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New Zealand piled on 364, before a familiar middle-order collapse left Thisara Perera waging a lone battle as Sri Lanka sank to a 115-run defeat

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando07-Jan-2019New Zealand 364 for 4 (Taylor 137, Nicholls 124*, Malinga 3-93) beat Sri Lanka 249 (Thisara Perera 80, Ferguson 4-40, Sodhi 3-40) by 115 runsThe third ODI betweeen New Zealand and Sri Lanka was just like the two that had gone before, only more so.

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Sri Lanka won the toss and had made three changes to their side, but despite their best efforts, a familiar sequence of events unfolded in Nelson. New Zealand lost early wickets but recovered emphatically, Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls hitting fine hundreds, while Kane Williamson made an effortless half-century. Sri Lanka failed to take wickets through the middle overs again, which allowed New Zealand to float into the final 10 overs with 234 for 3 on the board, before plundering 130 further runs to finish at 364 for 4.Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls both hit centuries•Getty Images

The visitors’ reply then began gallantly, the openers hurtling to a half-century stand, and the 100 coming off just 86 balls, before a clutch of wickets fell, and the innings flatlined as the middle overs began. Niroshan Dickwella had produced the rocket-powered start, and Thisara Perera was on hand to tonk a valiant 80 off 63, but for the majority of their innings, Sri Lanka did not have the measure of the mammoth target. They fell 115 runs short, leaving 8.2 overs unused.New Zealand swept the series 3-0, perhaps saving their best batting effort for last. Sri Lanka, whose attack continues to ail, no matter which bowlers are playing or how many, are yet to win a match on tour.Taylor, for who had come into this match with five consecutive fifty-plus scores behind him, cracked 137 off 131 to raise New Zealand from 31 for 2, to a position of outright command in the match. He was involved in two century stands that formed the body of this New Zealand innings. With Williamson, he put on 116 off 130 balls, before Nicholls joined him for a partnership worth 154 off 120.He had begun with a little fortune, almost run out within minutes of arriving at the crease (he would have been on his way had Thisara hit the stumps), before nearly chopping the ball back onto his stumps in the next over. He was strong square of the wicket as usual, while Williamson prospered down the ground. Taylor’s first few boundaries came on the legside, as Sri Lanka continued to bowl into his pads, but he would later unfurl that punishing cut shot as well. He got to his 20th hundred off the 112th ball he faced, by which time the slog overs had arrived, and Taylor found himself in a position to surge. He took an especial liking to the bowling of Lasith Malinga, hoisting him for four sixes in the arc between long on and midwicket between the 41st and 45th overs. He was eventually out trying to hit Malinga for a fifth six, ending up only pulling him into the hands of deep square leg.Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls both hit centuries•Getty Images

Nicholls, meanwhile, had arrived in the 27th over and had the opportunity to get his bearings and build an innings, Taylor doing a lot of the legwork at the time. Once he was set, though, he became almost as comfortable as the senior partner. Like Taylor, he found plenty of boundaries on the legside, and took an especial liking to Nuwan Pradeep, hitting him for 41 runs off 16 balls. He reached his half century in the 41st over, and was unstoppable after Taylor’s dismissal, looting 47 off the 18 balls he faced in the last five overs. He thumped Malinga over deep square leg for six to bring up his hundred, and finished on an outstanding 124 not out off 80 balls – his maiden trip to triple figures in ODIs.Sri Lanka had hoped Dushmantha Chameera would help take wickets through the middle overs, but unable to find much movement from the pitch, he proved to be ineffective, with Lakshan Sandakan also proving largely modest through that period. The bowling effort was not helped though, by the fact that the two most experienced bowlers often missed their lengths at the death. Between them, Malinga and Pradeep gave away 170 runs off 114 balls.They did, however, produce another bright start with the bat – Dhananjaya de Silva opening alongside Dickwella, after regular opener Danushka Gunathilaka went off the field with a stiff back halfway through New Zealand’s innings. They raced to 66 at the end of the first eight overs before de Silva was trapped lbw by Tim Southee. It was at Dickwella’s demise for 46, however, that the innings hit a wall. Kusal Mendis was run out without facing a ball (not without mild controversy – the replays did not seem to definitively show that his bat had not crossed the crease), Dasun Shanaka was lbw to Ish Sodhi after missing a sweep, and Kusal Perera was caught behind – all this happening in relatively quick succession, which meant that Sri Lanka slipped from 107 for 1 to 143 for 5.Thisara then played himself gradually into the game in the company of Gunathilaka, who came out at No. 7 visibly hampered by his injury, but despite another fine display of hitting – Thisara crashing three sixes and seven fours – the requirement always seemed beyond him. He had been dropped twice, by Tim Seifert on 62 and Ross Taylor on 74, but was out to perhaps the catch of the series. Top edging a cut off Lockie Ferguson, Thisara probably would have cleared backward point had any other fielder been stationed there but Martin Guptill. Back-pedalling quickly from his position, Guptill leapt backwards like a high jumper and with one hand reeled in the ball that was dropping quickly behind him.With that wicket went Sri Lanka’s last glimmer of hope. Within four overs, the remaining four wickets had been taken – Ferguson taking two of those to finish with an analysis of 4 for 40, while Ish Sodhi took the other two and ended with 3 for 40.

The board is preparing for a net loss of US $25 million from the inaugural edition of the T20 Global League, an amount that accounts for more than half its current cash reserves

Firdose Moonda06-Oct-2017Cricket South Africa is preparing for a net loss of US $25 million (approx R342.58 million) from the inaugural edition of the T20 Global League, an amount that accounts for more than half its current cash reserves.In its 2016-17 integrated report, CSA reported a bank balance of $47.8 million (approx R655.44 million) at the end of April but the costs of running the tournament with reduced revenue and stadium upgrades of $25.5 million (approx R350 million) spread over three years, means the glamour competition will initially cost much more money than anticipated.While CSA had always predicted it would take at least three seasons before the T20 Global League turned a profit, much like the Big Bash League, the extent of the losses was alarming. Cricket Australia incurred similar losses over the first two years but offset that with revenue from the Champions League T20, a luxury that CSA don’t have. With the broadcast deal and sponsorship yet to be sewn up, there could be more bad news to come for South. Africa.Revenue from television rights and sponsorship has been reduced from what CSA hoped for, as acting CEO Thabang Moroe explained in Bloemfontein. “The numbers have changed, not as drastically as has been reported. Initially we were looking at a total net revenue of $32 million (approx R438.50 million) as far as broadcast and central sponsorship is concerned. At the moment it will be in its 20s.”Moroe expected the broadcast deal, which was due to be completed on Thursday but has still not been signed, to be worth between US $17 and 18 million dollars (approx R233.35 million and R247.09 million). At the same time, Moroe and his team are also seeking out a title sponsor and cutting costs on everything from the opening and closing ceremony to marketing, to cushion the blow.”We have cut down, but it’s not to wane the quality of the tournament. We are making sure our members don’t get hurt the most. As CSA, we have decided to absorb some of the losses that our members would have incurred, but we’re doing so because when we look at our numbers, we’re pretty confident that we can help them regain them in the following year,” Moroe said. “We as CSA and the team owners will still suffer losses. Hopefully, depending on how well we negotiate with all the broadcasters, the team owners will break even in year three. Our model is pretty watertight, it’s now just a matter of making sure that we deliver operationally.”Morne Morkel, Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis at the inaugural player draft of the T20 Global League•T20 Global League

The team owners, of whom all but one are from overseas, were aware that losses were expected. Moroe said the “bigger teams,” referring to those owned by IPL franchises, for example will have to incur a loss of $1.5 million (approx R20.5 million). Despite that, Moroe, who has had meetings with the owners, was reassured they were all on board. “All owners are committed to staying in the league. The owners are happy to accept those losses for the first two years.”While that may buy CSA some time to make the T20 Global League financially viable, it does not decrease the pressure to produce a product that can be profitable. For that, a broadcast deal must be secured and Moroe understood the seriousness of that. “Obviously everything is tied to the broadcast deal,” he said. “When you go and see a sponsor the first thing they ask is, ‘Where is my brand going to be seen?”CSA has been in protracted negotiations with Africa’s biggest sports broadcaster, , for months and while all indications are that they will air the tournament, a sticking point is the price. Former CSA CEO Haroon Lorgat is believed to have turned down previous offers while also excluding CFO Naasei Appiah from meetings, but CSA has been forced to go back to their long-time television partners and will likely have to accept a lower deal.CSA President Chris Nenzani did not blame Lorgat for the current predicament, and said Lorgat’s failure to sign the broadcast deal was not the only reason he and CSA parted ways last week. Nenzani would not go into detail over why Lorgat’s relationship with the CSA board had become untenable but would only say the issues began in January and came to a head at a board meeting on May 13. Though Nenzani himself believed the relationship could be saved, the board did not.CSA is in the process of negotiating a payout with Lorgat, which is believed to be between $218,823 and $437,646 (approx 3 to 6 million rand), small change compared to the other losses.Ironically, the initial idea behind the creation of the T20 Global League was to enable CSA to become financially self-sufficient, so it would not have to rely on incoming tours from India, England or Australia to make money. Now, this summer’s visit by two of those teams, India and Australia, will bring in much-needed money to pump up the depleted reserves.*One US dollar = 13.71 Rand as on October 6, 2017

Allrounder Salma Khatun will miss Bangladesh Women’s tour of Ireland next month, where they will play two ODIs and two T20s

Mohammad Isam28-Aug-2016

Bangladesh Women’s squad

Sanjida Islam, Fahima Khatun, Ayasha Rahman, Jahanara Alam, Farzana Hoque, Nahida Akter, Lata Mondol, Panna Ghosh, Rumana Ahmed, Khadija Tul Kubra, Nigar Sultana (wk), Suraiya Azmin, Ritu Moni, Jannatul Ferdous

Allrounder Salma Khatun will miss Bangladesh Women’s tour of Ireland next month, where they will play two ODIs and two T20s. Salma injured her shoulder during training a couple of weeks ago and hasn’t sufficiently recovered.Apart from Salma, Sharmin Akhter and Shaila Sharmin have been dropped from the squad that played their last international assignment – the 2016 World T20 – with pace bowler Suraiya Azmin and allrounder Jannatul Ferdous being their replacements in the 14-member squad.They will play the T20s on September 5 and 6 while the two ODIs will be held on September 8 and 10. All four matches will be held at the Bready Cricket Club in Londonderry.Athar Ali Khan, the selector for women’s team and the tour manager, said that the team will miss the services of Salma but they have legspinners and a left-arm spinner to counter Ireland.”We will definitely miss the experience of Salma who is one of the leading players in the world,” Athar said. “She did join the camp but could not bowl and we thought it was in the best interest of the team that she was given time to recover as we have a long season ahead with the Asia Cup, World Cup qualifiers and hopefully the World Cup coming.”However, we still have a lot of variation in bowling, especially in the spin department. There are two legspinners (Fahima Khatun and Rumana Ahmed) and Nahida (Akter) is a wily left-arm spinner. Newcomer Jannatul Ferdous is a very exciting prospect who bowls offbreaks, can bat in the middle order and is a fine fielder. She has caught the eye.”Athar said that batting remains a worry but expects someone like Farzana to come good on tour. “The batting is a little bit of a worry as the openers Ayasha Rahman and Sanjida Islam have not been among the runs recently,” he said. “I am expecting Farzana Hoque who has been our best batter for a while to take the lead here and the others can bat around her.”We are a confident unit. Bangladesh is ranked above Ireland and our goal is to win the matches but the different conditions will be a challenge and we have to work really, really hard.”In the World T20 this year, Bangladesh lost all their group matches. Their last ODIs were in October 2015, when they lost both games to Pakistan. They have, so far, played two completed ODIs against Ireland, winning one. In the two teams’ T20I head-to-head, Bangladesh lead 2-1.

Graham Napier and James Porter bowled Essex into a winning position on the second day of the Championship match with Gloucestershire at Bristol

ECB/PA22-Jun-2015
ScorecardGraham Napier picked up five wickets in the day as Gloucestershire were made to follow on•Getty Images

Graham Napier and James Porter bowled Essex into a winning position on the second day of the Championship match with Gloucestershire at Bristol.The two seamers shared seven wickets as the hosts were bowled out for a paltry 116 in reply to 319, Napier finishing with 4 for 27 and Porter 3 for 30. Both struck again to reduce Gloucestershire to 10 for 2 following on before a battling half-century from Michael Klinger saw his side close on 126 for 3, still 77 behind.After rain had delayed the start of play by 50 minutes, with five overs lost, the home side began their response to Essex’s first day total. Porter produced a fine six-over spell of 2 for 20 from the Pavilion End with the new ball that saw the 22-year-old claim the wickets of Will Tavare and Klinger.That set the tone for a day in which the ball continually swung and nibbled about off the seam. By lunch Gloucestershire’s first innings was in tatters at 61 for 5, with Chris Dent, Gareth Roderick and Geraint Jones all dismissed.It was a similar story in the afternoon session as five more wickets tumbled for 55, Napier wrapping up the innings with three of them – all bowled – in the space of five balls. Benny Howell top scored with a meagre 29.The Essex seamers had given their Gloucestershire counterparts a lesson in consistent line and length. With the follow-on imposed, Napier and Porter set to work again. Dent fell lbw to a Napier inswinger without a run on the board and Tavare departed for four to a thin edge behind off Porter. At tea Gloucestershire were 36 for 2, with hopes of a recovery resting on Klinger.Roderick needed a fair amount of fortune to post 24, being dropped twice and escaping a run-out chance. With the total on 65 in the final session he flashed at a wide ball from Jesse Ryder and nicked a catch to wicketkeeper James Foster.Even Klinger needed some luck in the bowler-friendly conditions, which included some uneven bounce, but scrapped it out to reach his half-century off 97 balls, with seven fours.At last Gloucestershire managed to put a decent partnership together as Ian Cockbain contributed a solid 25 to an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 61.
Klinger ended the day 62 not out and Gloucestershire may well require a big hundred from the in-form Australian to get back into the game.

Graeme Swann has urged caution ahead of England’s final Test against India, warning that the hosts will be desperate for a victory in Nagpur that would tie the series

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Dec-2012Graeme Swann has urged caution ahead of England’s final Test against India, warning that the hosts will be desperate for a victory in Nagpur that would tie the series.Back-to-back wins in Mumbai and Kolkata have put England on the verge of their first series victory in India since 1984-85 and, while Swann expects to play a prominent role alongside Monty Panesar on another spin-friendly pitch, he recognises the danger of playing a team looking to salvage their eight-year unbeaten run at home.”It is tough, but sometimes it’s a good position to be in,” Swann said of India’s situation. “If there’s only one possible result you can get, you can go all out fighting. The last Test of a series, if you know the result hangs on it, is normally a very exciting one.”India have rung the changes ahead of the final Test, which starts on Thursday as they look for a response from their under-fire squad. Batsman Yuvraj Singh and seamer Zaheer Khan have been dropped, while spinner Harbhajan Singh misses out despite playing no role in the defeat in Kolkata.”I’m sure India will come out fighting because they have to win the game,” Swann said. “Equally so, I’m sure we’ll approach the game thinking attack is our best form of defence. I think that’s what has proved crucial in the last couple of games.”Swann and a number of his England colleagues have been in a similar position before, winning the final Test in Sydney in 2011 to claim a 3-1 Ashes victory in Australia, England’s first triumph Down Under in almost a quarter of a century.”Back in Australia, we didn’t get carried away before that Sydney game,” Swann said. “We spoke of how important it was to keep our feet on the ground. That’s all we’re doing here. We’re not taking anything for granted, we don’t sit down and pat ourselves on the back and say ‘Look how well we have played the last two games’. That’s a very dangerous place to get in.”On Thursday morning we’ll assess the pitch, play accordingly and hope to win this game, because we obviously want to get home for Christmas having won this series 3-1. Whatever the pitch is we’ve got to try and win the game, that’s all we ever try and do.”

A round-up of the action from the Logan Cup 2011-12 matches

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Nov-2011Phil Mustard began his first-class stint with Mountaineers with a century to help set up an innings win against Southern Rocks in Mutare. Mustard – the Durham wicketkeeper who has played limited-overs matches for England – hit a 115-ball 105 to help his side to a healthy 467 along with his captain Timycen Maruma who made 149, enough to ensure they batted just once. When Rocks were bowled out for 207 on the penultimate day, they were 114 short of making the opposition bat again.Rocks collapsed to 146 on the first day to the Mountaineers seamers, led by Tendai Chatara’s 3 for 50. No.11 Taurai Muzarabani’s 24 was the top score of the innings. Mustard and Tino Mawoyo all but matched Rocks’ first-innings effort, adding 142 upfront. Mawoyo made 53 before he was run-out. Maruma ensured that his side never let go of the initiative. He added 199 with Prosper Utseya, who made 94. Faced with a huge deficit, Rocks only did marginally better than their first-innings effort. Roy Kaia managed 69, but he was the only batsman in his side to muster a fifty. Natsai Mushangwe was the most effective bowler, taking 3 for 65.Some solid batting from both sides ensured the Mid West Rhinos v Matabeleland Tuskers match, in Bulawayo, ended in a draw. The result keeps Tuskers at the top of the Logan Cup points table, while Rhinos are stuck at No. 4 – the second-to-last spot.Rhinos chose to bat and were set-up by a patient 197 from Riki Wessels. This was Wessels’ 10th first-class and highest score. Captain Gary Ballance got 62 to finish as the innings second-highest scorer, and declared with the score on 407 for 9. Glen Querl picked up his third five-for in as many first-class games, to finish with the best figures for Matabeleland.In their first innings, Matabeleland got 320 for 5 before declaring. Their innings was steered by half-centuries from Terry Duffin, Craig Ervine, Adam Wheater and Steven Trenchard. Tuskers, in a bid to force a result, score their second-innings runs at a quick pace – 4.78 runs an over. They looked in a bit of trouble at 49 for 4, but Wessels and Roland Benade both made unbeaten 80s to take them to 220 for four, declared.With a target of 308 in little over 50 overs, Matabeleland were set-back early. They lost Duffin for a duck, and then played out time for the draw.

With four days to go until the start of the 2010-11 Ashes Graeme Swann has admitted he is climbing the walls in anticipation of the biggest match of his life

Andrew Miller in Brisbane21-Nov-2010With four days to go until the start of the 2010-11 Ashes Graeme Swann has admitted he is climbing the walls in anticipation of the biggest match of his life, but believes that he and his team-mates will be able to channel all of their nervous energy into the daunting task of bearding the Aussies in their very own lair at the Gabba on Thursday.”When we first got over here I daren’t think of the first Test match, because I was like a kid on December 1, with an Advent calendar. I couldn’t wait for the 25th to come along,” said Swann. “It’s really building now, less than a week to go, and I go back to my room at night and I smile like a lunatic and bounce off the walls. It’s going to be amazing come Thursday – I just can’t wait.”Swann’s chirpy demeanour has been a key feature of his cricket ever since he burst back onto the international scene in 2007, and while his left-field humour and subtle disdain for convention has rubbed people up the wrong way in the past – not least the former England coach Duncan Fletcher – the current regime recognises his unquenchable optimism as an asset to be cherished every bit as much as his match-winning spin bowling.To that end, while Australia’s preparations centre around a spinner of their own – the left-arm debutant, Xavier Doherty, who is set to become their ninth specialist slow bowler since the retirement of Shane Warne four years ago – England’s main man is so comfortable with his form and role in the side that he has been passing the time by promoting a new dance craze that has been spreading through the dressing-room.Known as “the Sprinkler”, the dance involves moving an outstretched arm in the juddering motion of a garden sprinkler, with the other one tucked behind the head. It was first raised as a possible wicket celebration during England’s second warm-up game against South Australia at Adelaide, but it was given its first public airing during Swann’s weekly podcast on ECB TV, with several of the squad – most notably Tim Bresnan – strutting their stuff for the camera.”If someone’s stupid enough to give me a camera and let me have free rein with it, I’m going to do stuff like that,” said Swann, although there is a serious subtext to such frivolity, as he himself noted. “There’s a very good vibe in the camp,” he added. “For me, it did show what a good spirit there was – because it wasn’t hard to get anyone to do it. I know three or four years ago I might have tried that and got a couple of punches or got my head ripped off.”Even the Aussie media are finding it hard to frown on such antics. “Buoyant Poms start victory dance a little too early,” was how the Sun-Herald responded, and while it doubted that England would dare to unveil the dance on the field until the Ashes had been won and lost, it added: “It is refreshing to see a side having fun before such a pressurised series.”England’s current demeanour is a marked contrast both with the anxieties in the Australia camp at present, and perhaps more pertinently, those that dogged England’s own campaign four years ago, when they entered the Brisbane Test with doubts in every department, and were duly put to the sword from the moment that Steve Harmison bowled his infamous first-ball wide to second slip. The team bus, noted England’s then-spinner Ashley Giles, was as quiet as a morgue on that occasion. It’s hard to imagine a similar scenario this time around.Australia’s record in Brisbane is nevertheless formidable, with 16 victories in their last 21 matches dating back to 1988-89, and not a single defeat – a run of results that neatly encapsulates their two-decade march to the summit of world cricket. With that golden era now fading from view, however, England genuinely believe that they are the side who can capture the citadel and confirm the end of an era.”I think the team see Brisbane as a really big challenge and whenever we’ve come across these challenges, like not having won at Lord’s for 70-odd years, the guys really like facing things like that,” said Paul Collingwood. “Brisbane is one of them. It is difficult for teams to win there, Australia have been incredibly strong there, but that just makes it more exciting for us and we’d love to make history.”So far, England have hardly put a foot wrong in their preparation, recording handsome wins in two of their three warm-ups while securing invaluable batting practice at Adelaide. The decision to send Swann and his frontline bowling colleagues for early acclimatisation in Brisbane – where they practised with the academy squad and bonded as a quartet under the tutelage of their Aussie bowling coach David Saker – will be best judged in hindsight, but in their absence, England’s back-up bowlers still administered a ten-wicket defeat over Australia A.”We’ve played some excellent cricket over the last three or four weeks,” said Swann.”The acclimatisation couldn’t have gone better really. I think it just showed the strength and the depth of our squad that we could give Australia A such a good beating the other day.”On Sunday afternoon, however, the squad was reunited at the team hotel in central Brisbane, and from here on in, every man’s focus will shift to Thursday morning, as the crowds begin to gather around the Gabba and Ashes fever takes hold of the city. “It’s inevitable,” said Swann. “The intensity is going to be hyped up – the cameras in your face, the people in the street. Any player would be lying if he said you can’t feel it.”

A near-full house in Nagpur was witness to a fiery match, with Sri Lanka leveling the series with a three-wicket win as runs and wickets flowed in equal measure in good batting conditions

The Bulletin by Jamie Alter18-Dec-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Tillakaratne Dilshan’s aggression set the platform for Sri Lanka’s successful chase•Associated Press

The second humdinger between these two teams this week ran the gamut from wonderful to what-the-heck as runs and wickets flowed in equal measure in good batting conditions. Sri Lanka leveled the series with a three-wicket win in a match defined by two individual innings, contrasting in style and strength, at either end of a collapse that threatened to give India the advantage and a 2-0 lead.With another evening of thrilling batting, Tillakaratne Dilshan proved right every single reason behind Sri Lanka’s decision in January to open the innings with him permanently. Dilshan’s fifth one-day century, and second in a row, was the dominant force in Sri Lanka clinching this win but it so nearly ended up in another lost cause, if not for Angelo Mathews.Dilshan contributed 63 to a 102-run opening stand, playing with the freedom and control fans have grown accustomed to; then, in the period where India followed up a double-strike with 12 boundary-less overs, he collected his century while ensuring the asking rate stayed in control. There was a massive scare as Sri Lanka lost three wickets, and a limping Mathews was called on to douse the flames. That he did, standing one on leg and coolly striking out the threat of a revved-up India. With eight needed from nine balls the match was on a knife’s edge, but Nehra bowled a full toss, Mathews bunted it to mid-on, and Zaheer let it right through his legs for four.While India’s attack had been spread through the line-up, with Virat Kohli, centurion MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina playing dominant roles, Sri Lanka rode on Dilshan’s shoulders. Needing to score at over a run a ball, he got the chase off to a brisk start. And as often happens, India failed to apply pressure from both ends. If Zaheer allowed just a run off his second over, Praveen Kumar leaked three consecutive fours in his, veering between too wide and too full. Ashish Nehra wasn’t allowed to settle, with both openers punching aerial down the ground, and Zaheer’s length was offset by a manipulative Dilshan. Sri Lanka’s fifty came up in 6.3 overs, most of the runs coming down the ground.It was enthralling batting from Dilshan. Zaheer and Nehra tried to push him back but he rode the bounce, and at times his luck – such as when he danced out to Nehra and edged for four. Whenever the ball was pitched up, Dilshan, at times batting out of his crease, plonked his front foot further forward and clunked powerful drives over mid-off and mid-on.After Virender Sehwag Dilshan comes closest in today’s era to being able to make the bowler bowl where wants them to. Dhoni turned to Harbhajan Singh for the eighth over, slip and leg gully in place. Having come out and gone back to pick the gaps in Harbhajan’s first over, Dilshan had the bowler in two minds. At one point, he twice hurried out to thump the ball down the ground, as he’d spotted the extra flight. Then Harbhajan bowled it quicker and wider, hoping Dilshan would come out to that one as well. Instead Dilshan read it perfectly, stayed in position, and cut it past point for four. The batsman had set the bowler up.When Harbhajan purchased some turn, Dilshan used his crease to get over the ball, nudging it off his pads. A streaky but deliberate edge off Harbhajan for four raised a 31-ball fifty.
Harbhajan had some success against Upul Tharanga, who was lured out and then edged a breaking ball to slip where Sehwag snapped a good catch to his left (102 for 1). Dilshan was then responsible for running his captain out, and for the next 55 deliveries India, through Nehra, Praveen and Ravindra Jadeja, pulled Sri Lanka back.Dilshan spent 16 deliveries in the nineties, reached his century, raised his arms, and promptly clubbed Nehra for two dingers that snapped a 12-over barren run of no boundaries. He featured in a 66-run third-wicket stand with Mahela Jayawardene, which ended when Nehra bowled Dilshan with a fine yorker.MS Dhoni ensured that the momentum didn’t fall away after Virat Kohli departed•Associated Press

Zaheer delivered a further twist in the tale when, with 70 needed from 66, he got Jayawardene to nick for 39. With the rate within grasp thanks to Dilshan, Thilina Kandamby cut out the risks until his first aerial shot, in the first over of the batting Powerplay, was excellently held by a leaping Kohli at mid-on. Two legal deliveries later, a perfect yorker cleaned up Chamara Kapudegera, and the game was India’s to win. But Mathews controlled his eagerness to flat-bat marvelously, nudging and pushing the ball around with the occasional aggressive drive to remain unbeaten on 37. He was outstanding under pressure, and aided by a runner (Kapugedera) picked out the deliveries to put away. Zaheer’s gross error sealed Sri Lanka’s fate.At the halfway mark, the visitors would have considered the target within their reach as the wicket was still good for batting. After deciding to make first use of a pitch virtually devoid of grass, a century stand between Dhoni and Raina, after a shaky start, picked up the tempo for India. Coming together at the fall of Kohli (54), Dhoni and Raina gave India their best phase.Dhoni ensured that the momentum didn’t fall away, working the ball around superbly from the outset, and immediately showing the rich vein of form he is in this year. It wasn’t a pure innings though. Dhoni had edged his first ball for four, was nearly taken at third man when on 11, edged wide of Kumar Sangakkara on 24, and got two more lives in three balls from his counterpart off Ajantha Mendis. Dhoni raised his half-century off 70 balls and thumped a six to celebrate.Dhoni picked the batting Powerplay after 40 overs, just after Raina dumped Chanaka Welegedara for six over long-on. Two more sixes, again hit down the ground with power, pushed Sri Lanka onto the back foot as the pair took on Mendis and Suraj Randiv on in a three-over burst that bled 35 runs. Raina’s fifty came up off 44 balls and that five-over block yielded 50. Looking for his fourth six, Raina picked out deep midwicket, and soon after, Mendis dropped a clanger at cover when Dhoni was on 94. In the same over, Dhoni raised his century, his second in consecutive innings in Nagpur, to a rousing reception.Those cheers were nowhere near as boisterous when Dilshan raised his, but the resonance of the game’s second century was definitely louder.