Lanka a giant step towards semi-finals

Elmo Rodrigopulle in West Indies

WORLD CUP: Sri Lanka beat England by 2 runs in their Super 8 match at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium here in Antigua to take a giant step forward in their quest for a berth in the semi-finals of the World Cup.

Sri Lanka who scored for victory 235 stalled England for 233 for 8. England required 12 runs from the last over bowled by Dilhara Fernando.

First ball went for one, the second for 4, third for 2 and the next two balls saw two singles. Three was required from the last ball. Fernando bowled Bopara in the final ball to send the players into raptures who rushed round him and he was given a heroes welcome back to the pavilion.

At one stage England were 133 for 6 and it looked all over, bar the shouting.

Then the left hand and right hand combination of Paul Nixon and Ravi Bopara staged a gallant recovery with a 83 run stand in 78 balls. Ravi Bopara 52 in 53 balls and Paul Nixon 42 in 44 balls.

When the game looked to be slipping away from Sri Lanka’s grasp, Malinga came on to get the wicket of Nixon and that signalled the beginning of the end for England.

The Sri Lankans never deserved to lose this one. They batted well to make 235 which was not going to be an easy task for England. Dilhara Fernando who bowled his heart out had 3 for 41 and Lasith Malinga 2 for 42, with Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas chipping in with one wicket each.

Ravi Bopara was the man of the match.

The day dawned with the sun shining brightly. The heat and humidity was like in Trinidad and Guyana, very strong and it was going to tell on the players as the game progressed.

This game was very vital to both Sri Lanka and England in their endeavour to make it to the semi-finals.

Michael Vaughan the England captain won the toss and asked the Lankans in on a wicket that did not have the usual moisture and it looked good for runs.

The early overs by James Anderson and Sajid Mahmood showed that there was no early anticipated movement and Upul Tharanga and Sanath Jayasuriya were not in any kind of discomfort.

Jayawardena who had a look at the wicket said it looked a good one for runs and that his batsmen must oblige and put the runs on the board.

Jayasuriya looked as though he was starting from where he left off after bashing a century against the Windies in Guyana. He smashed 4 fours and a six before inside edging a ball on to his wicket. He made 25 in 26 balls. Mahmood was the delighted bowler. It was a big wicket for England.

Jayasuriya’s dismissal put the Lankans on reverse gear as he was the only batsman who could have put them on the fast forward mode. From that moment the other Lankan batsmen could not have their way.

Opener Upul Tharanga dropped anchor and made a valuable 62 but it took him 103 balls with only 2 fours. But what was important was that he stayed put at the wicket.

Mahela Jayawardena was once again in the runs and his 56 from 61 balls was worth its weight in gold. It was nice to see him in the runs again.

He played some exquisite drives in his knock. Kumar Sangakkara 17, Chamara Silva 27 and Russel Arnold 20 also made their contributions, but not big ones that could have taken their team to a match winning total.

Michael Vaughan handled his bowlers well and the bowlers were disciplined and did not concede unnecessary runs.

Sajid Mahmood was always accurate and was rewarded with 4 for 50. He was well supported by Andrew Flintoff 3 for 35 and Paul Collingwood 1 for 44.