Sports
Samarawickrama, bowlers help SL make winning start in Super 4s
An impressive 72-ball 93 from Sadeera Samarawickrama on a trying wicket, followed by three-wicket hauls for Dasun Shanaka and Maheesh Theekshana, helped Sri Lanka begin the Super Fours of the Asia Cup with a 21-run victory in Colombo on Saturday (September 9). Towhid Hridoy came up with a fighting 82 off 97 in the chase of 257 but regular wickets meant that Bangladesh ended up short, as they suffered their second successive defeat in the second leg of the tournament while Sri Lanka recorded their 13th successive victory in ODI cricket.
Mehidy Hasan and Mohammad Naim were involved in a half-century stand to help Bangladesh make a steady start in the chase. Mehidy cashed in on some loose deliveries to strike two fours off Theekshana while Naim was slightly jittery at the other end, playing and missing multiple times, and he was also slower with his scoring compared to his partner. Bangladesh, though, brought up the fifty in the 11th over, with Mehidy scoring at a run-a-ball. However, his stay came to an end when Shanaka bowled a short one and Mehidy was late on the pull, handing a catch to midwicket. Naim, 46-ball struggle for only 21 runs was ended by the Sri Lanka skipper, again with a short ball.
Bangladesh were in more trouble when Matheesha Pathirana removed Shakib Al Hasan in the 16th over. Shakib poked at a delivery outside off and ended up getting an edge to the ‘keeper, with Sri Lanka having to take the review route to send the Bangladesh skipper back to the hut. The procession continued as they slipped to 83/4 when Litton Das got an inside edge off Dunith Wellalage and the ball bounced off ‘keeper Kusal Mendis’s knee before he juggled and held on to it. The quick wickets meant that Towhid Hridoy and Mushfiqur Rahim had to minimise the risks in their rebuilding job, raising a half-century stand in 84 deliveries as the required rate rose past seven in the 33rd over.
Hridoy and Rahim extended their partnership to 72 before Shanaka returned to dismiss the latter who failed to clear mid-off. Hridoy brought up a 73-ball fifty with a four and also struck two boundaries off Theekshana, with the equation reading 81 off the last 10 overs. After seeing Shamim Hossain out lbw to Theekshana, Hridoy struck a four off Pathirana and a six off Theekshana. But Sri Lanka got a huge advantage in the game when Theekshana had Hridoy out lbw in the 80s, with a review failing to help him. Pathirana cleaned up the tail to also pick up three as Bangladesh’s innings ended in the 49th over.
Earlier, Sri Lanka got off to a good start after being asked to bat, with Dimuth Karunaratne and Pathum Nissanka putting on a brisk 34-run partnership. Hasan Mahmud ended the stand by having Karunaratne caught behind but another good partnership ensued, between Nissanka and Mendis, setting up a good platform for Sri Lanka. Bangladesh did well to apply the brakes on the scoring but their catching left the bowlers disappointed as both Nissanka and Mendis got lucky breaks. Shoriful finally ended the 74-run stand by having Nissanka trapped leg-before, and also picked up the wicket of Mendis soon after the No.3 reached fifty.
Taskin Ahmed bowled a slower ball to have Charith Asalanka caught at mid-on and Dhananjaya fell to Mahmud attempting a backfoot punch. While wickets fell around him, Samarawickrama played a steady hand with good strike rotation and timely boundaries. Scoring at a good rate, he powered his team’s progress as he went past fifty in the 42nd over, with Sri Lanka crossing 200 in the next. Shanaka, who played second fiddle in a 60-run stand with Samarawickrama, became Mahmud’s third scalp. Samarawickrama entered the 80s by scoring the first six of the innings, off Mahmud, who then had Wellalage run out by kicking the ball onto the stumps. Taskin accounted for Theekshana in the final over but Samarawickrama responded with a four and a six, before getting out.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 257/9 in 50 overs (Sadeera Samarawickrama 93, Kusal Mendis 50; Hasan Mahmud 3-57, Taskin Ahmed 3-62)
Bangladesh 236 in 48.1 overs (Towhid Hridoy 82, Dasun Shanaka 3-28, Matheesha Pathirana 3-58)
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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