Sports
Sri Lanka prep for T20 World Cup with nervy 2-0 win
For second time in three days, Oman squandered the chance to secure a win as Sri Lanka chased down their total of 159/8 in the 18th over to seal the two-match series 2-0. Another late partnership from Sri Lanka – for the sixth wicket this time – took them over the line.
Oman’s bright beginnings
The home side lost two wickets in the opening six overs but helped themselves to 44 runs. Though opener Jatinder Singh just couldn’t get going and fell for a forgettable 12-ball five, Kashyap Prajapati and Aqib Ilyas got the innings going with a handful of sixes. Kashyap particularly took a liking for off-break bowler Maheesh Theekshana, hitting him for two big shots.
Post-Powerplay acceleration…
Zeeshan Maqsood took over the mantle after the six-over period, keeping Oman’s momentum going in the seventh when he tonked Akila Dananjaya over deep square leg and extra cover off successive deliveries in the eighth over. Though Zeeshan’s cameo ended at 16 off 8, Oman reached 77/3 at the halfway stage.
What happened in the second half?
Despite a 12-run over in the 13th over off Dasun Shanaka, Oman got only 35 runs in five overs in a period of lull. But Dananjaya’s return kickstarted Oman’s revival before the death as Ilyas smashed two big sixes in the 17-run 16th over. Having made the most of Sri Lanka’s off-day in the field, Ilyas got to a quick-fire half-century, before falling for a 38-ball 60 in the 17th over. Sri Lanka pulled it back by conceding just 19 off the last 18 balls, as Oman reached a par score of 159/8.
How was Sri Lanka’s start?
Very similar to Oman’s.
They got to 48/2 in the PowerPlay, as Fayyaz Butt and Maqsood picked two quick wickets to take out Dinesh Chandimal and Charith Asalanka. One of the half-centurions from the opening game – Avishka Fernando – and opener Pathum Nissanka slowly but steadily plotted the visitors’ recovery.
When did they stutter?
In the 10th and 11th over.
It started with medium-pacer Kaleemullah trapping Nissanka leg before and then Mohammad Nadeem dismissing the heroes of the opening fixtures – Fernando – and Dasun Shanaka in the space of three balls to leave Sri Lanka five down.
Who rescued them tonight?
The sixth-wicket pair of Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Chamika Karunaratne.
When Sri Lanka found themselves tottering at 89 for 5 in 10.3 overs, they needed 71 more to get off 57 balls. It was still gettable if one partnership clicked, and that’s exactly what happened between Rajapaksa and Karunaratne. Oman had the game by the scruff of its neck in that 11th over, but once again crumbled under the pressure of a possible victory.
The Sri Lankan duo dwarfed the target with constant singles and twos, and even got the odd six to keep their scoring rate well ahead of what they needed. The tables truly turned in Bilal Khan’s over in the 14th, when Sri Lanka needed 42 off 36. Oman’s most experienced campaigner bowled a waist high full toss that was carted away for a six in a 13-run over.
Dew didn’t make things easy for Oman either as left-arm spinner Zeeshan Maqsood let one slip out of his hand that went way above the batsman’s head and landed well behind the wicket-keeper. The consequent free-hit ball was carted for a six. With that, Karunaratne showed more urgency, and sealed the game with two sixes – one in the 17th and one in the 18th over. The pair finished with an undefeated partnership of 74 from 42 deliveries, with both batters scoring 35 apiece.
(cricbuzz)
Brief Scores:
Oman 159/8 in 20 overs (Aqib Ilyas 60, Lahiru Kumara 2-20)
Sri Lanka 163/5 in 17.3 overs (Chamika Karunaratne 35 n.o., Bhanuka Rajapaksa 35 n.o.; Mohammad Nadeem 2-22)
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
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