The Hindu : Sport : Maharoof, Atapattu and Sangakkara fashion Sri Lanka's victory

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 03, 2005

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Sport

Maharoof, Atapattu and Sangakkara fashion Sri Lanka's victory

Sanjay Rajan

CRICKET/ Another disappointing display by inexperienced West Indies

— Photo: V.V. Krishnan

RISING TO THE OCCASION: Captain Marvan Attapatu's knock helped Sri Lanka reach a decent total.

DAMBULLA: The highly-rated left-handed opener Upul Tharanga had a forgettable debut, but skipper Marvan Atapattu (70) and Kumara Sangakkara (79) came good for Sri Lanka, which defeated the West Indies by 50 runs under lights in the third match of the Indian Oil Cup tri-series at the Rangiri Dambulla Stadium here on Tuesday.

However, it was the host paceman, Ferveez Mahroof, who stole the thunder.

The strapping 20-year-old, adjudged Man of the Match, bowled his full quota in one spell and returned impressive figures of 10-5-9-3.

Collapse

With his new-ball partner, Dilhara Lokuhettige proving to be equally incisive and aggressive from the other end, the inexperienced Caribbean line-up, chasing 242 for victory, was reduced to 39 for five, the highlight being the splendid diving caught and bowled dismissal of batting mainstay Shivnaraine Chanderpaul by Lokuhettige in his follow-through.

Young Narsingh Deonarine batted in a determined fashion, but it was Dwayne Smith (68, 90b, 9x4, 2x6) - mixing caution with aggression - who kept the scoreboard moving. He put on 36 for the sixth wicket with Deonarine, 46 for the next with wicketkeeper-bat Denesh Ramdin and 49 off just 34 deliveries for the ninth wicket with Butler before Muralitharan bowled him. Sri Lanka clinched the bonus point by one run.

Earlier, Tharanga, who hails from the Asian Tsunami-ravaged fishing hamlet of Balapitiya, looked impressive in his brief stay. Atapattu used the opportunity to regain his form ahead of the clash against India.

He and Sangakkara took their time to settle in during their 138-run stand off 207 deliveries.

The experienced duo saw off left-arm paceman Deighton Butler, who bowled his full quota in one spell for one for 25, and shifted gears thereafter.

Sri Lanka has 11 points from two matches and the West Indies none from two.

India has seven from two matches, including two bonus points - one from the West Indies match and one for denying Sri Lanka a bonus point in the opening match.

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