GUYANA CHRONICLE August Wednesday 27, 2014
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Mathews, Perera star as Sri Lanka square ODI series
Thisara Perera slams 65 off 36 balls, and then comes back with the ball to take three for 19. (REUTERS) - A responsible half-century from captain Angelo Mathews and some big hitting by Thisara Perera set up a comprehensive 77-run win for Sri Lanka
against Pakistan in the second ODI yesterday and helped the hosts level the series at 1-1. Mathews (93) once again fell short of a deserved maiden ODI hundred but all-rounder Perera smashed five boundaries and four sixes in a 36-ball 65 to take Sri Lanka to 310 for nine in their 50 overs after they won the toss and opted to bat. Pakistan started briskly but lost their way against the spinners in the middle overs and Perera then returned with the ball to take three wickets for 19 runs and mop up the lower order as the tourists were all out for 233 in the 44th over. In-form Mathews, who also scored 89 in a losing cause in the first ODI at the same venue at Hambantota, and Perera added 87 for the seventh wicket as
Sri Lanka added 80 in their last six overs to set Pakistan a steep target. Mahela Jayawardene (67), who has retired from both Tests and Twenty20 internationals, propped his team up with a 122run stand with Mathews for the fourth wicket after Sri Lanka were reduced to 62 for three. Part-time off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez pegged Sri Lanka back with a three-wicket burst as the hosts were reduced from 184-3 to 194-6 in the space of a few overs. Mathews consolidated again before falling to left-arm paceman Wahab Riaz, who was the most successful bowler with four for 65, but by then the hosts had closed in on the 300-run mark, which was breached by Perera’s pyrotechnics. Hafeez (62) and opener Ahmed Shehzad (56) added 96 for
the second wicket in quick time for Pakistan but both fell to legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna, who was brought into the Sri Lanka team for the second match. The required run-rate kept creeping up and left-arm spinner Rangana Herath piled on the pressure by taking out Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq (36) and Sohaib Maqsood (nine) during the batting powerplay. Big-hitting Shahid Afridi (17) tore into Lasith Malinga in an over, hitting the paceman for three fours, but did not last long as Perera got into the act. Fawad Alam (30) ran out of partners and became man-of-thematch Perera’s third victim before Malinga came back to clean up Junaid Khan for his second wicket and complete the victory. The third and final match of the series will be played at Dambulla on Saturday.
Scoreboard SRI LANKA innings U. Tharanga c U. Akmal b Riaz 27 T. Dilshan c U. Akmal b J. Khan 13 K. Sangakkara c Maqsood b Riaz 11 M. Jayawardene b Hafeez 67 A. Mathews c Hafeez b Riaz 93 S. Prasanna lbw b Hafeez 1 A. Priyanjan lbw b Hafeez 3 T. Perera run-out (Shehzad, U. Akmal) 65 N. Kulasekara not out 5 L. Malinga b Riaz 0 Extras: (lb-11, nb-1, w-13) 25 Total: (for 9 wickets, 50 overs) 310 Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-51, 3-62, 4-184, 5-188, 6-194, 7-281, 8-310, 9-310. Bowling: M. Irfan 10-0-65-0 (w-2), J. Khan 8-0-64-1 (nb-1, w-3), W. Riaz 10-065-4 (w-2), S.Afridi 10-0-51-0 (w-1), M. Hafeez 10-0-39-3, A. Shezad 2-0-15-0. PAKISTAN innings A. Shehzad c Sangakkara b Prasanna 56 Sh. Khan c Herath b Malinga 9 M. Hafeez lbw b Prasanna 62 U. Akmal c Sangakkara b Dilshan 1 Misbah-ul-Haq c N. Kulasekara b Herath 36 F. Alam c Mathews b T. Perera 30 S. Maqsood lbw b Herath 9 S. Afridi c N. Kulasekara b T. Perera 17 W. Riaz c Herath b T. Perera 5 J. Khan b Malinga 1 M. Irfan not out 1 Extras: (lb-4, w-2) 6 Total: (all out, 43.5 overs) 233 Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-114, 3-115, 4-147, 5-192, 6-202, 7-223, 8-231, 9-231. Bowling: N. Kulasekara 4-1-23-0, L. Malinga 6.5-0-56-2 (w-1), R. Herath 10-2-38-2, A. Mathews 2-0-15-0 (w-1), S. Prasanna 10-0-36-2, T. Perera 3-019-3, T. Dilshan 5-0-25-1, A. Priyanjan 3-017-0.
Bangladesh lift ban on all-rounder Shakib … player available after September 15
Shakib Al Hasan has played 34 Tests and 136 one-day internationals for Bangladesh (REUTERS) - Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan’s six-month ban imposed last month for “misbehaviour” has been lifted, the Bangladesh Cricket Board said yesterday. “After September 15, Shakib will be available for selection,” BCB president Nazmul Hassan told reporters after a board meeting. However, the embargo on participating in overseas competitions will stand. Bangladesh’s most prominent cricketer was banned for what the BCB called a “severe attitude problem”. He later apologised and made a
passionate public plea to the board to reduce the punishment. Shakib, who has played 34 Tests and 136 one-day-internationals, was accused of travelling to the West Indies to play in the Caribbean Premier League Twenty20 tournament without clearance from his board and was subsequently ordered to return to Bangladesh. The 27-year-old had reportedly threatened to quit playing for his country and had an altercation with coach Chandika Hathurusinghe. Shakib has denied the allegation. Yesterday’s decision paved the way for Shakib to play in the home series against Zimbabwe in October-November and the Asian Games kicking off on September 19. “The Board acknowledged that the player had demonstrated exemplary behaviour since he was handed the penalty and we have been pleased with the manner of his appeal,” Hassan said. “The Board will continue to monitor him once he returns to playing cricket. We hope that he has had the opportunity to reflect on a difficult phase in his life and will come back as the player the world knows and the personality everyone expects him to be.”
T&T Under-17 secure top spot in CFU group.
T&T secure top spot in CFU Under-17 BEAUSEJOUR, St Lucia (CMC) - Trinidad and Tobago have moved a step closer to qualifying for the 2015 FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Chile. Their national Under-17 men’s team secured the top spot in their Caribbean Football Union preliminary group with a 3-2 victory over St Lucia at the Beausejour Stadium over the weekend. T&T, who had beaten Grenada and Curacao, topped the group with nine points and have advanced to the CFU Final Round in Haiti next month. The Trinidadians were featured in a thriller with the St Lucians as both teams needed
the win to advance. However, St Lucia only needed a draw since both teams were on maximum six (6) points with the hosts enjoying a better goal difference. Dareem Daniel, Anthony Herbert and a second half winner from Herbert sealed the win for the young Trinidadians while St Lucia pressed for an equaliser in the closing ten minutes of the match. “The boys saved their best performance for the last game in this group phase. We were in control of the game from the first whistle,” head coach Shawn Cooper told Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) media.
“Credit to St Lucia as they pressed us on the break with there quick counter-attacking and they were a very athletic team with some quality players in their squad”. T&T will vie for one of five spots from the Caribbean for the CONCACAF Final round in Honduras next year towards the 2015 FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Chile. The 2015 CONCACAF Under-17 Championship will include 12 teams: five from the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), four from the Central American Football Union (UNCAF), and three from North America.