By Suneer Chowdhary
The game was spiced up very early by the hot-headed Shaun Tait, who managed to rile the Sri Lankan opening batsman, Tillakaratne Dilshan after the batsman had edged him to the fence.
Published: Mar 05, 2011, 04:42 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 05, 2011, 04:42 PM (IST)
Rain stopped play at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
By Suneer Chowdhary
Colombo: Mar 5, 2011
The last time a series was planned in Sri Lanka, it did not happen. The entire series had to be postponed from the originally planned month of December and pushed to February. With no reserve-days for the league games in the World Cup, one could not even hope for that scenario for the Australia-Sri Lanka match, as rains hit the R Premadasa in Colombo.
Almost 33 overs into the game, Sri Lanka had industriously compiled 146/3 before consistent downpour stopped the plays early. And it was enough to keep the players in the dressing room for most part of the evening to ensure that the game had to be called off, thereby extending Australia’s non-losing streak by another game.
Teams batting first at the R Premadasa have enjoyed a distinct, and almost unfair advantage. So, it was not such a big surprise to find Kumar Sangakkara winning the toss and deciding to bat.
The game was spiced up very early by the hot-headed Shaun Tait, who managed to rile the Sri Lankan opening batsman, Tillakaratne Dilshan after the batsman had edged him to the fence.
Not one to be left behind, Dilshan paid back in the same coin but the verbal duel seemed to have affected the batsman more than the bowler. A couple of deliveries on, Dilshan edged an out-swinging ball pitched up and wide off him to the slips. First blood to Australia.
At the other end, his partner, Upul Tharanga had not had the most fluent of starts in the game. There were some nervous pokes at the pace of Brett Lee and Tait and the only time he did manage to play a stroke in anger, the ball scooted straight up into the waiting hands of point. Not exactly the easiest of catches but the bouncy Steven Smith had enough spring in his stride to catch it perfectly to leave Sri Lanka at 31/2.
Mahela Jayawardene, who had been a subject of much controversy in the previous few days because allegations flying against him, joined his captain and the pair settled the innings down. Jayawardene looked to be suffering from no side-effects at all as the pair added 44 for the third wicket.
The former skipper made 23 of those and looked good to carry on and get a big one before Smith was involved in another wicket – this time a run-out off a direct hit from the covers.
Sangakkara took charge at the other end and ensured that the further wicket-fall was stalled through a stand with Thilan Samaraweera that chugged along slowly. The spinning duo of Smith and Jason Krejza extracted enough turn from the track to worry the Australian side given the presence of three slow bowlers in the Sri Lankan side.
The pair went unseparated for more than 17 overs and added 71 before rain hit the ground. Sangakkara had got to one of his better compiled half-centuries and looked for his first century since June 2008 when the players were forced off the field.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 146 for 3 in 32.5 overs (Kumar Sangakkara 73*, Thilan Samaraweera 34*; Brett Lee 1 for 27, Shaun Tait 1 for 23) vs Australia.
(Suneer is a Mumbai-based cricket writer and can be contacted at suneerchowdhary@gmail.com and Tweets here @suneerchowdhary)
Pictures © Getty Images
