SATURDAY, JUNE 20, 2015
S P O R S
Pakistan in trouble after Kaushal Silva’s century first slip by 37-year-old Kumar Sangakkara off Nuwan Pradeep.
Sri Lanka’s innings were built around Kaushal Silva’s painstaking effort that was marked by solid defence even as wickets tumbled regularly at other end
GALLE: Sri Lanka’s bowlers ripped through Pakistan’s top order in dramatic fashion to leave the tourists struggling on the scheduled third day of the first Test in Galle on Friday. After opener Kaushal Silva hit 125 to lift Sri Lanka to 300 in the first innings, Pakistan collapsed to 35-3 in reply before a partial recovery saw them to 118-5 by stumps. Asad Shafiq was unbeaten on 14 and Sarfraz Ahmed was on 15 when rain forced play to end early with the tourists trailing by 182 runs with five wickets in hand. Seamer Dhammika Prasad removed both openers by the third over, paving the way for the bowlers to take control of the innings on what remained an easy-paced pitch at the Galle International stadium. Prasad had Mohammed Hafeez caught at third slip off his sixth delivery and then trapped Ahmed Shehzad leg-before in his next over to reduce Pakistan to 11 for two. It became 35-3 when seasoned left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, brought in to the attack in the sixth
STUBBORN TON: Sri Lankan cricketer Kaushal Silva gestures after scoring a century during the third day of the opening Test match against Pakistan at the Galle International Cricket Stadium. – AFP
over, had Azhar Ali leg-before in his third over. Veterans Younis Khan (47) and skipper Misbah-ul Haq (20) attempted to rebuild with a 51-run stand for the fourth wicket before
both were dismissed in the space of 10 runs in the last session. Younis was bowled as he stepped out to drive off-spinner Dilruwan Perera, and Misbah fell to a brilliant one-handed diving catch at
Solid defence Sri Lanka’s innings were built around Silva’s painstaking effort that was marked by solid defence even as wickets tumbled regularly at the other end. The diminutive right-hander lit up the rain-hit Test with a stubborn 125, his second Test century after making 139 against Bangladesh in Dhaka in January last year. Silva, however, failed to carry his bat through the innings when he was ninth out from the 300th delivery he faced, caught behind off left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar. Silva, who began the day on 80, had reached his century 30 minutes before lunch when he drove Babar through the covers for his 15th boundary. Bad weather had washed out the entire first day’s play on Wednesday and just 64 overs were bowled on the second day due to a wet outfield. Sri Lanka added 11 runs to their overnight score of 178-3 when they lost the wicket of skipper Angelo Mathews, who was bowled by leftarm seamer Wahab Riaz for 19. Dinesh Chandimal contributed 23 in a fifth-wicket stand of 37 with Silva before being bowled by Babar, who was surprisingly handed the second new ball which was claimed after 80 overs. Kithuruwan Vithanage was the third batsman to be dismissed in the morning session when, on 18, he gave Hafeez an easy return catch. Babar removed Prasad and Silva in successive overs before Yasir Shah held a skier off his own bowling to dismiss last man Nuwan Pradeep. Wahab and Babar finished with three wickets each, while Hafeez
SCOREBOARD
Sri Lanka 1st innings: D. Karunaratne c Sarfraz b Wahab 21 K. Silva c Sarfraz b Babar 125 K. Sangakkara c Younis b Wahab 50 L. Thirimanne c Babar b Hafeez 8 A. Mathews b Wahab 19 D. Chandimal b Babar 23 K. Vithanage c and b Hafeez 18 D. Perera c Sarfraz b Yasir 15 D. Prasad b Babar 0 R. Herath not out 6 N. Pradeep c and b Yasir 4 Extras: (lb-5, nb-4, w-2) 11 Total (all out, 109.3 overs) 300 Fall of wickets: 1-30 (Karunaratne), 2-142 (Sangakkara), 3-154 (Thirimanne), 4-189 (Mathews), 5-226 (Chandimal), 6-261 (Vithanage), 7-277 (Perera), 8-288 (Prasad), 9-291 (Silva), 10-300 (Pradeep). Bowling: Junaid 16-5-38-0 (w1), Wahab 26-3-74-3 (nb4, w1), Babar 27-8-64-3, Yasir 30.3-6-79-2, Hafeez 10-0-40-2 Pakistan 1st innings: Mohd Hafeez c Karunaratne b Prasad 2 Ahmed Shehzad lbw b Prasad 9 Azhar Ali lbw b Herath 8 Younis Khan b Perera 47 Misbah-ul Haq c Sangakkara b Pradeep 20 Asad Shafiq not out 14 Sarfraz Ahmed not out 15 Extras: (nb-3) 3 Total (for five wickets, 41.4 overs) 118 Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Hafeez), 2-11 (Shehzad), 3-35 (Azhar), 4-86 (Younis), 5-96 (Misbah). Bowling: Prasad 9-2-24-2, Pradeep 9-1-36-1 (nb2), Herath 12.4-3-33-1, Perera 9-2-23-1, Mathews 2-1-2-0 (nb1) Toss: Pakistan Umpires: Richard Illingworth (ENG) and Paul Reiffel (AUS) TV umpire: Chris Gaffaney (NZL) Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)
and Shah took two each. The three-Test series will be followed by five one-day internationals and two Twenty20 matches. — AFP
ODI SERIES
Black Caps coach Hesson set for ‘fantastic’ England finale NOTTINGHAM: New Zealand coach Mike Hesson believes Saturday’s deciding One-day International against England in Durham will provide a “fantastic finale” to an enthralling series. England ensured a winnertakes-all clash at Chester-le-Street after levelling the five-match campaign at 2-2 with a stunning seven-wicket win at Trent Bridge on Wednesday. New Zealand — who thrashed England by eight wickets in Wellington in February en route to the World Cup final — appeared to be well-placed after making 349 for seven. But England romped to victory with six overs to spare following a third-wicket stand of 198 between Joe Root (106 not out) and skipper Eoin Morgan (113). Runs have flowed from the bats of both teams this series and Hesson said: “It’s been a very entertaining four matches. “Obviously, getting down to Durham should be a fantastic finale.” There is no doubt that, aware of the class of their opponents, a revamped England have raised their white-ball game so far this series. Not that Hesson took any pride in England’s revival. “We’ll feel much prouder if we win the series,” he said.
PLAYING FOOTBALL: England’s Eoin Morgan kicks a ball during nets as his team mates look on. – Reuters
“We play the game in the right spirit and we think we play an entertaining brand, but it’s all about winning games of cricket.” New Zealand, without injured left-arm paceman Trent Boult, saw their attack take a pounding on Wednesday, Nottinghamshire opener Alex Hales leading the way with a quickfire 67 on his home ground. England lost Hales and fellow opener Jason Roy in
quick succession but the tourists couldn’t stem the tide of runs. “At 111 for two, the game was sort of in the balance,” said Hesson. “The way Hales took the game away at the start, we do that to many sides ourselves, so we know that it makes a big chase look a lot smaller. “Then Joe and Eoin played exceptionally well. We struggled to create any pressure at all, pretty
much going at eight (runs) an over the whole time.” A shower briefly halted England’s surge to victory and Hesson said the a damp outfield, allied to an absence of swing, hampered his side. “The key thing is that the ball hasn’t swung over here (in England), at all. Then, with the ball getting wet, it skidded on beautifully so it takes out a lot of your options
and we were punished for that,” said Hesson. ‘Good lesson’ However, the coach was adamant his side should have made a better job of defending a “good” target of 350. “You’ve got to take wickets or create pressure — or ultimately you do both. We struggled to create a succession of dot balls. We struggled to create a succession
of overs that didn’t go for boundaries,” Hesson said. “We were both full and short, it wasn’t just one. It’s quite a young bowling attack in many ways and it was a good lesson for us.” Wednesday’s match featured another big stand from Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, who put on 101 at Trent Bridge following a partnership of 206 during New Zealand’s three-wicket win in Southampton on Sunday, where they both made hundreds. Williamson almost scored backto-back tons, his 90 in Nottingham coming after his superb 118 at the Rose Bowl. “It was selfless from Kane, he knew we needed impetus, so he wasn’t trying to get a hundred. He played for the team,” Hesson said. The International Cricket Council is on the verge of implementing changes to one-day regulations, notably by increasing to five the number of fielders allowed outside the 30 metre circle in the final 10 overs. “I think five out in the last 10 overs would be a good decision,” said Hesson. “But not every series is like this. “We’ve played in many series where the same rules have applied and it’s been 200 plays 201. “This has been a surreal sort of a series,” Hesson added. _ AFP