India, Sri Lanka ODI ends in dramatic tie
India and Sri Lanka finished in a sensational tie in their tri-series one-day international at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday.
India skipper M.S. Dhoni needed to hit four runs off the last ball by Lasith Malinga but he only managed to scamper through for three runs to level the scores.
Both teams finished with 236 for nine from their 50 overs in a dramatic finale after India had needed nine runs to win off the final over.
Dhoni, who steered India to a final-over victory against Australia at the same ground last Sunday, failed to replicate that success as the Sri Lankans searched desperately for their first win of the tri-series.
“I looked to stay till the end,” ice-cool Dhoni said.
“If you have a decent partnership you can stick it out. Malinga is very difficult to hit so we were looking to target (Angelo) Mathews.
“(The last hit) was a bit difficult here, but in India that would have been two bounces and four. When you need 10 or 12 in the last over your heart rate will always be up.”
The tie was tinged by controversy with India facing one less delivery than they should have with the 30th over of their innings containing just five balls.
Dhoni was accepting of the mistake, saying: “There was a five ball over. In the past what we have seen is the third umpire interferes and you have to come back and bowl that ball.
“Usually that is what has happened to us, it didn’t happen in this game — it’s fair enough, nothing much can be done now.”
The tie lifted India to the top of the tournament standings ahead of Australia, with Sri Lanka yet to win from their three games.
Dhoni finished unbeaten on 58 off 69 balls with one booming six and three fours, while opening batsman Gautam Gambhir was out in the 90s for a second consecutive innings after he was run out for 91 off 106 balls.
India looked poised to nudge past the plucky Sri Lankans in the final over but Ranganath Vinay Kumar was run out on the second-last ball by a direct throw as he tried to get Dhoni on strike.
Dhoni then faced a final ball tilt for a winning boundary only for Sachithra Senanayake to cut off the shot and enable India to take three runs and level the scores.
It was the first-ever tie between India and Sri Lanka in one-dayers and the 26th tied ODI match.
“When you have MS (Dhoni) batting through it was always going to be tough,” Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene said.
“One ball four to get you to back yourself. But 230 probably wasn’t enough. We dropped catches and misses run-outs. You always back Malinga to do the job.”
Once again star India batsman Sachin Tendulkar failed to score his 100th international century and was dismissed for 15.
The ‘Little Master” has now gone an agonising 28 Test and ODI innings and has has been stuck on 99 centuries since March last year.
Earlier, Dinesh Chandimal topscored with 81 as Sri Lanka reached 236 for nine off 50 overs.
Chandimal, 22, hit six fours and a six off 91 balls before he was run out and Sri Lanka, who won the toss, set India just over 4.7 runs an over to win.
Kumar Sangakkara scored just 31 off 56 balls with two fours before he was caught off a leading edge at mid-on from spinner Ravi Ashwin in the 20th over.
Jayawardene hit 43 off 49 balls and put on 94 for the fourth wicket with Chandimal before he was leg before wicket to Vinay Kumar in the 37th over.
Chandimal was out in the next over when batting partner Angelo Mathews went for a quick single to short cover only for Rohit Sharma to whip the ball back to wicketkeeper Dhoni to break the stumps.
Senanayake cracked 22 off 14 balls to remain unbeaten with Mathews (17) and Thisara Perera (5) out cheaply.
Vinay Kumar finished the best of India’s bowlers with three for 46 off 10 overs, while Ashwin claimed two wickets.
Source: AFP / Pix by Getty Images
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People say we have a traitor in SL team. He is the bowler who bowled last. This fellow first fumbled with the ball and dropped it, when it was thrown to him, thereby failing to run-out Dhoni. Some think it was done deliberately so as to help India. This fellow then bowled the last ball in such a limp manner and wildly, to enable Dhoni to easily samsh it towards the boundary. However, it was saved so that India managed to equalise SL score. Don’t you think we lost because of such a traitor in our midst? How many other traitors are there in the team? We should identify these traitors and get rid of them. Perhaps these traitors betrayed SL because they are chosen for Indian League matches and are paid handsomely.
Mr Nicholas is seeing chinamen under every bush !!! The boys are trying, trying very hard indeed on empty stomachs. C’mon Nicholas, get off it. Attend that “Free Fonseka Rally” today; it will help calm your soul.
SF is another buffalo who swallowed the bait thrown by the JVP. He became a victim of his own pride and arrogance. Serve him right, for daring to pitch himself against our Hon President! SF failed to show gratitude to the President for giving him respite from retirement. The fool thought he single-handedly destroyed the LTTE! He refused to give due credit to the other security services and to all those valiant security personnel in the front lines and their commanders, who sacrificed life and limb for Motherland. What arrogance! He imprisoned and tortured nearly 2000 soldiers under false charges through military tribunals, because they dared to question his immorality in sleeping with nubile female soldiers from the villages. Our Hon President had them released at once. Then he gathered together through the JVP all those army deserters to stage a coup d’etat against the Hon President, when the buffoon lost the presidential election. The people rightly gave him thumbs down. What damage to his inflated ego! He was rounded-up with the small brigade of army deserters from the Cinnamon hotel he was holed-up in. Now he has plenty of time in prison to repent his folly! In USA such treachery would have earned him death sentence for sure! But he got away with it in SL because of more liberal sentencing!
Well done cricketers, it was good cricket after a long, long time. Wish you the best to the finals thiis season.
Blog 3 is based on significant hearsay content.
Following the presidentail elections, Retd Gen Fonseka and the patriotic forces who support him in his bid set up an operations centre in the Cinnamon Hotel to ensure a smooth transition of power from a victory that they were sure of gaining.
That presidential hustings were allegedly rigged in favour of the incumbent. Approximately 60 ballot papers marked to gen Fonseka were subsequently recovered from a waste paper basket in Ratnapura. The results were analysed and compiled using a computer software where manipulation was alleged.
In order to ensure good and transparent governance, the Kurakkan Satakaya Government should institue a public enquiry with overseas independent observers.
If the elections were clean, it is the Kurakkan Satakaya clan who will gain through a transparent exercise in good governance.
If anyone has evidence of a coup plot as alleged by the blogger, such evidence should be propmptly forwarded to the CID for investigations and if the evidence can support charges against Gen Fonseka, Somaratne and Wickremasinge combine, action must be pursued.
Our cricketers have blossomed into brilliant players in Australia.
Cheers to the team and Mahela.
ND,
Re your blog 1, it is definitely a serious match fixing effort by Malinga.You ought to report it direct to the big boss MR himself. Reporting it to other minions in the cricketing authority will be ignored as a comment coming from a geriatric who has lost the plot. Good luck and let us know how you went with MR.
Traitor Theory if you believe it:
1. Then, Kumar Sangakkara is a traitor because he dropped a very easy catch.
2. Then, Angelo Matthew is a traitor; got run out easily and bawled two full tosses and one no-ball, gave Irfan Pathan to score a SIX (cost 10 runs!) in the penultimate over.
3. Then, Mahela is a traitor knowing Malinaga is a traitor and giving him the crucial last over.
4. Upul Tharanga is a traitor because he got a ‘duck’ in the very first over (that said saved the match by stopping that boundary)
Taking all this into consideration I don’t bank on the traitor theory!
Amarkoon,
You are right. No traitor in our cricket team. All the traitors have retired from cricket and they are running business and some in parliament.
Traitor Theory if you believe it:
1. Then, Kumar Sangakkara is a traitor because he dropped a very easy catch.
2. Then, Angelo Matthew is a traitor; got run out easily and bawled two full tosses and one no-ball, gave Irfan Pathan to score a SIX (cost 10 runs!) in the penultimate over.
3. Then, Mahela is a traitor knowing Malinaga is a traitor and giving him the crucial last over.
4. Upul Tharanga is a traitor because he got a ‘duck’ in the very first over (that said saved the match by stopping that boundary)
Taking all this into consideration I don’t bank on the traitor theory!
Moderaters,
If you do not wanna post my comment, pl. delete the comment of your friend Nicholas Dias too. Or are you Nicholas Dias???
Amarakoon,
I totally agree with you. The nakiya ND is going crazy in his twilight years, suspecting everyone. The siyya would suspect his wife as well at the rate he is losing the plot. The dimwit seems to be an expert at everything under the sun. I wonder what rubbish he taught his students at St Peter’s College. They must have been glad to have got rid of him, the idiot. If he is that good at cricket he should join the national team, pad up and face his opponents bravely rather than passing wise cracks in hindsight.