da betsson： Sri Lanka’s progress to 147 for 5 was often tortuous and ragged, but thevalue of perseverance was amply illustrated as the bowlers made short workof Bangladesh on a sluggish pitch where batsmen rarely felt at ease
The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran18-Sep-2007
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Rush of blood: Mohammad Ashraful tries a cheeky flick with his wrists © Getty Images
Sri Lanka’s progress to 147 for 5 was often tortuous and ragged, but thevalue of perseverance was amply illustrated as the bowlers made short workof Bangladesh on a sluggish pitch where batsmen rarely felt at ease. Whileit was the slow bowlers that starred for Bangladesh, the fast men did thedamage for Sri Lanka, with the new-ball duo of Chaminda Vaas and DilharaFernando once again outstanding. The loss pushed Bangladesh out ofcontention for a semi-final place, and left Sri Lanka needing to beatAustralia to progress to the final four.Bangladesh were left to reflect on both some ordinary shot selection andthe final phase of the Sri Lankan innings, when Jehan Mubarak andTillakaratne Dilshan hustled the runs that had been at a premium as thebatsmen struggled in the middle overs. Their own reply started poorly,with Nazimuddin trapped leg before in Vaas’s opening over. And after thespirited Aftab Ahmed clattered three fours in Fernando’s opening over, thebowler exacted retribution in the best possible fashion, having TamimIqbal caught at third man before ripping through Aftab’s defence with anexpress yorker.That wicket maiden set the tone, and when Mohammad Ashraful skied Vaas tocover, Bangladesh were sinking fast. Sri Lanka’s bowlers were backed up bysome terrific fielding as well, with Lasith Malinga’s throw from deepmidwicket catching Mahmudullah short of his crease, and a superbcombination between Farveez Maharoof and Kumar Sangakkara running outMushfiqur Rahim.Maharoof had earlier knocked over Shakib Al Hasan, whose was the only oneapart from Aftab to hint at an appetite for the fight. Mashrafe Mortaza’sstand-and-flail effort was terminated by Malinga’s pace and SanathJayasuriya then mopped up the rest as Bangladesh subsided to 83.Earlier, Mubarak’s unbeaten 31 saved Sri Lankan blushes after aScrooge-like opening spell from Syed Rasel and some clever slow bowling ona sluggish pitch had sucked the momentum out of their innings.Sri Lanka couldn’t have made a worse start, losing Jayasuriya to the thirdball of the innings, cutting Mortaza to Mahmudullah at deep-backwardpoint. Upul Tharanga stroked a couple of boundaries, but with Sangakkaraonce again struggling, Sri Lanka were never able to impose their will onthe proceedings.
Clever slow bowling by Bangladesh on a sluggish pitch had sucked the momentum out of theinnings © AFP
Their plight got worse when Tharanga fell in freakish fashion, with anedge behind being trapped between Rahim’s knees. Bangladesh could havebuilt on that even further, had Rahim not fluffed a run-out chance againstMahela Jayawardene, before putting down a routine catch off Mahmudullah.Mahmudullah conceded just 19 with his offspin, and the other slow bowlersshowed similar control as Sri Lanka’s batsmen were kept on a leash.Sangakkara was the first to lose his patience, charging Mahmudullah to seehis stumps rearranged.Chamara Silva came in and smacked a six, but was then leg before toShakib, and with Jayawardene struggling, Sri Lanka were left to relyentirely on singles and twos. Abdur Razzak finally got him, bowled off theinside edge, but Mubarak injected some energy into the innings with aslash over point, a straight loft for four and a carve over extra-coverthat Aftab could only tip over the rope for six. On a pitch that only gotslower, it was more than enough.