The Hindu : Sport : England wins

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Thursday, Oct 11, 2007
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Sport

England wins

Ted Corbett

COLOMBO: The fourth one-day international between Sri Lanka and England was always going to be a fight to the finish and when the home side lost its first three batsmen for 20 runs rustled together in 11 overs, Kumar Sangakkara was just the man to put up a memorable scrap.

England also had a bonny fighter, its left-handed opening batsman Alastair Cook with his 80 and his century stand with Kevin Pietersen for the third wicket ensured its victory by five wickets and a rare series success in the sub-continent; 3-1 up with one to play.

Add in the one-day series success against India at the end of the summer and England can claim to be in the foothills of a climb to the summit.

Sangakkara battles

Sangakkara battled 102 balls over 69 and put on 126 with Chamara Silva as they gave what appeared to be a demoralised team a score to defend.

Sri Lanka managed 211, plenty on a malign pitch, favouring the seam and swing merchants. Yet Sri Lanka never looked able to dent the England batting.

Sri Lanka, the World Cup finalists, rightly claim that defeat at home is unthinkable but England, with only a success in Bangladesh to boast about on the sub-continent since 1982, wanted victory so badly it could taste it more keenly than all the fine foods of this city of culinary delights.

A mystery

What has caused Sri Lankan misery after its big win in the opening game at Dambulla is a mystery.

I was tempted to think of internal strife as Upul Tharanga was caught at slip, Sanath Jayasuriya out for three and the captain Mahele Jayawardene for nought.

All this crumbling provided was a master class in bloody-mindedness from Sangakkara. Silva never let his concentration slip once so that as the last ten overs approached there were wickets in hand for an all-out assault.

Then in the space of a dozen balls both were out in identical fashion, caught by Ravi Bopara off Stuart Broad, a combination we are likely to see regularly in the next ten years.

Rain clouds threatened the need for a second day but after an abbreviated supper break England needed almost four hours to bowl 50 overs the groups of groundsmen retreated from the covers and England began to bat fluently, losing only Phil Mustard for 19 of 30 in the first six overs.

Fifty came in 14 overs, with a smooth cover drive from Alastair Cook, but when Ian Bell started to play with ease he tried to repeat a lofted drive off Kaushal Lokauarachichi and was caught in the deep.

A brief, intense shower interrupted play for 15 minutes soon after it became possible to decide the game by the Duckworth-Lewis method and as soon as Pietersen settled down with Cook the game was over, even if Cook was out close to a deserved hundred.

SCOREBOARD

Sri Lanka: U. Tharanga c Shah b Sidebottom 4, S. Jayasuriya c Pietersen b Anderson 3, K. Sangakkara c Bopara b Broad 69, M. Jayawardene c Broad b Anderson 0, C. Silva c Bopara b Broad 67, K. Lokuarachchi lbw b Collingwood 9, T. Dilshan lbw b Anderson 17, J. Mubarak b Sidebottom 20, C. Vaas c Pietersen b Sidebottom 2, D. Fernando (not out) 3, L. Malinga (not out) 3, Extras: (lb-3, w-11) 14; Total (for nine wickets) 211.

Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-16, 3-20, 4-146, 5-158, 6-166, 7-190, 8-195, 9-206.

England bowling: Anderson 10-1-33-3, Sidebottom 10-02-27-3, Broad 10-0-54-2, Collingwood 6-0-28-1, Swann 10-0-48-0, Bopara 4-0-18-0.

England: A. Cook b Fernando 80, P. Mustard c and b Malinga 19, I. Bell c Malinga b Lokuarachchi 25, K. Pietersen (not out) 63, P. Collingwood lbw b Fernando 0, O. Shah b Malinga 9, R. Bopara (not out) 1, Extras: (lb-4, w-11) 15; Total (for five wickets) 212.

Fall of wickets: 1-30, 2-84, 3-194, 4-194, 5-208.

Sri Lanka bowling: Vaas 9-2-39-0, Malinga 9-1-39-2, Fernando 10-1-38-2, Lokuarachchi 10-0-57-1, Jayasuriya 4.5-0-18-0, Dilshan 4-0-17-0.

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