Malaysia in 73-66 win

Yasaratne Gamage - Reporting From Singapore

Malaysia after a challenging game of netball comprehensively defeated Sri Lanka by 73-66 in the second match of the third day of the Netball Nations Cup continued at Toa Payoh Sports hall in Singapore.

Sri Lanka got to a good start by scoring four quick goals but Malaysia soon took control and surpassed their opponents which made them to led the first quarter by five goals.

In the second quarter a good combination of the goal shooter Norashikin Kamala and goal attacker Lzyan Syanzana of Malaysia helped them further to extend the lead with six goals.

Their success in the first half was a mixture of talent and advantage they gained of Sri Lankan netballers mistakes including foul play and aimless ball passing. Malaysia also blocked well the passage to Tharjini and limited her chances of scoring.

Hopes grew for Sri Lanka in the third quarter , despite of few misunderstanding when passing the ball, Sri Lankan lasses played with much confidence . They finished the crucial stage with a lead of three goals. In the final session it was a tight battle as Malaysia were trying hard to retain their lead and in the meantime their opponent were looking to reduce the gap. Though Sri Lanka scored 18 goals against Malaysia's 17 goals it was not enough to save them from defeat as Malaysian had done an early damage. The game ended at 73-66 in favour of Malaysia.

It was not the match expected from them but co captian Gayathri and Tharjini shared the same idea of not having gone through sufficient training prior to the tournament. Their defence was strong and they played a different game to what we expected, on the other hand Malaysian team is familiar with our playing style to which they had set up nicely, said Gayathri after the match.