Sri Lanka ‘A’ keep hopes alive with crucial victory
By Our Sports Reporter
KARACHI, March 26: Sri Lanka ‘A’ pulled off a 59-run victory over England ‘A’ on Saturday to revive their hopes of reaching the final of the triangular tournament in Colombo.
Coming into the game after three straight defeats, Sri Lanka were desperate to beat England at the Colts Cricket Club Ground. Not only they beat England, but also claimed a precious bonus point to take their tally of points to eight.
England ‘A’ face a daunting proposition in Sunday’s last preliminary round fixture as they prepare to meet a rampant Pakistan ‘A’ side which won all three league matches with ridicule ease. An England win will be enough to deny Sri Lanka the remaining berth in Tuesday’s final against the Pakistanis.
Saman Jayantha and Russel Arnold got into the 40s after Ian Bell, the England ‘A’ captain, asked his hosts to bat first. His decision backfired as the wicket increasingly favoured the spinners as the match went on.
Batting first, Sri Lanka ‘A’ eventually progressed to 225 all out with Jayantha (45 off 64 balls, five fours and one six) and Arnold (42 off 51 balls, three fours)leading the way. Malintha Gajanayake (35), Prasanna Jayawardene (28) and Ramyakumara (24) also made telling contributions.
Paceman David Harrison was easily the pick of England bowlers with figures of four for 36. Sajid Mahmood grabbed two for 24.
England ‘A’ stumbled in their reply, losing openers Matt Prior and Vikram Solanki with the score on 23. Wickets tumbled at regular intervals until England ‘A’ were bowled out for 166 in the 41st over.
Owais Shah mounted a lone rearguard action with a knock of 55 off 89 balls. But once he was eighth out in the 37th over the writing was on the wall as far as England were concerned. Shah laced his innings with six boundaries. Bell’s 17 was the next best score.
Suraj Mohamed, an off-spinner, claimed three for 40 in nine overs. Slow left-armer Malinga Bandara also bowled impressively to take three for 34 in 7.2 overs.
Fast bowler Dilhara Fernando bowled tightly as he gave away only 26 runs in nine overs, including the prized scalp of Shah.
Standings
(Tabulated under played, won, lost, no-result, bonus points, total points, net run-rate):
