All-round Dilshan stars as Sri Lanka wins series

Hosts take 3-1 lead in five-match series against South Africa after key contributions from Mendis and Malinga with the ball and Sangakkara with the bat

Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara pulverised South Africa's bowling as Sri Lanka took a decisive 3-1 lead in its five-match One-Day International series with an eight-wicket victory in Pallekele on Sunday (July 28).

Dilshan was unbeaten on 115 and Sangakkara made 91 during a record second-wicket partnership of 184 runs to take the hosts past South Africa's 238.

Dilshan's 17th ODI century was studded with 16 boundaries. Sangakkara kept pace with his partner with eight fours and two sixes. The pair put on Sri Lanka's highest ODI stand for any wicket against South Africa. Sangakkara missed his second hundred in the series when he holed out in the deep off Morne Morkel when just ten more were needed for victory.
 
Earlier, JP Duminy hit 97 and Hashim Amla made 77 to lift South Africa to 238 after they won the toss and elected to bat. But the South Africans undid a good start by losing eight wickets for 87 runs after cruising at 118 for 1 in the 22nd over.

Duminy lashed seven boundaries and two sixes before he was last man out in the 49th over, bowled by Ajantha Mendis three runs short of a century. Mendis finished with 4 for 51, while Lasith Malinga claimed 3 for 52 and Dilshan took two wickets.

Amla, batting for the first time in the series after being injured while fielding in the only other game he played, anchored the start with a fluent half-century that contained nine boundaries. Duminy shared a second-wicket stand of 101 with Amla after Malinga had bowled Quinton de Kock in the third over.

Dilshan removed Amla lbw and had AB de Villiers caught behind by Sangakkara in the space of eight runs to make it 126 for 3 in the 25th over.

Dhawan, Unadkat, put India 2-0 up

It was seen as the one factor that could level the playing field, yet even when the toss went Zimbabwe’s way, India romped to a 58-run victory in the second One-Day International at Harare Sports Club on Friday (July 26).

Once again Zimbabwe contributed heavily to its own demise, gifting Shikhar Dhawan three lives on his way to a century that allowed India to recover from 65 for 4 to a formidable total of 294 for 8.

Then, having made a positive start to its reply in reaching 109 for 1 in 20 overs, Zimbabwe’s batsmen threw their wickets away to slump to 236 for 9. Whenever Zimbabwe found some momentum, all India needed to do was maintain composure, and Zimbabwe obliged by doing the rest.

That said, there was a standout performer for India in the shape of Jaydev Unadkat, who came on at first change and made crucial breakthroughs, ending with 4 for 41 in ten overs and effecting a run-out.

Unadkat’s excellent bouncer to Sikandar Raza brought India’s first wicket in the 11th over, and he struck twice in the 21st, just as Vusi Sibanda was looking threatening. Sibanda whipped a delivery straight to midwicket to depart for 55, and then Unadkat pounced on a loose ball to run out Brendan Taylor for a duck.

Zimbabwe’s challenge faded away from there, with Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra taking care of the middle order as they trapped Sean Williams and Malcolm Waller lbw respectively.

Reduced to 133 for 6 in the 31st over it became clear that Zimbabwe was not going to threaten the Indian total, and although Elton Chigumbura hit 46 and Prosper Utseya made an unbeaten 52, their effort only served to prolong the match.

Unadkat claimed two wickets in the final over, having not only provided the turning points in the innings, but shown excellent control throughout.

While Virat Kohli’s century in the first match owed much to the timid bowling and a friendly pitch, so Dhawan’s 116 (127 balls) in this game was aided by an embarrassing display in the field by Zimbabwe.

The ramshackle nature of Zimbabwe’s showing was evident in the fact that it conceded 28 extras, including 15 wides and eight no-balls, and required four hours to get through its overs.

Although Zimbabwe made a bright start, with Brian Vitori, the recalled seamer, removing Rohit Sharma with his first delivery, its troubles began when Kyle Jarvis had Dhawan caught, only for the third umpire to confirm that the bowler had overstepped.

Jarvis’s over ended up going for 15, but in his next one, he struck in controversial circumstances when Kohli was adjudged to have been caught by Waller at mid-on.

Kohli stood his ground, believing that the ball had bounced in front of the fielder, and even asked the umpires to question the third umpire’s confirmation that he was out. The third umpire checked again, before Kohli was eventually sent on his way. Chris Broad, the match referee, would have been watching on with interest.

However, Zimbabwe continued to be the master of its own downfall, as Taylor dropped a regulation catch from Dhawan behind the stumps when the left-hand batsman was on just 14, and Vitori put down a difficult return chance from Ambati Rayudu.

Vitori’s drop had little impact as Rayudu gifted an easy chance soon after, and Zimbabwe was well and truly in the game when Suresh Raina continued his poor run of form as he was caught down the leg side for 4.

That put pressure on Dinesh Karthik as he came to the crease at 65 for 4, but he responded in style, putting on a 159-run partnership with Dhawan that swung the match firmly in India’s favour.

Karthik went on to score 69 before he was run out in a mix-up with Dhawan, who departed in the next over when he played an Utseya delivery on.

Despite that double blow, India finished strongly as R Vinay Kumar and Mohammad Shami took 23 off the final over of the innings, taking India to a total that was well beyond the Zimbabweans.

South Africa stays alive with 56-run win

South Africa holds nerve to overcome Perera onslaught after Miller, Tsotsobe play key roles with bat and ball

South African cricketer Lonwabo Tsotsobe picked up 4 wickets leading his side to a 56 run win.

David Miller and Lonwabo Tsotsobe played key roles as South Africa stunned Sri Lanka by 56 runs in the third One-Day International in Pallekele on Friday (July 26) to stay afloat in the five-match series.

Miller plundered a robust 85 not out off 72 balls to steer the team to 223 for 7 after Ajantha Mendis had reduced South Africa to 154 for 7 in the 42nd over. Tsotsobe then ripped through the Sri Lankan top order with three wickets in the space of six runs before finishing with 4 for 22, as Sri Lanka was bundled out for 167 in the day-night game.

The victory ended South Africa's 11-match losing streak in one-day cricket on Sri Lankan soil and gave AB de Villiers' side a badly-needed win in the current series. With Sri Lanka 2-1 ahead, South Africa must also win the fourth match at the same venue on Sunday to take the series into the decider in Colombo next Wednesday.

Thisara Perera lit up an otherwise gloomy evening for Sri Lanka by smashing five sixes and a boundary in the 33rd over sent down by Robin Peterson, the left-arm spinner.

With the second ball declared a wide, the 35 runs taken in the over fell just one run short of the world record of six sixes hit by Herschelle Gibbs, the former South Africa batsman, off Daan van Bunge, the Netherlands bowler, during the 2007 World Cup.

Perera's run sequence in the over was six, a wide, six, six, six, four and a six, but his sensational hitting came too late for Sri Lanka to bring home an unlikely win. Perera made 65 off 49 balls with five sixes and as many boundaries, before he was caught in the deep off Farhaan Behardien, who finished with 3 for 19.

Sri Lanka paid the penalty for a shoddy batting display in which six batsmen failed to reach double figures and only two others entered their 20s.

Earlier, Miller hit five sixes and four boundaries to boost the total from 100 for 5 after South Africa had won the toss and elected to take first strike.

De Villiers led the recovery with 47, before Miller pushed the scoring with his fifth one-day half-century and the first by a South African in the series.

Miller put on 69 for the eighth wicket with Ryan McLaren, who remained unbeaten on 14.

Sri Lanka remains No 1 ranked T20I side after annual update

Sri Lanka remains No 1 ranked T20I side after annual update

Pakistan can move to number-two position if it beats West Indies in upcoming series, T20I rankings period now a four year cycle

Sri Lanka has retained its position as the number-one ranked Twenty20 International (T20I) side after the annual update of the Reliance ICC T20I Rankings Table was announced on Thursday.

The annual update was released just two days before Pakistan takes on defending ICC World Twenty20 champion West Indies in a two-match series, starting on 27 July in Kingstown, St Vincent.

At the June ICC Board meeting during the Annual Conference week in London, the ICC Board agreed to change the T20I rankings period from three years to four years.

The ICC Board also decided that the annual update to the Test, ODI and T20I rankings should now take place on 1 May each year, rather than 1 August, to better align with the current international calendar. This change has been incorporated in the latest update, and has been backdated to 1 May 2013.

The updated table now reflects all T20I matches completed after 1 August 2010. All T20I matches played until the start of May 2014 will be added to this table, so that by May 2014, the ratings will be based on just under four years of results.

There are no ranking changes as a result of this annual update and most countries’ ratings change by no more than a point or two*.

14 out of the 16 countries with T20I status are ranked, with Afghanistan and Canada yet to play the required eight rated matches.  Afghanistan needs to play one more and Canada two more T20 Internationals prior to May 2014 in order to join the rankings.

Opportunity for Pakistan to go to second place

Meanwhile, Pakistan has an opportunity to move to the second place in the Reliance ICC T20I Rankings table if it wins both the matches against West Indies in the upcoming series.

Fourth-ranked Pakistan is currently on 118 ratings points, but could potentially move up to second place with 124 ratings points, thereby swapping places with second-placed West Indies with 120 ratings points. 

On the other hand, if West Indies wins both the matches it could gain five ratings points to finish at 132, reducing the gap with number-one ranked Sri Lanka to just two ratings points.

Reliance ICC T20I Rankings (as of 23 July)

Rank	(+/-)	Team	Rating
1	(-)	Sri Lanka	134 (+2)
2	(-)	West Indies	127 (+1)
3	(-)	India	121 (+2)
4	(-)	Pakistan	118 (-1)
5	(-)	England	113 (-1)
6	(-)	South Africa	112 (-2)
7	(-)	Australia	103 (+1)
8	(-)	New Zealand	102 (-)
9	(-)	Ireland	81 (-1)
10	(-)	Bangladesh	74 (-2)
11	(-)	Scotland	62 (-)
12	(-)	Zimbabwe	48 (-)
13	(-)	Netherlands	36 (-6)
14	(-)	Kenya	34 (+2)

Not ranked as fewer than eight T20I matches played since August 2010                                         

       Afghanistan                     88

       Canada                             6

* The earliest year of results (2010-11), which would previously have been dropped, is still counted with a weighting of 33%.  The weighting for 2011-12 is reduced from 67% to 50%, while the rating year 2012-13 remains at 100%. Therefore, unsurprisingly, the effect of this update is very small. None of the teams’ ratings moves by more than one or two points.

ICC Rankings -ODI

Rank	Team	Matches	Points	Rating
1	India	43	5244	122
2	Australia	34	3861	114
3	England	38	4257	112
4	Sri Lanka	45	4905	109
5	South Africa	30	3246	108
6	Pakistan	41	4154	101
7	West Indies	40	3588	90
8	New Zealand	29	2593	89
9	Bangladesh	23	1754	76
10	Zimbabwe	18	986	55
11	Ireland	10	394	39
12	Netherlands	7	88	13
13	Kenya	4	40	10

2nd ODI SL vs SA -(Sri Lanka Won by 17 Runs (D/L))

Sri Lanka 223/9 (49.2/49.2 ov)
South Africa 104/5 (21.0/29 ov, target 176)
Sri Lanka Won by 17 Runs (D/L)

Sangakkara powers Sri Lanka to 180-run win over South Africa

South Africa folds for 140 after Sangakkara’s 137-ball 169 helps Sri Lanka reach 320 for 5

Kumar Sangakkara recorded his highest one-day score of 169 off 137 balls helping Sri Lanka thrash South Africa by 180 runs in the first One-Day International in Colombo on Saturday (July 21).

Sangakkara's 16th ODI century took Sri Lanka to a commanding 320 for 5 after the hosts were sent in to bat in the day-night game at the R Premadasa Stadium. South Africa folded for 140 in reply, in just 31.5 overs, to leave Sri Lanka with a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. Sangakkara, 35, contributed with two catches and a stumping, earning him the Man of the Match award, as Rangana Herath and Thisara Perera picked up three wickets each.

Sangakkara marked his 350th one-day match by surpassing his previous best of 138 not out, made against India in 2005, after Tillakaratne Dilshan was dismissed in just the fourth over of the innings. Sangakkara put on 70 for the second wicket with Upul Tharanga, the opener, 74 for the third with Mahela Jayawardene and 123 for the fourth with Lahiru Thirimanne. He was finally caught in the deep in the penultimate over of the innings, after hitting 18 boundaries and six sixes.

Morne Morkel, who recovered in time from a thigh injury to play the match, was South Africa's most impressive bowler with 2 for 34 from his 10 overs. But the inexperience of the depleted touring squad told in the end as the Sri Lankans batted fluently and bowled a steady line on the slow pitch. South Africa is without three frontline players -- Dale Steyn, Jacques Kallis and former captain Graeme Smith -- for the tour, which also includes three Twenty20 matches. South Africa also missed Hashim Amla, who was unavailable for the first match due to a strained neck.

South Africa made the worst possible start when Colin Ingram was bowled off the first ball of the innings by Lasith Malinga. AB de Villiers and Alviro Petersen added 44 for the third wicket to lift the total to 73 for 2 when both batsmen fell in successive overs. Wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals, leaving Petersen and Robin Peterson as the top-scorers with 29 each.

Tharanga's 174 seals giant win for Sri Lanka

India outplayed in all departments after Tharanga, Jayawardene set the stage with record opening stand

A career-best 174 not out by Man of the Match Upul Tharanga and his record-breaking 213-run partnership with Mahela Jayawardene helped Sri Lanka beat India by 161 runs in the third match of the Celkon Mobile Tri-Nations Series Cup in Kingston on Tuesday (July 2). India, with poor displays in all departments of the game, was thoroughly outplayed and looked nothing like the No. 1-ranked side that won the Champions Trophy just nine days ago.

Chasing 349 to win, India needed to fire from the word ‘go’, but lost Rohit Sharma in the fifth over to a sharp catch by Angelo Mathews, the Sri Lankan captain, off Nuwan Kulasekara’s bowling.  While Shikhar Dhawan hit three bright boundaries after a watchful beginning, Murali Vijay, coming in at No. 3, looked uncomfortable as the Sri Lankans restricted the pair to singles, taking the air out of the chase.

Disciplined bowling backed by agile fielding, in stark contrast to India’s performance earlier in the day, meant Sri Lanka allowed India to reach 50 only in the 14th over. The sustained pressure got the better of Dhawan eventually, as the opener, after labouring to a 42-ball 24, tried to force the pace only to pick out the man at midwicket fence.

When Virat Kohli departed soon after, hooking Mathews to deep fine leg, India’s hopes of mounting a comeback were as good as over. The score read 57 for 3. The only seemingly realistic goal left for the Indians was to save face and not allow Sri Lanka notch up the bonus point as well.

That ambitious goal nosedived further when Vijay was castled by Lasith Malinga. Soon Dinesh Karthik also fell, drawn out of his crease by Rangana Herath and comfortably stumped. Suresh Raina hit a run-a-ball 33 before being run out (142/6) and with it went any unrealistic chance of preventing Sri Lanka from gaining the bonus point.

Senanayake took two wickets in two balls, reducing India to 153 for 8. Ravindra Jadeja provided some excitement for the smattering of India fans with his unbeaten 49 as Malinga cleaned up Umesh Yadav to complete a miserable day for India.

On the contrary, the purposeful Sri Lankan batting had started slow but developed a head of steam before powering through the last 20 overs. It was built around two glorious centuries from their openers, Tharanga and Jayawardene, as the two stroked their way to the highest partnership recorded in a One-Day International in the West Indies, pushing the total to a massive 348 for 1. Thanks in part to the missed run outs, dropped catches and inconsistent bowling that marked a miserable day for India with the ball.

Earlier, Kohli, captaining India for the first time in a full game, won the toss and had no hesitation in asking Sri Lanka to bat. India decided to rest Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and replace him with Mohammad Shami, while Vijay was brought in for MS Dhoni, the injured skipper.

Tharanga was edgy early on – after having survived two run-out chances – until he hit a confident square cut in the sixth over of the innings as Sri Lanka slowly stepped up the scoring rate to end the first Power Play at 47 for no loss. Soon, Tharanga went past the personal landmark of 5000 career ODI runs as well.

Spin was introduced in the 13th over in the form of Jadeja. Vijay dropped a straightforward chance at short third man as Jayawardene, then on 26, attempted a reverse sweep. Jayawardene took advantage of the life and began to open up, depositing Ishant Sharma over wide long on for the first six of the morning. Two balls later, Yadav, caught in two minds at the fine-leg boundary, let an uncontrolled pull from Jayawardene bounce in front of him and run away to the boundary. Jayawardene soon brought up his half-century as Sri Lanka reached 100 for no loss in the 22nd over.

The openers bided their time, taking singles and not allowing the bowlers to get into any sort of rhythm. Kohli brought himself as well as Raina on as he tried to switch his bowlers around but to no avail. Sri Lanka opted to take the Power Play at the end of 34th over, with the total on 168. More boundaries flowed as the run rate started to rise. Jayawardene, meanwhile, reached his 32nd ODI century (107 balls, 9×4, 1×6) as Sri Lanka rolled past the 200-run mark.

Yadav dropped Tharanga on 91 but made amends as he caught Jayawardene brilliantly when the former Sri Lankan captain attempted another reverse sweep off Ravichandran Ashwin. It was already the 39th over by then and the total had reached 213. Mathews promoted himself up the order to make the most of a flagging bowling attack.

Tharanga soon reached his 13th ODI century off just 124 balls (11×4) as Sri Lanka set themselves up for a final assault in the last ten overs. Interestingly, it was only the fourth time that both openers had scored centuries against India after Geoff Marsh and David Boon (1986), Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs (2000) and Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed (2012).

Sri Lanka reached 250 at the end of 42 overs. Two sixes of a Jadeja over followed as Tharanga went past his personal best of 133 and Sri Lanka went past 300. Mathews also helped himself to some quick runs (44 off 29), putting up hundred runs with Tharanga in just 56 deliveries.

None of the frontline bowlers were impressive, as India conceded 180 runs in the 16 overs since the start of the second Power Play. Tharanga, for his part, entered the record books with an unbeaten 174 (159 balls), the highest individual score recorded in an ODI in the Caribbean. India’s effort in the field was so poor that, of the 3382 ODIs played to date, this was the highest total conceded while taking just one wicket.

Bravo suspended from Sunday’s ODI

The West Indies team has been fined for second minor over-rate offence within 12 months

West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo has been suspended for one match after his side was fined for a second minor over-rate offence within 12 months during Friday’s match against India at Port-of-Spain.

The West Indies side was ruled to be one over short of its target at the end of the match when time allowances were taken into consideration. As such, Jeff Crowe of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees imposed a 20-per-cent fine on Bravo, while each of his players received 10-per-cent fines.

As this was West Indies’ second minor over-rate offence within 12 months, after it was fined for a slow over-rate in Cardiff against South Africa on 14 June during the ICC Champions Trophy 2013, Bravo has also been suspended from West Indies’ next game on Sunday, 7 July, against Sri Lanka at Port-of-Spain.

The offence is contrary to Article 2.5.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to over-rate offences.

Commenting on his decision, Mr Crowe said: “The captains were informed of their respective positions relating to over-rate breaches before the start of the series. On Friday, the umpires had kept Dwayne informed throughout the innings about the position regarding over-rates, and more so when his side fell behind.”

The charge was laid by on-field umpires Nigel Llong and Peter Nero, as well as third umpire Nigel Duguid and fourth umpire Joel Wilson.

Bravo pleaded guilty to the charge and the subsequent penalties were accepted both by Bravo and the West Indies. As such there was no need for a formal hearing.

Kohli ton leads India to big win

India stays alive after grabbing bonus point in 102-run D/L win after bowlers build on Kohli’s 102

Indian captain Virat Kohli celebrates his century.

Virat Kohli showed exactly the kind of enterprise required of the captain of a team desperately chasing a win, leading India to a huge 102-run win over West Indies via the Duckworth-Lewis method, after his brilliant 102 off 82 balls had powered the team to 311 for 7. The Indian bowlers took early wickets, and after a rain delay, struck often, to comfortably wrest the game and also the bonus point.

India’s weakest link – the bowling – was given the responsibility of defending a rain-reduced 274 runs in 39 overs and ensuring it stayed alive in the tri-nation tournament on Friday (July 5).

No score is Chris Gayle-proof and Bhuvneshwar Kumar provided immediate relief for the Indian faithful as he had the big fish edging behind to one that bounced a bit more than usual. Soon, Darren Bravo was dismissed, going for an ambitious cover drive, the edge finding R Ashwin at first slip. As in their previous encounter in Jamaica, after the initial wickets, Johnson Charles attacked the Indian bowlers, and West Indies was 56 for 2 at the end of first Power Play when the rain arrived to temporarily halt its chase.

When play resumed after a 90-minute stoppage, West Indies needed 218 more runs in 29 overs for its revised 274-run target, and India needed to restrict the batsmen to 219 to win the bonus point.

Soon after, Ishant Sharma delivered a corker that rose well above the chest of Marlon Samuels, and the Indian team’s appeal for caught behind was turned down. However, Ishant had his man off the next delivery, softly edging to Dinesh Karthik. Kieron Pollard came in ahead of Dwayne Bravo, but was out first ball fending a short delivery from Kumar into the waiting hands of Ashwin. Kumar finished an impressive spell with figures of 3 for 29 in eight overs, the maximum allowed after the rain delay. The procession continued as Charles top-edged an intended pull off Ishant to Suresh Raina at midwicket.

Dwayne Bravo and Denesh Ramdin looked to rebuild and collected boundaries off the spinners, but as Umesh was brought back on, Ramdin offered a leading edge that Kumar accepted gleefully at mid-off, while Dwayne Bravo missed a straight one from Yadav, who later trapped Darren Sammy in front with an off-cutter, leaving West Indies 113 for 8 in the 25th over.

Kemar Roach and Sunil Narine then threatened to deny India the bonus point with an entertaining half-century partnership for the ninth wicket, but Ravindra Jadeja ended the proceedings with two wickets in two deliveries, bowling West Indies out for 171 in 34 overs.

Earlier, Dwayne Bravo returned to lead West Indies after missing the previous game because of a groin strain and put India in to bat. In a surprise move, West Indies opened the bowling with Darren Sammy, who kept Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan quiet for the most part as the scoreboard read 39 for no loss at the end of the first Power Play.

Importantly for India, both Dhawan and Rohit stuck it out and started finding their feet and range gradually as the 100-run partnership was raised in the 22nd over, the third in their short collaboration as opening partners. A ball after the hundred was brought up, Dhawan made his first half-century of the tour off 69 balls, an innings studded with seven delectable boundaries. He kicked into a higher gear after that, sweeping Narine over midwicket and square-leg for consecutive sixes, but fell to a rush of blood, flicking Roach to the deep midwicket fielder, leaving India 123 for 1.

The scoring rate came down after that as Rohit could not get a move on and Kohli took his time settling down. Rohit fell for a laborious 46 in 78 balls as India was quickly reduced to 141 for 2 from a powerful position.

Raina tried to pick up the slack and attack Samuels, but soon perished edging the bowler to the lone slip – Sammy taking a good catch low to his right – as an excellent start was frittered away.

Dinesh Karthik seemed to have received a rough decision from umpire Nigel Llong, as he was adjudged to have gloved a short one from Tino Best down the legside, and the innings was fast disintegrating just as the second Power Play started. The chances of India setting a competitive score rested on Kohli.

Kohli brought up his 50, off just 55 balls, with a single to the offside, and then the fours started flowing from his bat. Ashwin, for his part, did the right thing in their seventh-wicket stand by turning the strike over, and Kohli stepped on the gas.

The shot of the innings came from Kohli’s bat as moved to the legside and lofted Bravo into the second tier behind the extra-cover boundary. Ashwin joined in the fun, dispatching Roach for boundaries on either side of the wicket. And Kohli finally ended his century drought as he rushed for two in the final over of the innings, reaching the mark in 81 balls, having hit 13 boundaries and two huge sixes.

Ashwin and Kohli put together 90 runs in just 8.2 overs as West Indies lost its grip on proceedings. Kohli eventually perished off the last ball of the innings, caught by Sammy at the midwicket boundary off Bravo, but by then he had done enough to ensure India stayed alive in the competition.