All posts by h716a5.icu

If further proof were needed that Tim Paine was evolving into a legitimate Australian cricketer, it came when he was asked whether he harboured any sympathy for Andrew Strauss’s downtrodden Englishmen

Alex Brown at Trent Bridge18-Sep-2009If further proof were needed that Tim Paine was evolving into a legitimate Australian cricketer, it came when he was asked whether he harboured any sympathy for Andrew Strauss’s downtrodden Englishmen. “Not at all from me,” he said, with just a hint of sadistic delight. Glenn McGrath and co. may have gone from Australian cricket, but the schadenfreude lives on in a new generation.Paine, more than anyone else, contributed to England’s sense of misery on Thursday. His patient and precise 111 turned the match firmly Australia’s way in the first innings, and his catch off Strauss from the second ball of England’s run-chase effectively crushed any notion of a home team fightback.At 24, Paine has already attained a level of maturity and hunger that has eluded far more seasoned English batsmen. Watchful in the face of James Anderson’s testing opening spell, Paine steadily lifted the tempo during the first Powerplay period, and again after he reached his half-century. His ability to convert a start into a match-winning century in just his third week as an international cricketer earned the envy of Strauss, who has watched forlornly as his team-mates have thrown away many an opportunity to fill their boots this series.”He played very well,” Strauss said. “He’s playing in a confident side, which helps. It’s easy to come into a side that’s full of confidence and winning and show your true calibre. I think it’s a bit harder when the side is low on confidence. All credit to him. He’s taken his opportunity and he batted very well today. I think our batting unit realise that we need to get big scores and we haven’t done that. With each game that passes the pressure on someone to stand up grows.”Paine doesn’t possess the lusty, pendulum-like swinging of Adam Gilchrist at the crease, nor the compact power of Brad Haddin. His is a more classical mode of batting – compiling for the most part, attacking when the situation presents itself and always placing a high price on his wicket.Once, not so long ago, comparisons with Australia’s last two senior wicketkeepers would have eaten at Paine, but no longer. “That’s something I’ve learned being in the change-rooms with these blokes, that everyone plays differently and the best way for you to play is the way you play and not trying to copy anyone else,” he said. “That’s something I’ve done for the last 12 months. I probably had a period there where I’d try to hit the ball over the top and do all that sort of stuff but that’s not the way I play and I’ll just keep hammering away as I am.”Just where Paine will fit into the national set-up upon Haddin’s return is unclear at present. Graham Manou’s commendable glovework for Australia in the Edgbaston Test would suggest he remains Haddin’s understudy at Test level, but Paine’s age and batting skills make for a compelling case. His lightness of feet and sure hands behind the stumps are also noteworthy. Surely, more international cricket is to come.Should he continue his current vein of batting form – he is currently the tournament’s second leading run-scorer with 233 at 38.83 – Paine might well follow the path once trodden by Gilchrist and Haddin in representing the Australian one-day team as a specialist batsman. But that is for another day. For now, Australia’s newest international cricketer is content filling in for Haddin and pushing his team-ever closer to the 7-0 whitewash over England they so desperately seek.”I’m willing to consider it, but whether or not it happens, I’ve got to keep scoring runs and keeping well and when Brad comes back we’ll wait and see then,” he said. “It’s very important, just to make the most of it. I’ve got a short opportunity here while Brad’s away and he’s the best wicketkeeper-batsman in Australia so he’s going to come back. I guess I was in a bit of a positive situation, I couldn’t really lose, so I’m just trying to enjoy my time until he comes back and still trying to do my role in the team.”

Australia coach Tim Nielsen has expressed concern over possible player burnout for a certain section of the touring party in India for the seven-match ODI series starting on Sunday

Cricinfo staff23-Oct-2009Australia coach Tim Nielsen has expressed concern over possible player burnout for a certain section of the touring party in India for the seven-match ODI series starting on Sunday. Six players, part of the Victoria and New South Wales squads, have already spent more than two weeks in the country for the Champions League Twenty20 and Nielsen is particularly concerned that there isn’t much time to rest between series.The whole team has been on the road starting from the seven-match ODI series in England, which was immediately followed by the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa. Those taking part in the Champions League then headed to India – and both Australian state teams made it to the semi-finals. Nielsen said the strain of traveling will be particularly hard on three NSW players – Brett Lee, Nathan Hauritz and Doug Bollinger – who have a day to head to Vadodara for the first ODI after the tournament final in Hyderabad.”Its difficult. We have our New South Wales players playing the final on tonight and joining the squad tomorrow afternoon,” Nielsen said. “We are supposed to play at 9 on Sunday morning. It’s that much of traveling, that much of playing.”Those guys on the NSW team who were on the Ashes tour have not been home for six months, which is a huge ask. Most of our group members had a week and a half at home in that period. If you have a family it can be difficult.”Nielsen was pleased, however, that the endless traveling hadn’t reflected in their on-field performances. Australia drubbed England 6-1 in the one-dayers and had an undefeated run in the Champions Trophy.”We had some young players coming in and the bowling attack changed through injury. Brett Lee was out. We had [Mitchell] Johnson already and [Peter] Siddle, [Ben] Hilfenhaus and [Doug] Bollinger coming into the team,” Nielsen said. “They were willing to do things as well as they could.”We got to a stage when we won 14 out of 16 ODI games in the past three series, Pakistan, England and the Champions Trophy. That’s been very positive signal for us.”Nielsen added that the current Australian team has come through the transition period very well, following the retirement of several senior players. He said a pool of international-class players were identified to take on responsibilities in the event of injuries and pull-outs.”We had to sit down and actually define how we need to play our best cricket and what we need to do to become competitive,” he said. “We had to talk to every player and make sure they understood what was required of them. We had to start looking a little bit outside the square and taking different players to make sure we had more than 11 or 12 players. You saw through the Champions Trophy that without Nathan Bracken, Brad Haddin and Michael Clarke, we were able to cover their losses with three young players who came in.”

Everton have received a big injury boost ahead of their Premier League encounter against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend after it was revealed that Lucas Digne is available for selection once again.

What’s the word?

The 28-year-old played no part in the Toffees’ 2-1 defeat at the hands of Wolves last time out after a muscle complaint, but Rafael Benitez confirmed that the defender has made a successful return to training.

“Digne is fine,” the Spaniard said in Friday’s press conference. “He has been training, so hopefully he will be available.”

Benitez then revealed that Fabian Delph and Jarrad Branthwaite are also possible inclusions in the matchday squad as Everton attempt to clear their lengthy list of absentees.

“I think that we had, at the beginning analysing the squad, too many players who had been injured in the past,” he said.

“That was one of the big issues, to bring players back. We have Delph and Branthwaite coming back.”

However, that’s where the good news ended for fans of the Merseyside club, as Benitez went on to confirm that several other first team stars are set to remain on the sidelines for a little while longer

He outlined: “Still, we are missing Doucoure, Calvert-Lewin and Yerry Mina who are key players for us. We are bringing players back and hopefully, they will have a big part in our success if we can win our games now.”

Benitez will be delighted about Digne

The news that Digne will be able to make his comeback will leave Benitez feeling delighted, given the left-back’s importance to the team.

As per WhoScored, the France international has averaged 2.6 tackles per league game this season, the second-highest tally amongst his teammates.

Digne has also proven himself to be a significant attacking threat with the ball at his feet. Throughout his nine top-flight starts, the left-back has produced an average of 1.9 key passes and 1.6 crosses per match, placing him second compared to his colleagues for both metrics, as per WhoScored.

Indeed, Ben Godrey – who filled in at left-back against Wolves in the 27-year-old’s absence, endured a difficult night up against Nelson Semedo and Francisco Trincao. The ex-Norwich defender was the Toffees’ lowest-rated player at Molineux, being beaten in two dribbles and losing seven of his 13 duels, as per SofaScore.

Therefore, Digne’s potential inclusion from the off against Spurs will be a significant bonus to Everton as they attempt to end a three-game losing streak.

In other news… Benitez may unearth Everton gem in “skilful” 18 y/o prodigy, he’s an “intelligent” player 

Ricky Ponting has said that if Australia could scrape through for a series victory in India it would be “an amazing effort” given the squad’s horrible run with injuries

Cricinfo staff05-Nov-2009Ricky Ponting has said that if Australia could scrape through for a series victory in India it would be “an amazing effort” given the squad’s horrible run with injuries. Australia will begin Thursday’s ODI in Hyderabad with the seven-match series locked at 2-2 but with only 13 fit men to choose from.”If you consider everything that’s happened to us over the last couple of weeks, it would be an amazing effort if this group of players were good enough to get over the line,” Ponting said in the . “I think we showed the other night that if we play even somewhere near our best we’re a really good chance of winning the series.”But with five or six guys – probably more than that – out of our starting XI that aren’t here at the moment, we’re going along nicely. And we haven’t played our best. With our batting we probably left 30-40 runs out there the other night so, hopefully, that all clicks tomorrow, and if it does we know we’ll be well in the contest again.”The Victoria allrounder Andrew McDonald and the New South Wales fast bowler Burt Cockley are flying in to boost the squad before the sixth ODI in Guwahati on Sunday. For Thursday’s game, the selectors need to choose one of the batsman Adam Voges, the fast bowler Clint McKay or the spinner Jon Holland, and the coach Tim Nielsen said on Wednesday McKay would play “in the next couple of games, if not tomorrow”.”He’s a big kid that’s done well over here and he brings the ball down from a height,” Nielsen said. “We’ll hopefully see him get a bit of bounce in the conditions.”The Australians began the series without Michael Clarke (back), Brad Haddin (finger), Callum Ferguson (knee) and Nathan Bracken (knee). As the tour has worn on they have also lost Brett Lee (elbow), Tim Paine (finger), James Hopes (hamstring), Peter Siddle (side stiffness) and Moises Henriques (hamstring).

Leeds United have confirmed that goalkeeping coach Marcos Abad has signed a new deal at Elland Road, which will surely come as a big boost for the club.

The Lowdown: Abad has contributed to record-breaking feats

The 36-year-old has been with the Whites since 2017, having enjoyed spells at Elche and Middlesbrough beforehand. Since then, Abad has played a key role in Leeds’ success under Marcelo Bielsa, helping to get the best out of the likes of Illan Meslier and Kiko Casilla.

Indeed, the French shot-stopper broke the record for being the youngest Premier League ‘keeper to keep 10 clean sheets earlier this year at the age of just 21 years and 54 days, two months after he became the first ‘keeper in Premier League to record eight clean sheets in a single season prior to the age of 21. Those record-breaking feats highlighting Abad’s impact and contribution at Leeds, his coaching skills clearly paying off for Meslier.

[freshpress-quiz id=“375277″]

The Latest: Abad signs new deal

On Tuesday, Leeds confirmed on their official website that Abad has extended his stay at Elland Road until 2025.

His previous deal had been due to expire next summer, but he has now been rewarded for his fine work in Yorkshire with this contract extension.

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The Verdict: Big boost for Leeds

Abad has clearly made a positive impact during his time at Leeds, as seen by Meslier’s heroics, so this is a significant boost for the Whites, keeping hold of somebody who the club described as an integral figure.

He is clearly his own man, but there could perhaps an argument to say that this could hint towards Bielsa potentially staying put beyond the end of this season. The Argentine could arguably have planned to take Abad with him if he were planning to leave but the Spaniard has now committed his long-term future to the club.

It is not only a big boost in itself given his impact at Elland Road, but might just be a significant step towards Bielsa following suit in the coming months.

In other news, Phil Hay has provided an update on Marcelo Bielsa’s future. Read more here.

Celtic could form a dream duo at Parkhead in the January transfer window after being linked with a move for Shanghai SIPG midfielder Aaron Mooy.

According to the Daily Mail, the highly-rated 31-year-old is Ange Postecoglou’s top target ahead of the upcoming transfer window as the Bhoys manager looks to bolster his engine room options.

The Hoops are currently lacking strength in depth in the middle of the park after losing Ryan Christie and Olivier Ntcham over the summer, and Mooy could be the ideal solution.

After beginning his career in his homeland, the Australia international was picked up by Bolton Wanderers as a youngster before being loaned to St Mirren, where he made 30 appearances in all competitions.

However, things didn’t work out for Mooy during his first spell in England, and Western Sydney Wanderers brought him home in 2014.

The £6.75m-rated maestro then rose to prominence after earning a move to Manchester City’s sister club Melbourne City two years later. His eye-catching displays earned a move to Huddersfield Town, and Mooy played a pivotal part in their promotion to the Premier League.

A return of 11 goals and 15 assists in 120 outings in Yorkshire for Mooy saw David Wagner call him a “top-class” talent during his time at the John Smith’s Stadium, as the Australian become a crucial cog in his setup.

Nevertheless, following the Terriers’ relegation in 2019, the box-to-box dynamo moved to Brighton and Hove Albion, where he completed his most recent campaign in English football, and his underlying numbers highlight how influential he was.

As per WhoScored, Mooy averaged 0.7 crosses and 1.3 key passes per game in his 31 Premier League appearances throughout 2019/20, placing him in the top three for both metrics when compared to his former teammates.

Since then, he has continued to impress in China, and he could be reunited with his former international manager at Celtic as a result. However, perhaps it’s the prospect of the exciting midfielder linking up with Kyogo Furuhashi at Paradise which will really excite the Glaswegian fanbase.

The Japan international has already found the back of the net 13 times this season, and with the support of Mooy – a player who has proven record of providing defence-splitting passes at the highest level – Furuhashi’s goal threat could increase even further upon his potential arrival.

It remains to be seen if the Celtic hierarchy can entice Mooy back to Scottish football, but it’s certainly a move that the club’s chiefs should carefully consider.

In other news… Ange may be heading for Celtic nightmare over 20 y/o sensation who’s a “real presence” 

Half-centuries from Sarel Burger and Wian van Vuuren steadied Namibia’s innings after a shaky start against the United Arab Emirates in Windhoek

Cricinfo staff05-Dec-2009
ScorecardHalf-centuries from Sarel Burger and Wian van Vuuren steadied Namibia’s innings after a shaky start on the first day of their ICC Intercontinental Shield match against the United Arab Emirates in Windhoek.Namibia went into the game missing their regular opener Gerhard Randolph and were soon jolted, losing their first two wickets in the space of four runs after an opening stand of 43. Burger and van Vuuren, who was called up to replace middle-order batsman, Norbert Manyande, stabilised the innings with a 103-run partnership for the third wicket.Van Vuuren made 55 before he was caught by the wicketkeeper Abdul Rehman off Fayyaz Ahmed with the score on 150. Burger then added another 53 runs with captain Craig Williams and Namibia were looking solid, having passed 200 for the loss of only three wickets. However, both Burger and Williams were dismissed in the space of six balls with the score on 203 and UAE were right back in the game.Nicholaas Scholtz and Louis van der Westhuizen were both unbeaten on 22 when play ended. Medium-pacer Qasim Zubair, who dismissed the openers, was the pick of the bowlers, taking 2 for 21 off 13 overs.

This report has been made possible by the Scottish CricketSupporters, who gave me a lift to the Harare South Country Clubground when I was unable to get petrol during the current fuelcrisis

John Ward25-Dec-2009This report has been made possible by the Scottish CricketSupporters, who gave me a lift to the Harare South Country Clubground when I was unable to get petrol during the current fuelcrisis. Thanks very much to them all.It was a most interesting match in which the balance swungunexpectedly from one side to the other, before Zimbabwe Afinally gained their first victory of the tournament by 8 runs.Zimbabwe A recovered well after being seriously tied down byaccurate bowling, while Scotland made a gallant challenge forvictory after defeat seemed inevitable. Craig Evans was one ofthe changes to the Zimbabwean team, which was noticeably quieteron the field and well led by Gavin Rennie in a pleasantatmosphere.Scotland put Zimbabwe A in to bat on winning the toss on a warm,generally sunny morning. The pitch was good but the outfieldthick, making run-scoring rather difficult. After DarlingtonMatambanadzo played out a maiden over from James Brinkley, MarkVermeulen got off the mark with an exquisitely timed square cutfor four off Craig Wright, but it was to be his only scoringstroke. With the total on 7, he was beaten and bowled byBrinkley, with a ball that straightened and had him playing downthe wrong line.Matambanadzo, as often, settled in slowly and kept finding thefielders, as did his new partner Neil Ferreira. After showingsome signs of frustration, Matambanadzo finally managed to gettwo drives away for three, but accurate bowling frustrated themas they tried to work the ball around for ones and twos. Thescore was only 45 in the 18th over when Ferreira called for arisky single on the leg side, Matambanadzo was late in rejectingthe call, and Ferreira was run out for 9, Douglas Lockhartrunning in to field from midwicket.Gavin Rennie came close to being run out as he got off the markwith a similarly risky single. Matambanadzo, several timesstepping down the pitch to try to force away the bowling, workedhard and reached a well-deserved fifty, mainly through drives,edges and some rather risky singles. He was eventually run outfor 62, responding late to a risky call by Rennie, giving thebowler Drew Parsons time to throw down the stumps. The score wasnow 117 for three, and Matambanadzo later paid tribute to thehighly disciplined and accurate bowling that made it so hard toscore.Rennie did not last much longer; forced to take risks to improvethe run rate, he skyed a catch off Brinkley to captain GeorgeSalmond at mid-off. The score was 129 for four in the 36th over.This left two new batsmen, Greg Lamb and Dion Ebrahim, to boosta disappointing scoring rate, and this they did with some finerunning between wickets Ebrahim in particular nipping back andforth like lightning. So enterprisingly did they bat that thebowling lost some of its accuracy, and at one point CraigMcKellar earned a round of applause from his teammates forbowling a rare dot ball.200 looked a possibility or the first time, but the boundary washard to reach, apart from a sweep by Ebrahim. Finally a swing tothe long-leg boundary off the final ball of the innings took thetotal to 205 for four wickets, Lamb on 40 and Ebrahim 36. Thepair had added 76 runs in just under 13 overs and given theirteam a decided advantage.Lockhart and Neil McRae opened steadily for Scotland, waiting forthe bad ball to punish, and put on 28 together before the lattersnicked a catch to first slip Vermeulen off Everton Matambanadzofor 12. Ayaz Gul was almost immediately dropped, a hard chanceto the keeper off ‘Pommie’ Mbangwa, and then settled down withLockhart to take the scored through to 60. Lockhart opened hisshoulders and swung Andre Hoffman almost for six over long-on,but soon after stepped down the pitch to drive Ian Engelbrechtand was smartly stumped by Ferreira for 26. Soon afterwards Gul(20) played a half-hearted drive against Paul Strang, yet anotherintroduction into this team, and lobbed a low catch towardsbackward point, where it was caught by Hoffman diving low. At 68for three, in the 25th over, Scotland were in some difficulty.Drew Parsons reacted to the situation with attack, twice pullingEngelbrecht fiercely to square leg, the second shot to besuperbly saved by Everton Matambanadzo. Briefly the pairthreatened to take charge, but then captain George Salmond (6)hammered Rennie at about knee-height to Mbangwa at deepish mid-onand departed for his first failure of the tour; 85 for four.New batsman Colin Smith immediately unleashed a ferociousoff-drive for four, but then the aggressive Parsons, sweeping atRennie, was adjudged lbw on the front foot for 17. At 92 forfive, Scotland’s chances of victory now appeared very slim. Themiddle order did not give up, with Smith and Wright battingusefully together until the latter, as non-striker, called for aquick leg-bye, a risky call to which Smith (13) was late inresponding, giving time for Ferreira to throw the ball to thebowler Rennie for an easy run-out. Then Wright (19) swattedStrang to midwicket where Vermeulen nonchalantly reached down topluck an ankle-high catch. At 123 for seven all seemed lost.Brinkley and Gregor Maiden was also resolved to go on fighting,although the required scoring rate steadily rose to about eightan over. They enjoyed a few snicks and had a few lusty blows,until Maiden (13) swung Rennie round the corner for DarlingtonMatambanadzo to grasp the ball low down. He appeared either tolose control or toss the ball away immediately in celebration,but the batsman walked and Scotland were 143 for eight.Then, as the pace bowlers returned, Brinkley launched a powerfulassault with some clean, straight hitting. He alone of thebatsmen in the match seemed able to reach the boundary, and withtwo overs to go Scotland were still in with a chance, 21 needed.Brinkley hit Everton Matambanadzo wide of long-on for four, thentook a single into the covers. Cox took one to the left ofmidwicket, then Brinkley hit to midwicket, took two to long-onand then a single from a difficult chance to Ebrahim at long-off.Mbangwa was to bowl the last over with 12 needed for victory.Brinkley took one to mid-on, then Cox swung and missed. Brinkleycharged down the pitch, backing up for a single, while Ferreirathrew the ball towards the bowler’s end aiming for a run-out.Brinkley, seeing it coming, stopped it with his foot,deliberately and hoping he would get away with it as he latergood-naturedly admitted, and was given out ‘obstructing thefield’. He scored 54 off 47 balls, with 5 fours. Thiseffectively ended Scotland’s gallant challenge, Cox and McKellartaking a single apiece before Cox (3) skyed a simple return catch- all out 197.Both teams shook hands with smiles all round in true sportingspirit at the end of a fine match, and both presented gifts toeach other. This is all in the true spirit of the game, whichwas sadly lacking from the match against Holland.

Many Everton fans have been lauding some injury news involving three of their players.

As pictured ahead of their trip to Brentford in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Demarai Gray and Andre Gomes are all now in light training at USM Finch Farm after their respective injury setbacks.

Gray has no doubt been one of the Toffees’ key players so far since signing in the summer, being their joint-top scorer in the top flight with three goals while also making two assists and ranking highly among his teammates in terms of shots (two), key passes (1.4) and dribbles (1.5) per match (WhoScored).

Calvert-Lewin scored three goals in his first three games this season before getting injured (experienced option in the middle of the park.

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To have all three back in training is certainly a good sign that they could be back in the team soon.

Everton fans on injury news

These Everton supporters lauded the injury news as it was shared on Twitter, with one Toffees fan describing it as ‘brilliant’:

“It’s a Christmas miracle”

Credit: @miaboughey_

“Be still my beating heart!”

Credit: @just_doodlin86

“This brings a smile to my face”

Credit: @EFCJosh7

“Brilliant news.”

Credit: @nij1878

“This is X-rated pure filth”

Credit: @joewightman10

“Good news indeed. Would be good if any of the players would be available against Liverpool.”

Credit: @PeterPapadopo11

In other news, find out transfer news was slammed by some Everton fans

Rarely does a centurion get overshadowed in a match of middling scores. But though Thilan Samaraweera finished with an accomplished unbeaten 105, the headlines were stolen by Thissara Perera, who celebrated his third cap with a power-packed 15-ball 36

The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran05-Jan-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outThilan Samaraweera smashed 11 fours en route to his second ODI century•Associated PressRarely does a centurion get overshadowed in a match of middling scores. But though Thilan Samaraweera finished with an accomplished unbeaten 105, the headlines were stolen by Thissara Perera, who celebrated his third cap with a power-packed 15-ball 36. From needing 54 off 39 balls when he arrived at the crease, Sri Lanka romped home with two overs to spare, as India’s quest for yorkers merely resulted in one too many no-balls and full tosses. Chanaka Welegedara’s five-wicket haul had killed India’s batting momentum at crucial times, and with the dew playing such a factor in the evening, 279 was not quite enough.After taking Zaheer Khan through cover to get off the mark, Perera transformed the game in Ashish Nehra’s seventh over. He had been India’s best bowler, but Perera pierced the off-side cordon, flicked behind square and then nonchalantly hoicked the free hit for six in the same direction.Samaraweera got to his hundred straight after, but was then more than content to watch the fun from the other end.Zaheer was then carved through the covers twice, as he made light of being struck in the ribs, and a meaty club through wide long-on finished off matters well ahead of time. Sri Lanka had been given a brisk start by the new opening pair of Upul Tharanga and Lahiru Thirimanne, the debutant who replaced Tillakaratne Dilshan, but once India conceded just 16 in the five overs of bowling Powerplay, the onus was very much on the old hands to see it home.Tharanga had set the tone with a casual loft for four off Zaheer, and then two then took 16 from an over that also featured wides down the leg side. With runs leaking, MS Dhoni gave the ball to Sreesanth, only for Thirimanne to reveal glimpses of his potential with three cracking drives through the covers. It was too good to last though. In Sreesanth’s next over, he got into a tangle trying to pull off the front foot and the ball ballooned to midwicket.Soon after, Harbhajan Singh was introduced and Tharanga chipped his fourth ball straight back. But Samaraweera came in and wrested the initiative with deft cuts and a paddle for four. And with Kumar Sangakkara unafraid to come down the pitch and chip over the infield, the innings quickly revived. By then the towels were out, and the Indian focus was as much on keeping the ball dry as it was on taking the wickets needed to win the game.Samaraweera was the primary aggressor, scooping Sreesanth for four in an over that cost 16, and Sri Lanka were cruising when Sangakkara, who had eased to 60, stepped out and lofted Harbhajan Singh straight to cover. Thilina Kandamby then top-edged a wild swipe to midwicket and when Suraj Randiv backed up too far, they were in trouble. Perera, though, ensured that India would get no reprieve.Earlier, Yuvraj Singh had marked his return to the XI with 74 from 84 balls, while Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja all contributed decent cameos after Virender Sehwag had played a typically effervescent hand. He cruised to 47 from 30 balls before playing too early at one bowled with fingers rolled across the seam from round the wicket, and after his exit, India had to build steadily on a surface where the ball didn’t always come on to the bat.Sehwag had announced his intentions from the outset, off-driving Welegedara for four, but there was an early setback for the Indians as he sneaked a yorker underneath Gautam Gambhir’s bat and on to the base of leg stump. With Sehwag taking Suranga Lakmal for three fours in an over, and Virat Kohli playing a lovely straight drive, the 50 of the innings came in just the seventh over. The game changed, though, in the space of two eventful overs from Welegedara.Sehwag had scythed two off-side fours and been caught behind off a no-ball by the time Kohli tried too cute a deflection to a ball pitched outside off stump. Having conceded 18 in that over, Welegedara came back in the next to have Sehwag caught at mid-off by Thirimanne. India had taken 76 from the first Powerplay, but only 13 came from the bowling one as the bowlers kept a leash on the new batsmen. Both Yuvraj and Dhoni clipped boundaries through point, but with Randiv getting pretty sharp turn, and Kandamby filling in with part-time spin, the runs were no longer coming at Sehwag pace.When Muthumudalige Pushpakumara went off injured after a dive in the outfield, Sangakkara had to turn to his occasional bowlers, and Yuvraj quickly cashed in, pulling Samaraweera for four and then heaving Kandamby for two consecutive sixes to reach his half-century. At that point,Perara, deputising for Chamara Silva, was called on, and Dhoni’s attempt to force the issue only found Sangakkara’s gloves. Soon after, he induced a miscued pull from Yuvraj, and by the time the batting Powerplay was taken after 43 overs, there were only 225 on the board.They took 14 from the first of those overs, bowled by Welegedara, but with Jadeja going four-six-four-four against Thilan Thushara, the innings finally had some energy. But back came Sri Lanka again, with Welegedara castling Raina and Zaheer, and Harbhajan playing a hideous stroke to point. By the time Jadeja holed out in the final over, all hopes of 300had long since disappeared, leaving Sri Lanka with a chase that they timed to perfection.