da aposte e ganhe： The three-match one-day series followed a predictable script asSri Lanka wrapped up the second ODI and the series at the R PremadasaStadium in Colombo with a five-wicket win
The Bulletin by Kanishkaa Balachandran23-Jul-2007
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Lasith Malinga removed Shahriar Nafees early and started the slide © Getty Images
The three-match one-day series followed a predictable script asSri Lanka wrapped up the second ODI and the series at the R PremadasaStadium in Colombo with a five-wicket win. The victory was fashioned by aruthless bowling performance, starting with Lasith Malinga’s incisiveopening burst, followed by Sanath Jayasuriya’s finishing touches,restricting Bangladesh to 137, a score few teams can realistically defend.Under overcast skies, the Bangladesh batting imploded for the second gamein succession. It was a good toss to win for Mahela Jayawardene as theseamers uitilised the damp pitch and overcast conditions to repeat theirdemolition of the top order. With their backs to the wall in terms of theseries, the start was hardly auspicious as the openers failed to lay thegroundwork, failing to adapt to the ball swinging in both directions andkicking off a good length.Malinga prised out both openers in quick succession, varying his length inboth dismissals. Shahriar Nafees’s patience ran out when he attempted acheeky glance down to third man off a good length delivery outside offstump, resulting in an edge which was taken comfortably by Jayawardene atsecond slip.Tamim Iqbal was subdued for 16 deliveries for his three and was dismissedwhile playing all around a Malinga yorker, beaten for pace. The strategyof promoting Mushfiqur Rahim up the order didn’t pay off as his stintlasted a mere four deliveries. A victim of another rude wake up call byMalinga, Rahim was caught off guard by one that kicked on him just shortof a good length and a big outside edge was snapped up acrobatically byKumar Sangakkara to his right.The second Powerplay produced just six runs, as the batsmen failed to getthe ball past the infield and the runs came at a crawl. The miserlyMaharoof gave no freebies in his opening spell – conceding just 11 runsoff eight overs – accounting for Tushar Imran.Aftab Ahmed and Mohammad Ashraful dropped anchor and added 61 afterBangladesh had tottered to 26 for 4 in the 15th over. Aftab’s knock of 47was one completely out of character given his propensity to attack fromthe word ‘go’. When Ashraful departed for 29, Aftab and Shakib Al Hasanseemed to get another partnership going, pushing the singles withregularity once the spinners came on.However, indiscretion on Shakib’s part brought Sri Lanka back in businessas he was bowled by Malinga Bandara while attempting a slog sweep. Aftabsquandered an opportunity to get a fifty when he pulled straight tomidwicket, giving Jayasuriya his second scalp.
Aftab Ahmed played an uncharacteristically defensive innings as he tried to arrest a middle-order collapse © AFP
By then, Bangladesh hardly looked like crossing 150 and the nature of thedismissals that followed was just a sad reflection of an innings which hadlittle entertainment value. A run-out, followed by desperate loftsstraight down fielders’ throats ended the innings in the 47th over.Jayasuriya reached a personal milestone when he wrapped up the tail,reaching 300 ODI wickets.Chasing a modest 138, Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga were off in a rush,adding 43 for the first wicket and it was wayward fare from the Bangladeshseamers which contributed to the racy start. Syed Rasel and ShahadatHossain failed to land the ball on a good length roundabout the off stumpunlike their Sri Lankan counterparts and instead sprayed it wide and toofull.Fielders patrolling point and cover were given an early work-out asTharanga drove and cut with privilege and freedom. Shahadat wasn’t sparedin one over in which he conceded three consecutive boundaries offTharanga’s blade, all square of the wicket in the off side. However, hewas rewarded the minute he landed the ball on the right length – short onoff stump – forcing Tharanga on the backfoot and getting it to slantacross the left hander with a faint edge going through to Rahim.Jayasuriya meanwhile took on Rasel and lofted him for successiveboundaries, down to long-off and long-on respectively, and the targetseemed one mighty blow away. Rasel then had his moment, albeitcontroversially, when he beat Sangakkara’s bat with a full deliveryoutside off and the look on Sangakkara’s face suggested that he wasn’t toopleased.Bangladesh’s spirits rose again after a double strike sent back Jayasuriyaand Jayawardene. Bowling short and wide, left-arm spinner AbdurRazzak bowled to his field and got Jayasuriya to slash hard outside theoff stump straight to point. Agile catching at midwicket by Aftab sent back Jayawardene and for a change, the heat was on Sri Lanka.After a few quiet overs – Tillekaratne Dilshan was scoreless for 16 balls- Chamara Silva cut loose. He lashed two boundaries off medium pacerFarhad Reza, including a fierce slash over backward point and waltzed downthe track to Razzak. The sparse crowd in the high-capacity stadium turnedvocal as Sri Lanka strolled home with 113 balls to spare.