South Africa tour of Sri Lanka, 2013

[carnish]

Inconsistency haunts Tharanga...again

When Upul Tharanga made his debut for Sri Lanka in August 2005, his was one of the more remarkable tales in international cricket. Eight months earlier, his family lost their home in the Boxing Day tsunami, that claimed thousands of lives in his home town of Ambalangoda. Only 19 then, Tharanga had played a match in Colombo the day before, and was setting out for home when he had news of the disaster. When he returned to his neighbourhood, he found "nothing was there". Tharanga took three months' leave from the game, as he and his family began piecing their lives together, and found a friend in club teammate Kumar Sangakkara, who gave him money and equipment to help set his cricket on track again. Upon his return to the game, he caught the selectors' eye and had an international hundred one month after making his debut. Next year, five more ODI tons made him one of Sri Lanka's surest long-term prospects. Tharanga has rarely lived up to that promise since. Serene and unyielding in full flow, but cagey and hapless all too often, few other batsmen have stretches of good form as fragile as he. Slim rewards from January's tour to Australia had him left out of the side for four months, but on his return series, Tharanga struck a scintillating 174 that raised hopes he would own Sri Lanka's troublesome second-opening spot for some time. Since that innings, he has made 7, 6, 11, 43, 3 and 5. The 43 could so easily have been 0, had he not been dropped early at second slip. His latest innings, in the third ODI, was a fumbling, frustrating, familiar mess. Groping endlessly at balls outside off stump as the seam bowlers worked the channel, Tharanga edged a boundary between the keeper and slip, and made one run from his remaining 22 deliveries. How blinding a difference from his innings in Kingston just over three weeks ago. That day, Tharanga caressed the ball so languidly, he seemed to be batting in slow-motion fantasy. He cut so late, yet drove and pulled so powerfully, it seemed no delivery imaginable could ever get him out. Tharanga had begun Sri Lanka's innings in a graceful trance, and finished with devilish fury, plundering 66 from his last 22 deliveries to punch out unbeaten, with a strike rate of 109.4. Tharanga also has 13 ODI hundreds - only three fewer than Sangakkara, and Mahela Jayawardene who have both played in twice as many ODIs. How to reconcile that record with the batsman who eats up Powerplay overs, then routinely presents his wicket to slip, thanks to an incurable technical malady, which is almost untenable in the age of two new balls. This pained effort against South Africa bore a resemblance to his 20-ball torture for two runs in the 2011 World Cup final, that sucked the wind from Sri Lanka's sails and set India off apace. Some days Tharanga bats so well, his innings seem like a dream. Other times, he falls asleep at the crease. It is a vacillating pattern he must arrest immediately, because at 28 now, and with eight years of international experience behind him, Tharanga is perfectly placed to ease the coming loss of Sri Lanka's senior batsmen. No one who sees him on his best days will doubt he is capable of greatness, yet he is now two innings away from having his place in the side roundly questioned, again. Sri Lanka have already tried two other opening combinations this year, and there are talented others in the domestic circuit capable of catching the selectors' fancy. "We're not trying to chop and change our openers too much because we're trying to have the same combination and give the players a good run," Angelo Mathews said after the match. "Upul has shown in the recent past, when he got a big hundred, that he can bat through the innings. Unfortunately he couldn't do that in the first three matches, but I'm sure he'll come to the party in the next two. "As batsmen we have to be consistent, and apart from TM Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, we aren't among the runs for long. If we want to win a lot of matches in the future, we can't just leave it to the seniors. We all have to contribute." Tharanga now approaches a fork in his career. If the inconsistency that has ruled his career so far cannot be vanquished, he may forever be banished to the cricketing purgatory so many talented men have known before, when they have flourished yearly in domestic cricket without earning a recall. But if he can discover a route to the sustained batting success he promised in his youth, Sri Lanka will be some way to solving the crisis that rushes towards them.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/sri-lanka-v-south-africa-2013/content/story/655653.html

[carnish]

De Villiers lauds team's character under pressure

There were moments in the third ODI that bore the hallmarks of a classic South Africa meltdown, but after the match the captain AB de Villiers lauded his side's strength under pressure, as they withstood a Thisara Perera onslaught to defeat Sri Lanka by 56 runs. South Africa had almost sewn the match up after 32 overs, having reduced Sri Lanka to 94 for 7, with 130 more to get at 7.22 an over. But having traveled at less than three runs an over until then, Robin Peterson's seventh then disappeared for 35, as Perera blasted five sixes and a four to revive Sri Lanka's chances. Lonwabo Tsotsobe then fluffed the simplest of chances off Perera in the 39th over, which might have set more panic upon the fielding side, but Faf du Plessis held his nerve under a high ball off Perera's blade three overs later, to effectively secure the match. "It's a great win. We handled the pressure situations extremely well, which pleased me very much," de Villiers said. "Robbie [Peterson] went for a big over when I threw him into the deep end. But it's the way the boys reacted which is what made me really proud after that. We stayed really calm, stuck to our game plans, kept it really simple and came out on top. The guys looked really hungry today and I'm glad we made it through. "After Lopsy [Tsotsobe] dropped the catch I told him it could happen to anyone, because I felt he might get another catch, which he did. He improved the second time around. Those kinds of things happen. Sometimes it costs you the game, sometimes it doesn't. This time we were lucky it didn't cost us the game. We moved on, which was the positive thing again. We stayed calm in all the situations and that was great." The victory was largely engineered by David Miller, who struck a career-high 85 not out from 72 balls, to elevate South Africa to 223 for 7. The visitors appeared headed for a modest score below 200 as late as the 48th over, but a Miller blitz off the final two overs, when he bludgeoned 35 from 12 balls, set what was a challenging target on an uncharacteristically dry Pallekele surface. At the time Miller was in the company of Ryan McLaren, with whom he added 69 for the eighth wicket. "When AB went and Robbie got out, I just said to Ryan we really need to hang in here until the last three overs," Miller said. "We were looking at 45 overs the whole time and if either Ryan or myself had got out, it's Morne Morkel and Tsotsobe coming in, so we thought let's really take it as deep as we can. We just decided the last two overs would be key. "The wicket was very slow and had a lot of turn. We really had to work hard up front and try and build partnerships and take a little bit longer than normal. This innings means a lot to me." Tsotsobe's best-ever haul of 4 for 22 also had a major bearing on the result, as he removed Sri Lanka's top three in his first four overs, before returning to dismiss Angelo Mathews in the middle overs. His figures were all the more remarkable because he had not been selected for the second ODI, after being unavailable for the first through injury, but de Villiers was quick to praise the efforts of Morkel, who was unlucky to finish wicketless, having bowled a menacing first spell of four overs that conceded only six. "After missing the first two games and having to prove his form and condition, Lopsy coming back like that, and showing his skill that's in him was really pleasing for me," de Villiers said. "The partnership he and Morne formed up front was outstanding and they set the standard for us. Lopsy picked up the wickets so congrats to him for that, but you've got to give credit to Morne as well. He hit the deck really hard and stuck to his lengths. He didn't give them much to hit and to score off." South Africa also produced their best all-round fielding performance of the series - despite Tsotsobe's drop - after having fielded particularly poorly in the first match in Colombo. Sri Lanka only made 24 in the mandatory 10-over Powerplay, thanks in no small part to the visitors' consummate ground fielding. "We saved about 20 runs in the field I believe. Fielding is an attitude and it's a hunger to win the game. If you have that, you'll always have a good fielding set-up. I thought we had that tonight. We can still improve, but I'd like us to do that more consistently."

http://www.espncricinfo.com/sri-lanka-v-south-africa-2013/content/story/655649.html

[carnish]

Miller's hard work pays off

Castle Lager Proteas’ batsman, David Miller, has credited his match-winning innings of 85 off 72 balls in the third ODI against Sri Lanka at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Friday to the hard work he has put in over the last 18 months. Miller’s career-best performance was crucial in the Proteas’ 56-run win, and further cemented his position as a destructive finisher in the team. “This knock means a lot to me,” a thrilled Miller said. “It was really enjoyable out there, especially blocking out some balls and soaking it up. It was great batting with AB (De Villiers) as well, he was helpful and gave me a lot of advice. I think I learnt a lot out there. “I also enjoyed playing a lot of the spin,” he added. “It was slow and turning a lot, for me the key was just about watching the ball, it was a great challenge.” Miller says it was a strategic call between himself and Ryan Mclaren to wait until the last two overs before going on the attack, a strategy which paid off with 38 runs coming off the last 12 balls. His captain, AB de Villiers, was equally proud of his performance, but also commended the way the team handled the pressure of the must-win match. “We have always known that he has the ability to turn the game around on any kind of wicket and its pleasing to see that coming through,” De Villiers said of Miller’s innings. “I think he has learnt a lot about his game in the last few months, and it’s great to see him perform like that.” The Proteas’ three replacements all made telling contributions towards the victory, a trait De Villiers says comes from within the team environment. “I think we have a good understanding between the players sitting out, the guys who don’t play sometimes even put in more effort than the players on the field,” he said. “All of them played well,” he added. “ Especially Lopsy (Tsotsobe) up front with the ball in hand. After losing out in the first two matches having to prove his form and conditioning, and coming back like that to show his skills was pleasing for me.” The captain feels the squad will take a lot of confidence from the way they defended the low total of 223, and their reaction to the pressure situations. The squad held an optional training session on Saturday afternoon, with a few players eager to fine-tune some areas ahead of the crucial fourth ODI on Sunday.

http://cricket.co.za/news_article.aspx?id=2859&section=news&subsection=news_all

[Square Drive]

On this day seven years ago :hatsoff: But no test matches for them this time around

[carnish]

Guys, I will no more be updating these threads because at the end of the this thread will also be merged with other silly threads on this series like Ind-Zim. No point wasting my time any more. Thanks :bye:

[Mahaa Raavana]

ODIs against Saffers :headshake: Too easy for us... With the SLPL postponed,SLC should have arranged atleast a two test series...Worthless,incompetent buggers...:facepalm:

[carnish]

New routine brings Dilshan relief

Like every great entertainer, Tillakaratne Dilshan likes to adorn his grand performances with a moment the audience will not soon forget. Many times it is a fierce blow through the covers early in the innings - an act that is routinely his statement of unyielding intent, wrists and blade whipping manically toward ball that rarely deserves to be fetched from the fence. Other times it's his shot over the keeper, leaving the bowler wondering if he has a ball that might subdue a batsman who makes such cruel mockery of cricket's basic tenets. Then on his best days, Dilshan plays a stroke that outstrips even the dilscoop for gall. Two years ago in a Twenty20 in Pallekele, he dropped to one knee and swept a low Shane Watson full-toss on off stump, flat and hard over the deep midwicket boundary. 
Against South Africa in the fourth ODI, Dilshan's 17th hundred was notably short on thrills. His go-to shot through the covers was shelved entirely, balls were largely regarded on conventional merit and for much of their 184-run stand, Kumar Sangakkara outscored him blow-for-blow. As Dilshan found his way back from a lean trot and from injury, he caged the abandon that founded his success and ground out a ton he knew he needed to make. It had been seven innings since he last crossed 50, and though he continues to make big breakthroughs with the ball, any team's oldest player can only go so long without a major contribution in his foremost suit. There is unbridled joy in each of Dilshan's hundred celebrations, but this one was tinged with some relief too. He is arriving at a period in his career where he must prove even to himself that his skill remains undimmed. He had attempted a similar innings two matches ago, on a slower surface in Colombo. His 43 from 64 then featured just one four; a glide to the third-man boundary. But having sat out the tri-series against West Indies through injury, perhaps body had not yet begun to fully cooperate with will. A wide delivery he would normally pummel through point took a top edge and finished in the wicketkeeper's gloves. 
 He has also had a major technical flaw re-exposed in this series. On Boxing Day last year, in a moment that epitomised Sri Lanka's ineptness in that match, Dilshan swiped across the line at a full, seaming Mitchell Johnson ball and had his stumps rattled. He spoke of having fixed the flaw when he hit two hundreds in three matches against Bangladesh in March, but departed in almost identical fashion in the Champions Trophy, when Mitchell McLenaghan bowled him in Cardiff. Against South Africa in the first ODI, Dilshan allowed Chris Morris' first straight ball following a spate of wides through his defences, as he aimed a shot through mid-on once again. I'm not going to change how I play. If the ball is there to hit - even if it is the first ball - I'm going to hit it Tillakaratne Dilshan 
Both Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Morne Morkel honed in on Dilshan's stumps early in the innings, hoping he would oblige once more. But like with his cover drive, Dilshan remained untempted. The only expansive stroke he played off the seam bowlers in the arc from square leg to mid-off was a slog off a Tsotsobe free-hit. The straight balls were defused defensively instead, as he endeavoured to establish himself. It is an unusual ploy Dilshan said he may now use more often, if it brings him such success. "Now with the new rule, run scoring has completely changed. If you take the last six or seven months, you can get a lot more runs in the last 15 overs than you can in the first 10. With the two new balls, it's better not to take a chance in those first 10 overs. There are also only four fielders on the boundary later on, when the ball is older and not doing much. When the rules change, we have to adjust as well."

 He could not bring himself to admit he had embraced reticence though. Despite advocating a more thoughtful approach than he is used to, Dilshan remains a creature of instinct and an ardent opportunist. Once the game was secure in Pallekele, he strummed his steady piece into a crescendo, hitting nine late fours to plunder 44 from 21 deliveries. His first 50 runs had come in 83 balls. "Still, given all that, I'm not going to change how I play. If the ball is there to hit - even if it is the first ball - I'm going to hit it." By his own admission Dilshan does not train hard, even in a poor patch, and his method is perhaps no great exemplar for the young men finding their feet in the side. But there was no doubting his thirst for victory in Pallekele, as he strayed from the familiar to regain the confidence his cricket is founded on, and that is worth trading a few memorable shots for.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/sri-lanka-v-south-africa-2013/content/story/656157.html

[carnish]

Pitch played on our minds - de Villiers

Hashim Amla's return to the batting order initially appeared to be the tonic South Africa required to build their first imposing total in the series, but after his departure in the 23rd over, the visitors embarked on a collapse both Amla and AB de Villiers marked as the defining period of the fourth ODI. Amla's 71-ball 77 had driven a brisk second-wicket stand that had taken South Africa to 110 for 1 after 20 overs, but South Africa succumbed to Sri Lanka's spinners, and managed no more than a mediocre 238. JP Duminy, who partnered Amla during that partnership, made 97, but could not find sustained support from the middle order. "That period was the most disappointing thing about today," de Villiers said. "Hash (Hashim) set us up really well to go big, but I think the previous wicket played a bit on our minds. The middle order created more turn than there was. I think we were mentally a bit drained and we didn't support JP well enough. It was definitely, at the very least, a 260-score kind of wicket. Maybe 280, with our kind of batting line-up and the foundation we laid." Amla had progressed with equal ease against Sri Lanka's fast bowlers and spinners, and looked set for a ton before Tillakaratne Dilshan had him lbw with a delivery that turned more than Amla expected. De Villiers departed in Dilshan's next over, and though Duminy managed a 46-run stand with Faf du Plessis, the team lost six wickets for 33 runs, making a competitive score almost impossible. South Africa had also used up their batting Powerplay by the 21st over, hitting the spin of Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath for 24 runs in the five overs. "When Mendis was on in the Powerplay, everything was going quite smoothly," Amla said. "We were knocking the guys for about four or five an over. Unfortunately, I got out, and I think the momentum broke there. We then built up some momentum when we hit 170, but lost our way there as the wicket became a bit harder to bat on in the late afternoon for the new guys coming in." Sri Lanka's three spinners bowled 29.4 overs in total and took seven wickets and South Africa's progress had slowed significantly against them in the middle overs, which contributed to the string of quick dismissals. "I've got to take a bit of responsibility because I got out to Dilshan and the guys coming [in] were a bit more aware of him, trying not to lose their wickets," de Villiers said. "I feel that Dilshan's not a bad bowler, but you can dominate him if you get on top of him, and I was trying to get that going. Unfortunately, I got out playing my first attacking shot, and the rest of the guys following up were a bit circumspect about facing the spinners. Just as we'd get a partnership going, we'd lose another wicket." De Villiers also said South Africa expected the pitch to become harder to bat on than it did, for the second innings. Both the visiting seam bowlers and spinners found the surface to their liking under lights on Friday, as they comfortably defended 223.The fresh pitch on Sunday appeared much more suited to batting however. "Towards the later afternoon we were hoping for it to start turning and misbehaving a bit. When we bowled it skidded through and we didn't see the bounce that treated us so well in the previous game." The match also marked a serious dip in South Africa's fielding standard, after the team produced their most polished performance of the series on Friday. Wayward throws and misfields allowed easy runs throughout the innings, but were particularly prevalent towards the end of the match - albeit after Sri Lanka had begun their final march to victory. "I'm the kind of guy that likes to keep it professional right throughout the hundred overs, so the fielding was disappointing. In saying that, they were batting without any pressure there so they were always going to take the field on a bit more. The boys still tried their best and it's hard to keep your head in the game when they need to knock off 60 odd runs off 80 balls with eight or nine wickets at hand."

http://www.espncricinfo.com/sri-lanka-v-south-africa-2013/content/story/656173.html

[carnish]

Sri Lanka Squad for fifth ODI:

Angelo Mathews ©, Dinesh Chandimal, Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Perera, Thisara Perera, Angelo Perera, Vimukthi Perera, Chaturanga de Silva, Shaminda Eranga, Ajantha Mendis, Sachithra Senanayake, Suranga Lakmal.

Kusal Perera, Vimukthi Perera, Dimuth Karunaratne ... 3 New Faces in the Side. :nice:

[Lord]

^ Mathews given captaincy :hmmm:

[carnish]

^ Mathews given captaincy :hmmm:

Wasn't he the captain already???

[Lord]

Wasn't he the captain already???

it was Chandimal AFAIK

[carnish]

it was Chandimal AFAIK

No, he was standing in for the first two games because Matthews was banned for slow Over Rate

[Lord]

No' date=' he was standing in for the first two games because Matthews was banned for slow Over Rate[/quote'] oh ok

[Square Drive]

i agree with MR.. bring back jayasuriya version 0.2 :hitler:

He's still in beta mode. Stable version yet to be released.

Sri Lanka Squad for fifth ODI: Kusal Perera, Vimukthi Perera, Dimuth Karunaratne ... 3 New Faces in the Side. :nice:

More importantly Tharanag is dropped :aha: :finger: To the Indian bowlers for their poor attempt to screw SL cricket.

^ Mathews given captaincy :hmmm:

it was Chandimal AFAIK

:poink: Mathews was their captain even in the CT trophy.

[Lord]

^ arent you an Aus fan now?:hmmm:

[cowboysfan]

4-1 to lungans if they play on tracks which assist spin.

B->B->

[carnish]

Sri Lanka wrap up series victory

SRI LANKA coasted to an eight-wicket victory over the Castle Lager Proteas at Pallekele Stadium with six overs in hand on Sunday to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match ODI series. The final match will be played at Colombo on Wednesday. Tillekeratne Dilshan, who hit an unbeaten 115 off 130 balls with six fours, and Kumar Sangakkara, who was caught in the deep nine runs short of his century (101 balls, 8 fours and 2 sixes), shared a second wicket partnership of 184 runs to make light work of the target of 239. This was a record for Sri Lanka on home soil and only 16 runs short of the Sri Lankan overall record set by the same two players against India. There was no doubting that Dilshan would be named Man of the Match as he also took the wickets of Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers to cap a fine all-round performance. The Proteas total of 238 after they had won the toss had always looked 30 to 40 short of where they needed to be even before Dilshan and Sangakkara took the game away from them. The only two real highlights for the Proteas were Amla’s first innings of the series (77 off 71 balls with 9 fours) and the all-round contribution of JP Duminy (97 off 121 balls, 7 fours and 2 sixes) backed up by a tidy spell of bowling (34 runs in 10 overs) that was easily the most economical for his side. When Amla and Duminy were together during a second-wicket partnership of 101 in 19 overs, it looked as though the pair had laid the foundation for a total close to 300. But it was not to be, the crucial moments coming when Faf du Plessis, David Miller and Farhaan Behardien were all dismissed for the addition of one run off six deliveries. It meant that the Proteas suddenly slipped from 172/3 to 173/6 going into the final 12 overs. The upshot was that Duminy had to bat conservatively into the final phase of the innings with the last man, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, joining him at the crease with more than five overs still to be bowled. It certainly cost Duminy a well-deserved century as he was the last man out with eight deliveries left unbowled. The Proteas’ performance underlined a couple of bad faults that have crept into their limited overs game of late. The one was the inability of the team to bat out its full 50 overs and the other was a recurrence of the bowling menace that saw a total of 13 wides sent down by various members of the attack. Robbie Peterson was the only one of the six bowlers used not to infringe. If one takes into account that one of the wides went for a boundary and there was also a no ball from Tsotsobe, it meant that 18 extra runs were presented to Sri Lanka on a plate. This is the third time that this particular plague has come to the fore in the four matches played in the series to date. There will be no lack of motivation for the Proteas to come up with something special when the final match takes place on Wednesday.

http://www.cricket.co.za/news_article.aspx?id=2862&section=news&subsection=news_all

[asterix]

Jibran Patel urf Jabroni Ben.... :hehe:

[Bleed-Blue]

Sri Lanka T20 squad

Sri Lanka T20 squad Dinesh Chandimal (capt), Lasith Malinga (vice capt), Kusal Perera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Perera, Jeevan Mendis, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga Lakmal, Sachithra Senanayake, Ajantha Mendis