The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Dilshan sets The Oval ablaze

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Dilshan sets The Oval ablaze

Special Correspondent

London: Tillakaratne Dilshan is light on feet and heavy with shots. The Oval was his canvas as he innovated and created with brush strokes of inspiration.

The Lankan opener held centre-stage with a magnificent unbeaten 57-ball 96 as Sri Lanka, inserted, recovered to a potentially match-winning 158 for five in the second ICC World Twenty20 semifinal here on Friday.

Dilshan’s innings was the effort of a natural riding on his skills. For the West Indians, he was a road-block. The Lankan innings revolved around the opener.

Sri Lanka — 98 for three after the 15th over — collected a whopping 60 off the last five overs.

Angelo Mathews used the long handle effectively against Chris Gayle’s off-spin in the final over — the all-rounder struck a six and a boundary — and Dilshan required a six off the last ball for a hundred. He managed two but walked back to a rousing ovation.

The West Indies attack was without the fiery Fidel Edwards — the paceman has picked up a back injury — but this should not take any credit away from Dilshan.

The manner in which Dilshan manages to get inside the line of the short-pitched deliveries enables him make room. He can either get under the ball for the scoop shot over the ’keeper or just paddle it over short fine-leg.

He also picks the length in a jiffy, an important element of handling back-of-a-length deliveries from the pacemen. Dilshan is a quick-thinking batsman with tremendous bat-speed and an instinctive ability to find the gaps.

When Jerome Taylor slipped in the slower bouncer, he made the adjustments swiftly to direct the ball over the keeper’s head. The Lankan supporters were on their feet.

Another aspect

With the next delivery, Dilshan displayed another aspect of his batsmanship — disrupting the bowler’s line even as he harnessed the pace on the ball. With the off-side field packed, Dilshan picked a full delivery from just outside off and eased it over fine-leg for the maximum. The Lankan innings gathered momentum in the fourth over.

Dilshan continued to sparkle under a dark sky. When Dwayne Bravo provided him an element of width in the fifth over, the right-hander beat the point twice for boundaries. When the bowler gave Dilshan the length, he was punched down the ground.

He is a wonderful player of spin as well. Gayle was steered with soft hands by Dilshan to the third-man fence. The West Indian skipper followed this with a length delivery and Dilshan slog-swept him for the maximum.

The West Indians got their game-plan right against Jayasuriya.

Both Taylor and Sammy bowled a fuller length to the punishing left-hander cramping him for room. Jayasuriya, who can dismiss the ball ruthlessly with short-arm jabs on either side, was unable to break free.

He was also forced to take risks; Jayasuriya had to give Sammy the charge before clubbing him to the long-on fence.

He came perilously close to being adjudged leg-before to left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn before being held at short fine-leg off Bravo; the bowler had intelligently changed the angle by delivering from round-the-wicket to the southpaw. Jayasuriya’s 37-ball 24 was a ponderous effort by his standards.

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