India 339 for 6 (Yuvraj 131, Karthik 67) beat West Indies 319 (Chanderpaul 63) by 20 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Yuvraj Singh's century formed the backbone of India's imposing score, which they struggled to defend
Related Links
News : Match was closer than we had thought - Dhoni
Player/Officials: Shivnarine Chanderpaul | Dinesh Karthik | Yuvraj Singh
Matches: West Indies v India at Kingston
Series/Tournaments: India tour of West Indies
Teams: India | West Indies
It ended dramatically at Sabina Park, with tension contorting the faces of anxious fans, both Indian and West Indian, as the hosts pursued India's massive total of 339 with tenacity. West Indies chased valiantly and stayed in the game throughout despite the regular fall of wickets but, in the end, their challenge lacked an innings combining aggression with longevity, two qualities that Yuvraj Singh blended perfectly during his match-winning 131 off 102 balls.
India were succumbing to their bugbear, having lost early wickets to the short ball, when Yuvraj joined Dinesh Karthik to rebuild the innings from 32 for 2. His approach made up for the absence of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina and allayed fears of weakness in the batting order. Yuvraj revived the Indian innings by adding 135 with Karthik for the third wicket, a partnership that laid the platform for only the second ODI total in excess of 300 in Jamaica.
That two out of the three 300-plus scores at Sabina Park were made in this match despite a slow pitch and outfield spoke volumes about the mediocrity of the bowling attacks. West Indies' bowling disintegrated after Jerome Taylor's opening spell, losing discipline in line and length as they fed the Indian batsmen a diet of short or full balls. They conceded 22 runs in extras, and bowled three front-foot no-balls resulting in free hits, largesse they could ill afford. India's bowlers were worse, conceding 19 runs through wides, and bowling two no-balls: Chris Gayle deposited one of the free-hits over the long-on boundary. That they defended the target by 20 runs, was more due to the size of the total they were protecting and the West Indies' batsmen's ill-timed dismissals each time they got on a roll.
India seemed unlikely, however, to reach such a large total on evidence of how they batted at the start. Taylor hurried the batsmen with pace and beat them with seam movement during his first spell. He unsettled Gautam Gambhir with a 92mph delivery from round the wicket that hurried the left-hander, whose feeble attempt to hook landed in Dwayne Bravo's hands at midwicket. Unfortunately for West Indies, the pressure Taylor created dissipated because there was none forthcoming from the other end with Lionel Baker, Dwayne Bravo and David Bernard unable to bowl economically for a sustained period.
Even the batsmen who revived India survived nervous starts: Karthik was cut in half by Baker while Yuvraj was constantly beaten by short-of-length deliveries which seamed across him. The moment the length was full, though, the batsmen took advantage: Karthik drove Dwayne Bravo to the extra-cover boundary and Yuvraj was able to put away Baker's full offering to the point fence.
After growing in confidence, Karthik added Twenty20 flavour to the sedate pace of 50-over cricket, reaching his half-century with a scoop that carried for six over fine leg against Bernard. He tried it again, on 67, but this time he was undone by Bernard's slower ball and scooped a catch to the wicketkeeper.
Yuvraj, however, stayed firm and the momentum swung towards India in two phases, the first of which was when the spinners came on after the 20th over. He attacked Suleimann Benn and Gayle, pulling and slog-sweeping thrice over the midwicket boundary and India, largely through Yuvraj scored 70 runs between overs 20 and 27.
The second period of acceleration was during the batting Powerplay, taken in the 34th over. India began the five-over spell on 191 for 3 and Yuvraj set the tone by carving Baker to the cover boundary off the second ball before launching sixes over cover and midwicket to take 16 runs off the over.
Gayle turned to his best bowler but Yuvraj tore into Taylor's second spell, flicking him twice off the pads for four, and hitting him for sixes over cover, midwicket and long-on. MS Dhoni also went after him, shoveling a six down the ground. Taylor's two-over spell cost 37 runs and India scored 62 off the Powerplay. Taylor never recovered from the onslaught and finished with 1 for 74 after conceding only 16 off his first five overs.
West Indies appeared hapless against Yuvraj until Dwayne Bravo found the edge of his bat as he tried to glance towards fine leg. Bravo raised hopes of a fightback by dismissing Ravindra Jadeja first ball but useful innings from Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan steered India past 300, and a six from Harbhajan Singh off the last ball took them to 339.
Chasing 340 needed something special from Gayle and he began to deliver, muscling his way to 37 before top-edging a pull off Ashish Nehra to mid-on. Morton attempted to fill the void left by his opening partner and stepped up after his departure, steering West Indies to 70 for 1 after ten overs before he was unlucky to be given out caught down the leg side for 42. Despite the loss of both set batsmen, Ramnaresh Sarwan ensured West Indies kept abreast with the asking-rate, using his feet nimbly against the spinners to clear the boundary. In fact, Sarwan had just lofted Yuvraj for the most languid of straight sixes when he was run out for 45 the next ball while attempting an unnecessary second run.
It was now down to Shivnarine Chanderpaul and he too stepped up to ensure the equation didn't get out of hand, carting Yuvraj for consecutive sixes and reaching his half-century with two whips to the fine-leg boundary off Ishant Sharma. However, Chanderpaul also fell immediately after hitting a six: he had smacked Yusuf Pathan over the square-leg boundary and was caught repeating the shot the very next ball. Chanderpaul's dismissal for 63 was a crippling blow and appeared to be the end of West Indies chances but they fought on determinedly. Denesh Ramdin threw his bat around, so did Jerome Taylor and David Bernard, fraying India's nerves to the limit. They couldn't quite complete what would have been an astonishing win, though, for they needed one of their more accomplished top-order batsmen to stay to stay a little longer.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Finals
Sri Lanka and Pakistan will hope to provide a thrilling climax to the World Twenty20 when they meet at Lord's.
Both sides, who will be unchanged for the final, are packed with talent and it could be as close as in 2007 when India beat Pakistan in the last over.
But it will also be a reminder of the tragedy in Lahore in March when gunmen shot at Sri Lanka's team bus.
Seven players were injured and five Pakistani policemen who were escorting the bus were killed.
Also caught up in the incident was International Cricket Council match referee Chris Broad, who has appropriately been put in charge of the final by the game's governing body.
Among the players injured was Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara and he said of his team's place in the final: "It's fitting reward for the courage and the way we have played in this tournament.
"I think what Lahore really brought home to us was that we are the same as everyone else - it can happen to anyone, and it happed to us."
Another player injured in the attack was spin bowler Ajantha Mendis, whose 12 wickets in the tournament make him the joint leading wicket-taker along with teammate Lasith Malinga and Pakistan's Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal.
606: DEBATE
Pakistan have been upping the gear at the right time
Londonnaveedshah
"He's won us enough games in this tournament to be called a great spinner in the T20 format - he's already a great player in every other format," said Sangakkara.
"He's a charm for us, the way he's bowled in the middle overs - and even in the first six overs. Even against Pakistan (in the Super Eights), they watched him and didn't really attack him because they know one slight mistake either way and they can get out."
Pakistan must find a way to score off Mendis and, in the closing overs, Malinga if they are to avoid a repeat of their 19-run defeat earlier in the competition and end Sri Lanka's unbeaten run.
But they have plenty of potential match-winners of their own, none more so than all-rounder Shahid Afridi.
He was on the losing side in the 1999 World Cup final against Australia - and again when they were beaten by India two years ago and hopes it will be third time lucky for him.
"We have to win this one," the mercurial 29-year-old said. "I want to do it on my own if I could. This is our best chance to make up for the disappointment of the past."
Afridi orchestrated Pakistan's semi-final victory over South Africa by scoring 51 off 34 balls - and he has also taken 10 wickets in the tournament with his leg-spin.
Shahid Afridi hits out during Pakistan's semi-final victory
He paid tribute to skipper Younus Khan for keeping faith with him and said: "He told me before the game against South Africa that I should play my own game and not worry about anything.
"He also told me that I was a senior player and needed to take responsibility. I had not done well as a batsman for a long time, but I knew the team was relying on me to deliver.
"I could not let them down. I don't want to let them down again."
Coach Intikhab Alam believes there is a parallel to be drawn between Pakistan's 1992 World Cup win and their progress through the World Twenty20.
"The pattern is almost the same. We were on the brink of elimination then, but fought back to make the semi-finals, then the final and then win it in Melbourne.
"Here the team has fought back after bad starts and has peaked at the right time," he said.
Younus, meanwhile, chose to reflect on the wider context of Sunday's match after at least 44 people were killed in continuing troubles in north-west Pakistan.
"In my whole career I have dreamed about lifting the World Cup, or something like that," he said.
"If we win tomorrow it will be good for our future cricket and also for the Pakistani nation as well.
"It has been suffering a lot of things, especially in the north, where I am from. There are a lot of things wrong there."
Pakistan (from): Younus Khan (captain), Shahzaib Hasan, Kamran Akmal (wkt), Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razzaq, Misbah-ul-Haq, Fawad Alam, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Aamir, Ahmed Shahzad, Iftikhar Anjum, Salman Butt, Sohail Tanvir.
Sri Lanka (from): K Sangakkara (captain, wkt), T Dilshan, S Jayasuriya, M Jayawardene, C Silva, J Mubarak, A Mathews, A Mendis, M Muralitharan, L Malinga, I Udana, N Kulasekara, F Maharoof.
Umpires: S Taufel, D Harper (Aus); Match referee: C Broad (Eng)
Both sides, who will be unchanged for the final, are packed with talent and it could be as close as in 2007 when India beat Pakistan in the last over.
But it will also be a reminder of the tragedy in Lahore in March when gunmen shot at Sri Lanka's team bus.
Seven players were injured and five Pakistani policemen who were escorting the bus were killed.
Also caught up in the incident was International Cricket Council match referee Chris Broad, who has appropriately been put in charge of the final by the game's governing body.
Among the players injured was Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara and he said of his team's place in the final: "It's fitting reward for the courage and the way we have played in this tournament.
"I think what Lahore really brought home to us was that we are the same as everyone else - it can happen to anyone, and it happed to us."
Another player injured in the attack was spin bowler Ajantha Mendis, whose 12 wickets in the tournament make him the joint leading wicket-taker along with teammate Lasith Malinga and Pakistan's Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal.
606: DEBATE
Pakistan have been upping the gear at the right time
Londonnaveedshah
"He's won us enough games in this tournament to be called a great spinner in the T20 format - he's already a great player in every other format," said Sangakkara.
"He's a charm for us, the way he's bowled in the middle overs - and even in the first six overs. Even against Pakistan (in the Super Eights), they watched him and didn't really attack him because they know one slight mistake either way and they can get out."
Pakistan must find a way to score off Mendis and, in the closing overs, Malinga if they are to avoid a repeat of their 19-run defeat earlier in the competition and end Sri Lanka's unbeaten run.
But they have plenty of potential match-winners of their own, none more so than all-rounder Shahid Afridi.
He was on the losing side in the 1999 World Cup final against Australia - and again when they were beaten by India two years ago and hopes it will be third time lucky for him.
"We have to win this one," the mercurial 29-year-old said. "I want to do it on my own if I could. This is our best chance to make up for the disappointment of the past."
Afridi orchestrated Pakistan's semi-final victory over South Africa by scoring 51 off 34 balls - and he has also taken 10 wickets in the tournament with his leg-spin.
Shahid Afridi hits out during Pakistan's semi-final victory
He paid tribute to skipper Younus Khan for keeping faith with him and said: "He told me before the game against South Africa that I should play my own game and not worry about anything.
"He also told me that I was a senior player and needed to take responsibility. I had not done well as a batsman for a long time, but I knew the team was relying on me to deliver.
"I could not let them down. I don't want to let them down again."
Coach Intikhab Alam believes there is a parallel to be drawn between Pakistan's 1992 World Cup win and their progress through the World Twenty20.
"The pattern is almost the same. We were on the brink of elimination then, but fought back to make the semi-finals, then the final and then win it in Melbourne.
"Here the team has fought back after bad starts and has peaked at the right time," he said.
Younus, meanwhile, chose to reflect on the wider context of Sunday's match after at least 44 people were killed in continuing troubles in north-west Pakistan.
"In my whole career I have dreamed about lifting the World Cup, or something like that," he said.
"If we win tomorrow it will be good for our future cricket and also for the Pakistani nation as well.
"It has been suffering a lot of things, especially in the north, where I am from. There are a lot of things wrong there."
Pakistan (from): Younus Khan (captain), Shahzaib Hasan, Kamran Akmal (wkt), Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razzaq, Misbah-ul-Haq, Fawad Alam, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Aamir, Ahmed Shahzad, Iftikhar Anjum, Salman Butt, Sohail Tanvir.
Sri Lanka (from): K Sangakkara (captain, wkt), T Dilshan, S Jayasuriya, M Jayawardene, C Silva, J Mubarak, A Mathews, A Mendis, M Muralitharan, L Malinga, I Udana, N Kulasekara, F Maharoof.
Umpires: S Taufel, D Harper (Aus); Match referee: C Broad (Eng)
ICC WT20: Pakistan-Sri Lanka Final Preview
ICC WT20: Pakistan-Sri Lanka Final Preview
20 June 2009
ICC WT20: Pakistan-Sri Lanka Final Preview
Pakistan will want to see the back of Sanath Jayasuriya (right) early in the final.
©Action Images / Andrew Couldridge
Pakistan v Sri Lanka, ICC World Twenty20 final, 21st June, 1400 GMT
Audio coverage | Scorecard | Ball-by-ball | Live simulation | Live blog
By John Pennington
In many ways, it is the perfect final. The two teams who were caught up in one of the darkest days in the history of cricket now face each other in the showpiece finale to what has been a superb tournament at the home of the game. And these are two teams who are well-qualified to go out there and play with smiles on their faces; due to events off the field, for they know full well that cricket is, after all, just a game.
Some of the Sri Lankan squad were both on the team bus in March and were personally affected by the tsunami in December 2004 while the chances of playing international cricket in Pakistan in the future now seems remote due to recent tragic events taking place in that country.
Both teams have played freely, without fear, which might explain why they are the only two outfits left in the competition. Sri Lanka have been all about innovation and unorthodoxy, from Tillakaratne Dilshan's behind-the-head flick to Isuru Udana's bewildering array of slower balls. And we haven't even mentioned Murali, Mendis or Malinga yet.
Pakistan have been, well, Pakistan - mercurial, enigmatic, world-beaters one day, incapable of catching or hitting the ball the next. When it all clicks, as it did against South Africa and the Netherlands, they are as good as any team out there and they have had to be - three straight wins were required to get to the final, and they delivered in style.
In Umar Gul, they have arguably the best pace bowler in Twenty20 cricket, such is his control of his yorkers at the death, and his record figures of five for six against New Zealand were well deserved and it was a beautifully executed spell of bowling.
And in Shahid Afridi, they still have the most potent attacking batsman on the planet and if his bat doesn't talk, his leg-spin is fast becoming as devastating, and certainly more consistent than his batting.
Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have dared to open the bowling with medium pacer Angelo Mathews, bowled 14 out of 20 overs of spin and aren't fazed by a brittle top order - the top four might have scored nearly all of their runs, but more often than not, a couple of them come off, and if they do, then Pakistan will be in trouble.
Dilshan carried their batting against the West Indies in the semi-final with a stunning unbeaten 96 and when Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya both hit form against the West Indies in the Super Eight, there was no way they were going to lose. Mahela Jayawardene's sublime 78 against Ireland was one of the innings of the tournament.
When the two sides met earlier in the tournament at Lord's, Sri Lanka were given a flyer as Sohail Tanvir lost his radar and they never looked back, going on to win by 19 runs. It is difficult to read too much into that match as Tanvir and Salman Butt have sine lost their places in the Pakistan team, with the exciting Shahzaib Hasan and Fawad Alam coming in.
Where the match could be won and lost
When Sri Lanka bat, Pakistan must make early inroads for two reasons. Firstly, if Jayasuriya and Dilshan are allowed to get themselves in, they are incredibly difficult to get out and they score exceptionally quickly and secondly their middle order has not fired, so once the big four are out, they lack firepower. This just shows how well their bowlers have done to defend any score - Sri Lanka remain the only unbeaten side in the competition.
Another key battle will be how both sides combat the yorker merchants Lasith Malinga and Umar Gul. Malinga has the unorthodox, slingy action and Gul the uncanny knack of getting the ball to reverse from about the 12th over, which is usually just when he is called on to bowl.
Spin is king in Twenty20, and these two sides are loaded with spinners - Sri Lanka can use up to four, with Muralitharan, Mendis, Jayasuriya, and Dilshan all more than useful and beware the side that gets below the asking rate and has to take on Murali and Mendis. Pakistan have a balance, with Afridi backed up by off-spinners Saeed Ajmal and Shoiab Malik while if Younus wants to gamble again, he has the left-arm spin of Fawad Alam to call on.
Likely Teams
Pakistan: Shahzaib Hasan, Kamran Akmal (wk), Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Younus Khan (c), Misbah-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Fawad Alam, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Aamir
Sri Lanka: Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne Dishan, Kumar Sangakkara (c, wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Chamara Silva, Jehan Mubarak, Angelo Mathews, Isuru Udana, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Lasith Malinga
Watch Out For
Pakistan: Kamran Akmal's rocket starts - they don't tend to last, but they are entertaining, Shahid Afridi's quicker ball - do not, under any circumstances, try to cut it, and Umar Gul's toe-crushing yorkers - good luck hitting them for six.
Sri Lanka: Dilshan's over-the-head flick - impossible to set a field for, the guile of Mendis, the man who can deceive anyone, despite not actually turning the ball all that much and Lasith Malinga, who if he gets it right, could rip out half a side in one over.
Star Performers
Pakistan: Umar Gul is the leading wicket-taker, Shahid Afridi the leading bar-emptier and Younus Khan the cool, collected leader on the field
Sri Lanka: Dilshan is the leading run-scorer, Angelo Mathews the surprise all-round package while any one of Murali, Mendis and Malinga could win the game
Waiting In The Wings
Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq, who performed outstandingly in 2007, has yet to fire but is speaks volumes that Pakistan have not thought of dropping him. The stage is set for him to lay the ghosts of Johannesburg to rest on Sunday.
Sri Lanka: Chamara Silva, Jehan Mubarak, and Angelo Mathews comprise a middle-order that has done precious little so far. They will be hoping they won't have to, but if they are called on come Sunday, one of them has to play an innings of substance. Rarely has a team been so top and bottom heavy but scored so few runs in the middle.
© Cricket World 2009
20 June 2009
ICC WT20: Pakistan-Sri Lanka Final Preview
Pakistan will want to see the back of Sanath Jayasuriya (right) early in the final.
©Action Images / Andrew Couldridge
Pakistan v Sri Lanka, ICC World Twenty20 final, 21st June, 1400 GMT
Audio coverage | Scorecard | Ball-by-ball | Live simulation | Live blog
By John Pennington
In many ways, it is the perfect final. The two teams who were caught up in one of the darkest days in the history of cricket now face each other in the showpiece finale to what has been a superb tournament at the home of the game. And these are two teams who are well-qualified to go out there and play with smiles on their faces; due to events off the field, for they know full well that cricket is, after all, just a game.
Some of the Sri Lankan squad were both on the team bus in March and were personally affected by the tsunami in December 2004 while the chances of playing international cricket in Pakistan in the future now seems remote due to recent tragic events taking place in that country.
Both teams have played freely, without fear, which might explain why they are the only two outfits left in the competition. Sri Lanka have been all about innovation and unorthodoxy, from Tillakaratne Dilshan's behind-the-head flick to Isuru Udana's bewildering array of slower balls. And we haven't even mentioned Murali, Mendis or Malinga yet.
Pakistan have been, well, Pakistan - mercurial, enigmatic, world-beaters one day, incapable of catching or hitting the ball the next. When it all clicks, as it did against South Africa and the Netherlands, they are as good as any team out there and they have had to be - three straight wins were required to get to the final, and they delivered in style.
In Umar Gul, they have arguably the best pace bowler in Twenty20 cricket, such is his control of his yorkers at the death, and his record figures of five for six against New Zealand were well deserved and it was a beautifully executed spell of bowling.
And in Shahid Afridi, they still have the most potent attacking batsman on the planet and if his bat doesn't talk, his leg-spin is fast becoming as devastating, and certainly more consistent than his batting.
Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have dared to open the bowling with medium pacer Angelo Mathews, bowled 14 out of 20 overs of spin and aren't fazed by a brittle top order - the top four might have scored nearly all of their runs, but more often than not, a couple of them come off, and if they do, then Pakistan will be in trouble.
Dilshan carried their batting against the West Indies in the semi-final with a stunning unbeaten 96 and when Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya both hit form against the West Indies in the Super Eight, there was no way they were going to lose. Mahela Jayawardene's sublime 78 against Ireland was one of the innings of the tournament.
When the two sides met earlier in the tournament at Lord's, Sri Lanka were given a flyer as Sohail Tanvir lost his radar and they never looked back, going on to win by 19 runs. It is difficult to read too much into that match as Tanvir and Salman Butt have sine lost their places in the Pakistan team, with the exciting Shahzaib Hasan and Fawad Alam coming in.
Where the match could be won and lost
When Sri Lanka bat, Pakistan must make early inroads for two reasons. Firstly, if Jayasuriya and Dilshan are allowed to get themselves in, they are incredibly difficult to get out and they score exceptionally quickly and secondly their middle order has not fired, so once the big four are out, they lack firepower. This just shows how well their bowlers have done to defend any score - Sri Lanka remain the only unbeaten side in the competition.
Another key battle will be how both sides combat the yorker merchants Lasith Malinga and Umar Gul. Malinga has the unorthodox, slingy action and Gul the uncanny knack of getting the ball to reverse from about the 12th over, which is usually just when he is called on to bowl.
Spin is king in Twenty20, and these two sides are loaded with spinners - Sri Lanka can use up to four, with Muralitharan, Mendis, Jayasuriya, and Dilshan all more than useful and beware the side that gets below the asking rate and has to take on Murali and Mendis. Pakistan have a balance, with Afridi backed up by off-spinners Saeed Ajmal and Shoiab Malik while if Younus wants to gamble again, he has the left-arm spin of Fawad Alam to call on.
Likely Teams
Pakistan: Shahzaib Hasan, Kamran Akmal (wk), Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Younus Khan (c), Misbah-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Fawad Alam, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Aamir
Sri Lanka: Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne Dishan, Kumar Sangakkara (c, wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Chamara Silva, Jehan Mubarak, Angelo Mathews, Isuru Udana, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Lasith Malinga
Watch Out For
Pakistan: Kamran Akmal's rocket starts - they don't tend to last, but they are entertaining, Shahid Afridi's quicker ball - do not, under any circumstances, try to cut it, and Umar Gul's toe-crushing yorkers - good luck hitting them for six.
Sri Lanka: Dilshan's over-the-head flick - impossible to set a field for, the guile of Mendis, the man who can deceive anyone, despite not actually turning the ball all that much and Lasith Malinga, who if he gets it right, could rip out half a side in one over.
Star Performers
Pakistan: Umar Gul is the leading wicket-taker, Shahid Afridi the leading bar-emptier and Younus Khan the cool, collected leader on the field
Sri Lanka: Dilshan is the leading run-scorer, Angelo Mathews the surprise all-round package while any one of Murali, Mendis and Malinga could win the game
Waiting In The Wings
Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq, who performed outstandingly in 2007, has yet to fire but is speaks volumes that Pakistan have not thought of dropping him. The stage is set for him to lay the ghosts of Johannesburg to rest on Sunday.
Sri Lanka: Chamara Silva, Jehan Mubarak, and Angelo Mathews comprise a middle-order that has done precious little so far. They will be hoping they won't have to, but if they are called on come Sunday, one of them has to play an innings of substance. Rarely has a team been so top and bottom heavy but scored so few runs in the middle.
© Cricket World 2009
The 2nd SemiFinals Og T20 World Cup 2009
The West Indies went into yesterday's semi-final against Sri Lanka aware of three major threats, those being fast bowler Lasith Malinga, and the spinning duo of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis.
Muralitharan and Mendis have been so miserly in the middle overs for Sri Lanka throughout this tournament, and with the death
bowling of Malinga, Sri Lanka back themselves to defend any total that they post.
But surely yesterday would be different to days gone by? Sri Lanka had posted 158, on a good track in their first game of the tournament at The Oval, and the West Indies have openly said how much they love playing at the South London venue throughout the course of the competition, indeed just two weeks before this semi-final clash, they had chased down 169 with the best part of five overs to spare against Australia.
Surely sensible batting and a couple of good partnerships would see the West Indies through to the final at Lords on June 21st? I went downstairs during the interval to walk around the ground and get a feel of the atmosphere when I heard a huge roar and one look at the big screen and I discovered that Xavier Marshall had yet again failed on the big stage, he was bowled for a duck by Angelo Mathews, so the West Indies were 1-1, at this stage I thought it best that I make my way back to the safe haven of the press box. As I walked through the media centre, I was greeted by numerous West Indian fans, filing out of the stands.
"This cant be happening to me," one fan moaned as I took my seat in the press box to see that Lendl Simmons had also been dismissed. I started to realise just why some of the fans in maroon were deciding to have an early night; two balls later Dwayne Bravo got an inside edge and like the other two batsmen dismissed he was bowled to leave the West Indies reeling at one for three after one over.
All the talk was about the three Ms yet no one bargained for a fourth M being the destroyer, Angelo Mathews, the right arm seamer from Colombo finished with figures of three for 16 from his four overs, but it was his first over that virtually sealed the game for Sri Lanka.
The West Indies had already had a taste of Mathew's brilliance in the group stages when the athletic fielder attempted to take a catch on the long on boundary after Sarwan smashed a ball high in the air. However, realising that he was close to the boundary, Mathews palmed the ball up in the air, jumped over the rope, and then leaped off the ground as he palmed the ball back into play and his efforts saved Sri Lanka three runs.
Mathews' performance illustrates just why Sri Lanka have been so difficult to beat and why they are fancied by many to be crowned champions on Sunday as even when the marque names don't deliver, someone else does; yesterday Mathews answered the call quite emphatically.
Muralitharan and Mendis have been so miserly in the middle overs for Sri Lanka throughout this tournament, and with the death
bowling of Malinga, Sri Lanka back themselves to defend any total that they post.But surely yesterday would be different to days gone by? Sri Lanka had posted 158, on a good track in their first game of the tournament at The Oval, and the West Indies have openly said how much they love playing at the South London venue throughout the course of the competition, indeed just two weeks before this semi-final clash, they had chased down 169 with the best part of five overs to spare against Australia.
Surely sensible batting and a couple of good partnerships would see the West Indies through to the final at Lords on June 21st? I went downstairs during the interval to walk around the ground and get a feel of the atmosphere when I heard a huge roar and one look at the big screen and I discovered that Xavier Marshall had yet again failed on the big stage, he was bowled for a duck by Angelo Mathews, so the West Indies were 1-1, at this stage I thought it best that I make my way back to the safe haven of the press box. As I walked through the media centre, I was greeted by numerous West Indian fans, filing out of the stands.
"This cant be happening to me," one fan moaned as I took my seat in the press box to see that Lendl Simmons had also been dismissed. I started to realise just why some of the fans in maroon were deciding to have an early night; two balls later Dwayne Bravo got an inside edge and like the other two batsmen dismissed he was bowled to leave the West Indies reeling at one for three after one over.
All the talk was about the three Ms yet no one bargained for a fourth M being the destroyer, Angelo Mathews, the right arm seamer from Colombo finished with figures of three for 16 from his four overs, but it was his first over that virtually sealed the game for Sri Lanka.
The West Indies had already had a taste of Mathew's brilliance in the group stages when the athletic fielder attempted to take a catch on the long on boundary after Sarwan smashed a ball high in the air. However, realising that he was close to the boundary, Mathews palmed the ball up in the air, jumped over the rope, and then leaped off the ground as he palmed the ball back into play and his efforts saved Sri Lanka three runs.
Mathews' performance illustrates just why Sri Lanka have been so difficult to beat and why they are fancied by many to be crowned champions on Sunday as even when the marque names don't deliver, someone else does; yesterday Mathews answered the call quite emphatically.
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