A strong Indian outfit aided slightly by English conditions rolled over Sri Lanka in a massive 8 wicket win at Cardiff today.
photo by Cricinfo
In the build up to this match, Sri Lanka’s biggest worry would have been the weather. Rain loomed around Cardiff, and a washed out match would have meant that India go through. Luckily, after briefly threatening in the morning, the rain did in fact stay away. Then things started going downhill, fast.
First, Vice Captain Dinesh Chandimal was ruled out of the match with a groin injury. Sri Lanka then lost an important toss, and were put in to bat on a green pitch, under overcast skies, with a damp outfield. Assessment of the conditions and a good opening partnership were needed to set a foundation. What happened instead was Kusal Perera disappointing yet again, hitting one boundary before giving catching practice to Suresh Raina at slip. Dilshan looked to be in very good touch and hit a couple of good shots before hurting his calf muscle so badly that he had to be helped off the field. Sri Lanka responded by once again sending in Lahiru Thirimanne at 4. This time the ploy didn’t work. His stay at the crease was painful; both for him and for the Sri Lankan supporters watching him. Finally he succumbed having made just 7 of 31 balls. Sangakkara was the next to go, undone by good delivery from Sharma. Sri Lanka effectively 41 for 4 in 18 overs, their backs against the wall. Even MS Dhoni was having a bowl, and quite successfully at that.
Mahela and Mathews started a recovery job, putting on 78 runs together at a reasonable rate. That came to an end however, when Mahela tried to pull a Jadeja delivery, only to have his middle stump disturbed. Any momentum the Sri Lankans were looking to build came to an abrupt halt with that, and the batting powerplay only brought them 12 runs and included 2 maidens. Mathews made a fighting fifty but eventually perished trying to accelerate at the death. Thisara Perera fell for a duck and although a gutsy Dilshan hobbled out again at the end, Sri Lanka were left with a severely under par score of 181 at the end of their 50 overs.
India never looked in trouble when they came on to bat with Dhawan and Kohli continuing their fine form with a half century each. The only thing that could stop them even briefly was two sets of protesters who invaded the field on two occasions. The Sri Lankan bowlers tried hard, but seemed nowhere near as threatening as the Indian bowlers had been. Luck was definitely not with the lions today either, as several edges went away from the fielders. The Indian batsman made their own luck though, with a positive attitude towards the chase, and 181 never looked remotely challenging, as they knocked the runs off with only 2 wickets down and 15 whole overs to spare. Some of Sri Lanka’s tactics on the field, including the under utilization of Lasith Malinga, could be questioned, but in the end they simply didn’t have the runs to challenge this Indian outfit.
India have looked unstoppable throughout the series and are now definitely favourites to win the trophy. England will have their work cut out at Edgbaston come Sunday, as they try and stop MS Dhoni and his men from making off with the final ICC Champions Trophy.
