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| May 20, 2003 | Tuesday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 17, 1424 |
Vettori spins New Zealand into final
DAMBULLA (Sri Lanka), May 19: Daniel Vettori gave Sri Lanka a dose of their own medicine as he led New Zealand to the final of the triangular one-day series with an exciting nine-run victory here on Monday.
The left-arm spinner grabbed 4-14 off 10 economical overs in a career-best performance to help New Zealand defend a modest total of 156-8 with five balls to spare on a turning track at the Rangiri International Stadium.
Sri Lanka crashed to 147 after spinners Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan had shared four wickets to restrict New Zealand in the fifth successive low-scoring match of the tournament.
The hosts needed 10 to win off the last over with one wicket in hand, but Mahela Jayawardene (38) attempted an ambitious reverse-sweep off Scott Styris and was caught by Chris Harris at backward point.
New Zealand now lead the league standings with two wins from three matches. Sri Lanka finished their engagements with two victories from four games.
Pakistan, with one win from three matches, will have to beat New Zealand in the last league match on Tuesday to make it to the final.
New Zealand have 12 points, including two bonus points, followed by Sri Lanka with 11 and Pakistan with seven.
New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming criticised the pitch, saying it was very difficult to bat on.
Vettori was not the only star in New Zealand’s victory as wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum and Styris also gave excellent all-round performances.
McCullum top-scored with an unbeaten 47 on a pitch where the ball hardly came on to the bat, making stroke-play difficult. He then accounted for four dismissals.
He helped his team cross the 150-mark with some lusty hitting in the closing overs, smashing three sixes in his 63-ball knock and adding 50 vital runs for the seventh wicket with Kyle Mills.
Styris was the second-highest scorer with 29 and then grabbed two crucial wickets.
Vettori held the centre-stage as he troubled the Sri Lankan batsmen with his turn and shrewd variations to win the match for his team from a difficult situation.
The spinner bowled Kumar Sangakkara and had Atapattu caught by substitute Matthew Horne before dismissing Tillekeratne Dilshan in his first five overs for just three runs.
Vettori, 24, eventually upstaged the Sri Lankan spinners who had earlier tied the New Zealand batsmen into knots.
Off-spinner Muralitharan finished with 2-41 and left-arm spinner Jayasuriya 2-35 after New Zealand were put in to bat.
Like Muralitharan, Jayasuriya also exploited the conditions well on a sunny and windy day to claim his 250th wicket in his 303rd one-dayer.
Vettori, however, had the last laugh as he caught the Sri Lankans in a spin-trap to mastermind his team’s thrilling victory.
NEW ZEALAND:
C.J. Nevin c S’kkara b Nissanka 8
S.P. Fleming lbw b M’tharan 16
L. Vincent run out 12
S.B. Styris c Kalu’rana b M’tharan 29
C.L. Cairns c Dilshan b J’suriya 9
C.Z. Harris run out 4
B.B. McCullum not out 47
K.D. Mills c Jaya’dene b J’suriya 17
A.R. Adams run out 1
EXTRAS (B-1, LB-5, W-5, NB-2) 13
TOTAL (for eight wkts, 50 overs) 156
FALL OF WKTS: 1-17, 2-40, 3-42, 4-69, 5-76, 6-88, 7-138, 8-156.
DID NOT BAT: D.L. Vettori, D.R. Tuffey.
BOWLING: Vaas 8-2-11-0; Nissanka 8-1-19-1; Dharmasena 10-2-19-0; Muralitharan 10-2-41-2; Lokuarachchi 5-1-25-0; Jayasuriya 9-0-35-2.
SRI LANKA:
S.T. Jayasuriya c McCullum b Tuffey 9
R.S. Kaluwitharana c McCullum b Adams 18
M.S. Atapattu c sub b Vettori 13
K.C. Sangakkara b Vettori 11
D.P.M. Jayawardene c Harris b Styris 38
T.M. Dilshan c Fleming b Vettori 7
W.P.U.J.C. Vaas c McCullum b Mills 4
H.D.P.K. Dharmasena c McCullum b Harris 11
K.S. Lokuarachchi lbw b Styris 8
M. Muralitharan c Mills b Vettori 4
R.A.P. Nissanka not out 6
EXTRAS (B-3, LB-2, W-9, NB-4) 18
TOTAL (all out, 49.1 overs) 147
FALL OF WKTS: 1-28, 2-43, 3-60, 4-63, 5-79, 6-87, 7-101, 8-121, 9-136.
BOWLING: Tuffey 9-4-22-1; Mills 8-2-30-1; Adams 3-0-14-1; Styris 9.1-0-30-2; Vettori 10-4-14-4; Harris 10-2-32-1.
RESULT: New Zealand won by nine runs.
UMPIRES: P.T. Manuel (Sri Lanka) and S.J.A. Taufel (Australia).
TV UMPIRE: E.A.R. de Silva (Sri Lanka).
MATCH REFEREE: G.R. Viswanath (India).
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Daniel Vettori.
NEXT MATCH: Pakistan v New Zealand on Tuesday.
(Tabulated under — played, won, lost, no result, tied, bonus points, total points, run rate):
New Zealand 3 2 1 0 0 1 12 +0.510
Sri Lanka 4 2 2 0 0 0 11 -0.332
Pakistan 3 1 2 0 0 1 7 -0.041
—AFP/Reuters
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