Steven Smith was utterly confused by Herath and stumped, while Dilshan had the luxury of dropping Warner then being able to accept another chance. O'Keefe and Johnson provided nuisance value, but by then the equation would have been too steep even for Dilshan.

Brett Lee had shared the new ball with the left-arm spinner O'Keefe in a nod to a surface that offered some bounce but also turn. Mahela Jayawardene managed a pair of crisp boundaries to long-on and backward point, but in the third over squirted a Lee yorker into his stumps.

Dilshan immediately took the attack to Lee, following a top-edged hook for six with an artful glide through gully for four, meaning the over reaped 14 runs as well as a wicket. He then sought to unsettle Johnson with a series of impudent gestures. Dinesh Chandimal also made a bright start, but on 11 was hurried onto the back foot by Johnson's pace and slid ungracefully into his wicket - only the fifth such dismissal in T20 internationals, its rarity underlined by the bowler's miffed reaction.

Tensions were evident between Dilshan and Watson, the Australian firing a return throw towards the batsman, who fended it away with a glove. A curious appeal by the Australians posed the question about obstruction, as the game's laws have been changed to disallow any by a batsman out of his crease, but the umpires waved it away.

Kumar Sangakkara cracked boundaries over mid-off and square leg to raise a 50 stand with Dilshan, but the next over he flicked ineffectually at a Watson slower ball and handed a simple catch to Cameron White. Mendis announced himself with a reverse-swept boundary from the bowling of Smith, then gave a passing impression of no less a left-hander than Sangakkara himself with a pull shot of some flourish when Watson dropped fractionally short.

John Hastings' slower balls were losing their novelty, and Dilshan took a heavy toll by swinging thrice to the legside for boundaries either side of an exceptionally cheeky reverse-dab past short third man - the over was worth 20.

Mendis and Dilshan tormented the Australians in the closing overs, piling up 67 runs from overs 15-18 to turn a middling total into an intimidating one. Too often the touring bowlers missed the yorker length, and when they did strike it Dilshan's wrists were supple enough to send the ball skidding through gully to the rope.

On 84 when the final over began, Dilshan cracked a pair of sixes then mis-scooped a boundary to go to three figures, before adding another to take the Sri Lankans to the cusp of 200 - a total they would not have contemplated at 94-3. Australia's bowlers, and batsmen, have the task ahead of them.

SOURCE  : ESPNCRICINFO

Afridi and Vettori to captain Sri Lanka’s “North-East” teams

Six national captains, including four from Sri Lanka, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardane, Kumar Sangakkara and T. M. Dilshan, will lead seven Provincial teams in the forthcoming Sri Lanka T20-Premier League (SL-T20-PL) Tournament.

The seventh captain will be former Sri Lanka vice-captain, Chaminda Vaas. The Sri Lanka T20 Premier League will feature almost 35 international cricketing stars and will be the first of its kind in Sri Lanka.
The event organisrs, Somerert Entertainment Ventures (SEV) have found a window for the tournament which is sandwiched between Sri Lanka's tour of England and Australia's tour of Sri Lanka.

The event will kick off on July 15th and will go on for 18 days. Twenty four hotly contested matches, including the two semi-finals and the final, will be played at the R. Premadasa Stadium. There will be two matches on certain days.


Dashing opener T. M. Dilshan will lead Basnahira while Kumar Sangakkara (Kandurata), Mahela Jayawardane (Wayamba), Sanath Jayasuriya (Ruhuna) and Chaminda Vaas (Uva) will be the other captains.

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi (Nagenahira) and New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori (Uthura) have been chosen to lead two provinces that were isolated from the game for ages due to the civil war.

Five overseas players could be registered to a provincial team but only four will be allowed to play in a match. Sri Lankan national selectors and cricket authorities have agreed to blood as many youngsters and almost 70 Sri Lankan cricketers will be registered in the seven team tournament.

Almost all Pakistani national cricketers will be invited to play in the SLPL. Factually, Sri Lanka was Pakistan's adopted home in the 2011 Cricket World Cup concluded last month as they played all their first round matches in Sri Lanka.

In addition to that, Chris Gayle and the Bravo cousins (Dwayne and Darren) from West Indies, Pathan brothers (Irfan and Yousuf) from India, Herschelle Gibbs, David Warner and Shaun Tait will be seen in action on Sri Lankan soil.

The availability of retired great Muttiah Muralitharan is not yet confirmed but some unconfirmed sources revealed that he is eager to play in the series.

Milind Rege, the tournament manager of the 2011 cricket World Cup will be in charge of all cricketing matters of the tournament. Rege is a former Ranji Trophy captain for Mumbai and recently retired from TATA corporation as a managing committee member.

Source : Daily Mirror

Blond Dilshan back to black for Sri Lanka captaincy

Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan said on Wednesday he had ditched his blond streaks as well as his earring to present a more sober image in his new role as national captain.

The 34-year-old has dyed his blond highlights back to black and removed his earring after selectors gave him the captaincy following the resignation of Kumar Sangakkara after the team's runners-up spot at the World Cup.

"Times have changed. I pierced my ear when my daughter cried when her ears were being pierced," he said during a brief two-day visit to Colombo from Indian Premier League duties. Dilshan plays for IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore.

"Now I don't see a need to wear the earring. The same with my hair. It was fashionable then for me, it's not so now," he said while his actress wife Manjula Thilini smiled sitting in the audience.
Dilshan, famous for his signature scoop shot, said he hoped to continue his aggressive batting style when he leads the team on next month's tour of England.

"I'm a bit aggressive. Perhaps I will sometimes change my style a bit. But I might play with it (aggressiveness) even as a captain," the opening batsman said. "Captaincy is a challenging role for me. It's a dream come true. I never expected it," said the father of two.

"I want to give it my best shot. I have played for nearly 12 years. It's been a very long journey to the top," said Dilshan, who led Sri Lanka to a win in a triangular one-day series in Zimbabwe, which also included India.

He had an excellent World Cup, where he was the tournament's highest scorer with 500 runs from nine matches at an average of 62.50.

Source : DailyMirror

T.M. DILSHAN APPOINTED AS NATIONAL CAPTAIN - SLC Media Release

Attention	All Print and Electronic Media
From	Media Unit – Sri Lanka Cricket
Subject	T.M. Dilshan Appointed as National Captain
Date	April 18, 2011

Sri Lanka Cricket is proud to announce the appointment of T.M. Dilshan as the National Captain in all 3 formats of the game for Sri Lanka’s tour of England in May 2011.

The National Selectors have postponed the appointment of a Vice Captain, since the prospective candidates are nursing injuries, and their availability for the forthcoming tour is still in question.
Sri Lanka Cricket will keep the media updated on further developments pertaining to the appointment of the Vice Captain in due course.

“Thank you once again for you continued support to Sri Lanka Cricket”

Tel: + 94 (0)11 4718734, Fax: + 94 (0)11 4718736, E-mail: media@srilankacricket.lk


Brian Thomas
Media Manager
Sri Lanka Cricket

Dilshan exit a blow for RCB.

Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Daniel Vettori thinks his side will struggle to replace Tillakaratne Dilshan when he is on international duty.

Dilshan, who was the top run-scorer at the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup after amassing 500 runs in nine innings, will exit the side's Indian Premier League campaign to play for Sri Lanka when they tour England through May-June.

The loss of such a star will hurt Vettori's side, but the New Zealand spinner is hopeful some of the younger players in the squad can shine in Dilshan's absence.

"He's a pretty important player for us, he obviously opens the batting," Vettori said.

"He's a very good fielder and more often than not he's going to bowl four overs, so there's not too many people that offer you that and it'll be tough to replace him, but we have to."

"We've got Luke Pomersbach, Rilee Roussow, they're both young batsmen who can bat at the top of the order."

"But they don't quite offer the bowling option that Dilshan does and obviously the experience that Dilshan has and how good a performer he is."

The Challengers take on the Deccan Chargers on Thursday, hoping to avenge a defeat to Mumbai.

Source : sportal.co.in

Dilshan doping reports are false

Sri Lankan cricket officials deny reports that Tillakaratne Dilshan has tested positive in a dope test during the on-going ICC Cricket World Cup.

The Sri Lankan team manager, Brian Thomas, told ESPNSTAR.com that Dilshan did not even undergo the dope test.

"The only two cricketers who underwent the test include Chamara Silva and Ajantha Mendis," he said.

"These are all rubbish going around the media here. These are all false reports," he said.

Earlier, Sri Lankan media reports claimed that Dilshan tested positive with a banned substance.
The only player to be tested positive during the World Cup is Australia's Shane Warne.

Source : ESPN

Dilly speaks about the Big Event.

"Everything is going well at the moment for us and we are looking forward to the World Cup," Dilshan said. "Whenever I get a chance I want to get a start and capitalize on that and get big runs. I am going to give 100% for the team and am looking forward to the games."


"I batted at No. 7 from 1999 to 2008. I felt I could do more at the top of the order and I volunteered to open. I had a chat with Mahela [Jayawardene] and he said, 'okay you first play in the domestic season and let's see'. I got the Man of the Series in the domestic tournament and from there my game totally changed. The last two or three years have been my best in both Test and one-day cricket," Dilshan said. 

Dilshan said that Sri Lanka's consistency in the ODI format leading up to the World Cup, would hold them in good stead for the tournament."If you take the last 15 months, we have played 27 ODIs and lost only six. Now, that's quite a good record. We are very consistent and it's a very good sign as well."

Dilshan, one of Sri Lanka's best fielders, said fielding would play a key role in the tournament. "We've had good fielding sides right throughout. We are doing a lot of practice with our fielding coach Ruwan Kalpage. We are training in some new fielding methods and the results can be seen in how we have done in the last couple of matches."

Sri Lanka play two warm-up games against Netherlands and West Indies. They open their World Cup campaign against Canada in Hambantota on February 20.   [Source : ESPN ]