Sri Lanka beat West Indies by 39 runs

Sri Lanka weathered a middle-order revival by the West Indies and held on for a 39-run win on the Duckworth-Lewis Scoring Method in a rain-affected 5th match of the Tri-Country. Sangakkara crafted a superb, unbeaten 90 to lift the visitors to a spirited 219 for 8 in a match forced into the reserve day because of the elements and reduced to 41 overs-per-side.

Half-centuries by Darren Bravo (70) and Lendl Simmons (67) then threatened to take the home team to a revised target of 230 before a sense of speed in the midst of light rain and the cooler heads of the Sri Lankans saw the West Indies controlled to 190 for nine in reply.

While the result pushes Sri Lanka to the top of the standings ahead of the West Indian side by virtue of a better net run-rate, a win for India over Angelo Mathew’s team in the last preliminary match on Tuesday will result in the calculators again being deployed to determine the qualifiers for Thursday final.

Sangakkara claimed the Man-of-the-Match award for his brilliant innings, but Mathews also made vital contributions with bat and ball in ensuring his side avenged the 6-wicket defeat suffered at the hands of the West Indies in the opening match of the series in Kingston 10 days earlier.

His 30 off 27 balls gave the innings main impetus towards the end and figures of four for 29, including the vital scalp of Chris Gayle at the start of the West Indies chase, proved critical in completing win. Chris Gayle is demise triggered a slide with the West Indies reduced to 31 for four and seemingly out of contention.

However, Bravo found a solid partner in Lendl Simmons, the man drafted into the team as a substitute for suspended regular skipper Dwayne Bravo. After a pedestrian start, the pair accelerated excitingly and was lifting the West Indies to within reach of the target when a loss of concentration tilted the balance decisively.

Score Details

Sri Lanka-219/8(41)

K Sangakkara (†)-90(95)

A Mathews (C)-30(27)

Best Bowling

K Roach-4/27

West Indies: 190/9 (41) 

D Bravo-70(84)

L Simmons -67(78)

Best Bowling

A Mathews4/29

S Eranga-3/46

Player Of the match

K Sangakkara

Sri Lanka Beat India by 161 runs

hardly a week after winning the Champions Trophy in England, the world No. 1 ODI team India gave a poor account of themselves in the Caribbean where they crashed to their second straight defeat in the tri series. 

Sri Lanka, riding on brilliant hundreds from openers Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene, amassed 348-1 after being inserted by Virat Kohli, who was captaining the India senior team for the 1st time. The wicket seemed 2-paced and India chose to bring in Shami Ahmed for Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, a move that backfired. Not only did Shami fail to provide new-ball wickets, his unruly line and length at the end of the innings proved cannon fodder for Tharanga and Jayawardene.

Tharanga batted through the innings making 174 not out, the highest One Day International score in the Caribbean, Jayawardene made 107. The duo added 213 for the 1st wicket after which Sri Lanka captain Angelo Matthews promoted himself to one-down and added a further 135 in a little fewer than 12 overs with Tharanga against India dull bowling.

India thus became the first team to take more than 1 wicket in a completed ODI innings of 50 overs. The other player who came into the team today Murali Vijay dropped Jayawardene on 23 before proceeding to make a slow 30 that did more harm to India asking rate than good. 

Tharanga, who had led Jayawardene take lead, accelerated after the senior pro fell having made his 16th ODI hundred. Tharanga 1st fifty came up in 76 balls, but he sped up to reach the hundred in another 48. The next 74 came in just 35 balls as he completed with Sri Lanka 2nd highest individual score after Sanath Jayasuriya 189 in Sharjah against the same opposition.

India response to the steep target was strangely slow. They began extremely cautiously with Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan content on playing out some quiet overs. Each time an Indian batsman tried to break free, he got out. They made just 28 in the 10 overs of fielding limits and the game had almost slipped out of their grasp by then.

India has relied heavily on Kohli to bail them out in tough chases. The India captain came in at Dhawan fall. With the essential rate already a steep 8.5 by the 15th over, Kohli tried to hit out against Angelo Mathews but mistimed a hook-shot to the hands of Lasith Malinga at fine-leg.

Sri Lanka needed to control India to fewer than 278 for a bonus point. But for most part of the innings, India was struggling to get past Tharanga tally in the game. Ravindra Jadeja unbeaten 49 delayed the usual but the margin of the defeat leaves India on the brink of an early exit from the series.

Score Details

Sri Lanka: 348/1 (50)

U Tharanga -174(159)

M Jayewardene -107(112)

A Mathews (C)-44(29)

India: 187/10 (44.5) 

R Jadeja -49(62)

S Raina -33(33)

Player of the match

U Tharanga

WI Thrill win beat India by 1 Wickets

West Indies scrambled to a 1-wicket win with 14 balls to spare over India in the second match of the Celkon Mobile Cup Tri-Nation ODI Series.

Birthday boy Kemar Roach and last man Tino Best ensured the West Indies did not complete their own obliteration, turning in match saving performances. The home side had to reply to the World Cup and Champions Trophy holders' Indian team total of 229 for 7.

They tottered from the comfort of 142 for 3 in the 28th over via a rash of irresponsible shots, even with Johnson Charles battling to hold the innings together. However the opening batsman joined the apparent suicide pact: he was 8 out for 97 and when Sunil Narine also gifted his wicket at 220 for 9.

It was left to the Barbadian fast bowling pair of Roach on his 25th birthday and Best to see the West Indies home amid in a nail-biting finish. India was deprived of the calming influence of M S Dhoni in the field after the captain was hobble while batting by a suspected right hamstring strain.

But, under the supervision of Kohli, the visitors refused to give up, even when Charles and Darren Bravo (55) appeared to be tilting the balance decisively the home team's way. Their 4th-wicket partnership of 116 lifted the Caribbean side from the early discomfort of 26 for 3.

Umesh Yadav, who removed the dangerous Gayle and Devon Smith in his opening burst, added the main wicket of Charles to keep his team's hopes alive in the match. He finished with the best figures of 3 for 43.West Indies were themselves without their regular captain throughout the match.

Score Details
 
India- 229/7 (50)
 
Highest Score
R Sharma -60(89)
S Raina -44(55)

Best Bowling
K Roach, T Best, D Sammy Each 2 Wickets

West Indies- 230/9 (47.4)
 
Highest Score
J Charles -97(100)
D Bravo -55(78)

Best Bowling
U Yadav-3(43)

Player of the match

J Charles (WI)

Tri Series WI Won by 6 Wickets against SL

Gayle notched his 1st one-day hundred against Sri Lanka as he led West Indies to a crushing 6-wicket win with more than 12 overs to spare in the opening match of the tri-nation international series.

Replying to the visitors' modest total of 208 all out off 48.3 overs, the hard-hitting opening batsman delighted his fellow Jamaicans with another main effort on the way to his 21st ODI century. His 109 came off 100 deliveries and was embellished with 7 sixes and 9 fours. That pushed his team on to 209 for four off 37.5 overs and they earned a bonus point as well for reaching their target before the conclusion of the 40th over.

Earlier, Sunil Narine returned to his miserly, wicket-taking best, snaring 4 / 40 as Sri Lanka faltered after a dishonestly bright start to be dismissed for 208.

He had an instant impact on the match when he came on in the 18th over, removed the prolific and experienced pair of Mahela Jayawardene (52) and Kumar Sangakkara (17) in his 1st 3 overs to immediately put the brake on what had been a promising start by the Sri Lankans.

Jayawardene was at his fluent best, dominating an opening partnership of 62 with Upul Tharanga before they were separated by Bravo. In contrast, Sangakkara never really got going and the West Indies were reasonably delighted when he pushed a straightforward catch to Pollard at cover.

Ravi Rampaul backed up the spinner's effort with 3 wickets and it was left to Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews to hold the innings together following the demise of the 3 big hitters, his unbeaten 55 being the top score as he capitalized on an early bit of luck when put down by Gayle off the bowling of pacer Kemar Roach.

Speaking after the match, Mathews acknowledged that with Chris Gayle in such a mood, his team's total was never going to be enough. We needed early on wickets and that did not happen, he lamented. And when Chris Gayle is in that sort of mind-set, no bowling attack in the world can stop and no target is too much.

Score Details

Sri Lanka: 208/10 (48.3)
A Mathews (C)-55(77)
M Jayawardena –52(52)

Best Bowling
S Narine-4(40)
R Rampaul-3(38)

West Indies: 209/4 (37.5)
C Gayle -109(100)
J Charles -29(58)

Men of the match-C Gayle (WI)

Pietersen given some tips to help level T20 series

England stand-in captain Eoin Morgan is backing Kevin Pietersen to help turn around his side's fortunes in the 2nd Twenty20 international against New Zealand.

2 days after losing the Champions Trophy final to India England were back in action at the Oval on Tuesday in the first of 2 matches, falling 5 runs short of New Zealand imposing total of 201 for 4. Pietersen is expected to return to the England team for the 1st time since March, when he was forced out of the tour of New Zealand with a knee injury. 

He returned to the crease for Surrey on Sunday, beating an unbeaten 177 against Yorkshire in the Country Championship, and is expected to be available for the 2nd Twenty20 match on Thursday, also at the Oval. Kevin is a huge part of English cricket and has been for a long time, Morgan, skipper in place of the rested Stuart Broad, told the England and Wales Cricket Board website.

What he brings to the table, probably especially few people at the world can. He can take the game away from you at any stage and we saw during the week the way he performed. He takes a lot of pride in when he goes out there and bats. He looks in well form. It’s a very relaxed situation that we have going on at the moment and with any luck he will come in and do well.

Pietersen return will also give England a boost ahead of the Ashes series against Australia starting at Trent Bridge on July 10.

Australia, who sack their coach Mickey Arthur on Monday and failed to reach the Champions Trophy semi-finals, starts the 1st of 2 tour matches against Somerset on Wednesday.

BCCI use Pak player fixing video

Spot-fixing under the scanner in India, the cricket Board is showing video clips of the scandal involving young Pakistan Player Mohammad Aamer to educate its under-19 and under-25 players against declining prey to corrupt practice. The Board is educating the U-25 boys at their off-season National Cricket Academy camp in Mysore. 

The programmed designed by the Anti-Corruption and safety Unit includes video clips from the well-known Lord's Test of 2010. Pakistan pace bowler Aamer, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif were found responsible of spot-fixing in that match and were excluded by the ICC and subsequently sentenced to jail.

We were told how Aamer committed the crime and how he was lured into committing the deed, said a player who attend the lecture. The ASCU official spoke about how these cricketers were approach by certain persons and how one need to avoid such people.

According to a top BCCI official, with the players being groomed for senior cricket, the board wants to educate them at the junior level itself. Aamer was just 18 years old when he was caught in the fixing scandal.

This is not the 1st time the BCCI has used a Pakistan player as example. During the domestic T20 league in 2012 players were shown a knowledge video made by the ICC in which Aamer talks about the ills of fixing. However, it failed to make an impact as the arrest of the three Rajasthan Royals players on spot-fixing charges shows.

India another Big win Series3-0

Australia resisted like a girl with an attitude, but gave in finally to a relentless suitor as India won the 3rd Test by 6 wickets to go 3-0 up in the series. The 4th and last match will be played in New Delhi from March 22 when India will attempt to win 4 Tests in a series forth first time in their history.

A target of 133 in a minimum of 27 overs, India hit the Promised Land for the loss of Murali Vijay -26, Cheteshwar Pujara -28 and Virat Kohli -34 and Sachin Tendulkar -21. For a brief while it appears that Australia may confine India to a draw. Thirty were needed in 56 balls when Kohliflicked Peter Siddle to short mid-wicket.

Tendulkar and MS Dhoni played through a phase of quiet as the requirement escalated, and the master’s sharp run-out by David Warner gave Australia another look-in to enforce a draw. But Ravindra Jadeja walked in to cream boundaries against Siddle; setting an example for his skipper to follow Dhoni decided things with 3 fours off Mitchell Starc and then uproots a stump as a souvenir.

The win at Mohali was mainly set up by Shikhar Dhawan blazing 187 on debut that was scored across 2 sessions on Saturday and made up for the time lost on account of the 1st-day washout. Dhawan was named Man of the Match, but did not come out to bat on Monday as he has injured his hand while fielding. India was also served well by Jadeja left-arm spin, which claimed 6 wickets - 3 in each innings - in the match. Jadeja has dismissed Michael Clarke 5 times in this series.

Australia Big fight

Australia was effectively 79 for 8 at lunch, with 52 overs remaining, and was rescued by two stubborn alliances: 36 in 16.1 overs between Starc and Haddin, and 44 in 18 overs between Starc and Xavier Doherty for the last wicket. Ravichandran Ashwin deceived Haddin with a ‘carom’ ball without delay after lunch.

Starc and Doherty stretched the lead to 132 before the 1st innings scorer of 99 was done in by Jadeja for 35. This meant that India had 90 minutes plus a minimum of 15 mandatory overs to reach the target. The hosts got there, not in a tearing hurry, but well within the time fixed, and will head to Delhi soaring on a first-time 3-0 cushion over Australia.

Earlier, Australia resumed in the morning 3 down on 75, sixteen ahead, and was all out for 223 mid-ways into the second session. They suffered the first jolt when Nathan Lyon edged Pragyan Ojha to Dhoni. Australia spasm-wreaked captain, Clarke, lasted for 49 deliveries before Jadeja dismissed him for the 5th time this series – via an inside-edged bat-pad that was gobbled up by Pujara at short-leg.

The next dismissal was rather unfortunate. Phil Hughes -69 who had infinitely multiply his series gains in the course of one attacking knock, was given out ‘lbw’ to Ashwin when the delivery seemed likely to miss leg-stump. All-rounder Moises Henriques -2 lasted ten balls before Jadeja flung himself to his left to accept a blinding return-catch. Siddle had his off-stump knocked back by Ojha, clearing the way for Haddin and Starc to delay the inevitable.

Score Details

Australia First Innings-408/10

Highest Score

Mitchell Starc -99(144)

Steven Smith -92(185)

Ed Cowan -86(238)

Best Bowling India

Ishant Sharma (72/3), Ravindra Jadeja (77/3)

India 1st Innings-499/10

Highest Score

Shikhar Dhawan –187(174)

Murali Vijay -153(317)

Virat Kohli -67(129)

Best Bowling Australia

Peter Siddle-5/71

Australia 2nd Innings223/10

Best Bowling India

Bhuvneshwar Kumar-3/31

Ravindra Jadeja-3/35

India 2nd Innings 136/4

Men of the Match

Shikhar Dhawan