New Zealand tour of Sri Lanka 2009

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Fixtures

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Kiwis regroup after Samaraweera century

GALLE: Sri Lanka''s Thilan Samaraweera hit a solid 159 before skipper Daniel Vettori inspired a New Zealand comeback in the first cricket Test here on Wednesday.

Samaraweera''s third Test century this year after two monumental double centuries in Pakistan in February helped Sri Lanka pile up 452 in their first innings by tea on the rain-curtailed second day.

The Black Caps responded bravely to the challenge by going to stumps at 87-2, with left-handed opener Tim McIntosh unbeaten on 36 and night watchman Jeetan Patel on six. Martin Guptill and McIntosh raced to an opening stand of 45 in 10 overs before Guptill dragged a ball from Thilan Thushara on to his wicket after making 24.

Ajantha Mendis then bowled Daniel Flynn for 14, but Patel and McIntosh saw out the day with New Zealand still needing 166 runs to avoid the follow-on on a good batting strip.

Sri Lanka appeared to be running away with the match before the experienced Vettori stepped in to stage a New Zealand revival.

The left-arm spinner grabbed four wickets as Sri Lanka, 386-4 at one stage, lost six batsmen for 66 runs -- the last four for eight runs -- in a dramatic post-lunch session.

Vettori finished with 4-78 to take his career tally to 297 wickets and now needs just three more to become only the ninth player in Test history to achieve the double of 3,000 runs and 300 wickets.

Just 13 overs were bowled in the morning session after heavy rain delayed the start by two hours, and Sri Lanka moved from their overnight score of 293-3 to 328-4 by lunch. Umpires Daryl Harper and Nigel Llong pushed back the lunch break by an hour to make up for lost time when the skies finally cleared.

The first day''s play had seen just 78 overs of the stipulated 90 due to bad weather. More rain was expected in this southern coastal town over the next three days.

The Kiwis dismissed century-maker Mahela Jayawardene in a brief period of play before lunch, caught at first slip by Ross Taylor off Iain O''Brien in the day''s second over.

Jayawardene added six runs to his overnight score of 108 before falling for 114, his 26th Test century.

Samaraweera reached his 10th hundred soon after lunch during a fifth-wicket stand of 86 with Angelo Mathews.

Vettori triggered the collapse when he had Mathews caught behind by wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum for 39.

Vettori ended Samaraweera''s six-hour vigil at the crease as the batsman lofted a flighted ball into the hands of Patel at long-off.

Seamer Chris Martin removed Nuwan Kulasekara and Muttiah Muralitharan in one over to finish with 4-77, before Vettori ended the innings with the wicket of Thushara.

New Zealand play two Tests, two Twenty20 internationals and a limited-overs tri-series also featuring India during their five-week tour.

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NZ save follow-on against Lankans

GALLE: New Zealand put together a creditable performance on another shortened third day, which defied the prognosis of Wednesday evening when it was suggested that the Kiwis would follow on. Did they have a surprise for Sri Lanka.

A first innings total of 281 for eight – 171 runs short of the 452 they were asked to match and with a little luck there would have been a century as well from left-handed opener Tim McIntosh.

The talking point is that apart from the burgled wicket of Oram for 12, Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis didn''t spook the Kiwis as much as it was thought they would.

Muralitharan ended with three for 66 in a protracted spell while Mendis, signed by Hampshire, didn''t pose a genuine threat. While Murali did get the ball to fizz a lot more and had managed to extract a lot more turn, Mendis the medium-paced wannabe mystery spinner was left wondering where all the so-called magic and miracle balls that had the Indians flat-footed last year have disappeared to.

If anything, New Zealand played a cunning game, and while they will be disappointed with two decisions – the lbw of McIntosh was marginal – and the one of Oram will be long debated, the caution of the beefy Jesse Ryder was hard to understand.

His normal game plan is to stroke the ball around as elegantly as Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, and while his innings of 42 was conservative by his standards of strokeplay, the design was to see the Kiwis past the follow on target of 253.

His wristy touches and footwork barely hinted of his more swashbuckling style, but he did the job required, and that is one for Ryder and the team. There were some elegant drives and cuts and it left the bowlers thinking of where to bowl to him.

If Thushara Mirando bowled with some excellent seam, it at least kept Sri Lanka in the hunt of forcing the follow on. However, as the MM menace failed to materialise, the bogey the most Kiwis feared was likely to happen largely evaporated in the occasional afternoon sun.

It was Tim McIntosh, however, who put the foundation stone of the inning together with a solid and determined innings of 69. You could also say that John Wright, that epitome of the stoic New Zealand opening batsmen of the latter part of last century, would be proud of McIntosh''s efforts.

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Sri Lanka thrash ailing Kiwis in first Test

GALLE: An illness-depleted New Zealand were bamboozled in the face of pace and spin as Sri Lanka cruised to a 202-run victory in the first Test on Saturday to lead the two-match series.

The Kiwis, set an improbable target of 413 runs, collapsed to 210 all out in their second innings before tea on the fifth and final day at the Galle International Stadium.

Off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan claimed 3-88 to take his world record tally to 777 wickets, while left-arm seamer Thilan Thushara and spinner Ajantha Mendis picked up two scalps each.

The tourists, who had 13 of their 15 players affected by a stomach bug and viral fever, had been left hoping the weather might do them a favour -- only for clear skies to break over the coastal town for the first time since the Test began.

Skipper Daniel Vettori battled bravely for two-and-a-half hours to make 67, his 20th Test fifty, sparking a brief resistance by the lower order after the Kiwis were reduced to 86-5.

Jesse Ryder, one of the players worst affected by the virus, defended for almost an hour to add 48 for the sixth wicket with his captain before he was caught behind off Muralitharan for 22 soon after lunch.

Jeetan Patel hit 22 and Brendon McCullum, who was confined to bed on Friday due to fever, made 29 before he was last man to be dismissed, a run-out victim of a direct throw from Muralitharan.

Wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene, returning to the side after missing the previous series against Pakistan with a knee injury, chipped in with three catches and a stumping.

New Zealand added seven runs to their overnight score of 30-1 when Thushara bowled Martin Guptill with a superb ball that moved after pitching and clipped the off-stump. The batsman made 18.

Tim McIntosh, top-scorer in the first innings with 69 but who could not open on Friday evening due to fever, batted for 14 minutes without scoring when he edged a Thushara outswinger.

Thilan Samaraweera picked up a low catch at third slip which was referred to the third umpire before the umpires gave the batsman out.

Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara surprisingly handed the ball to part-time spinner Mahela Jayawardene and the former captain struck with his second delivery to claim only his sixth wicket in 106 Tests.

Ross Taylor, who looked solid making 16, played at a ball down the leg-side and nudged a catch to the wicket-keeper to reduce New Zealand to 45-4 within the first hour.

Jacob Oram and Vettori put on 41 for the fifth wicket, but Mendis ended the defiant stand by having Oram leg-before for 21.

The second and final Test will be played at the Sinhalese sports club in Colombo from Wednesday.

New Zealand will also play two Twenty20 internationals against Sri Lanka and a limited-overs tri-series with India as the third team.

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SL-NZ final Test begins tomorrow in Colombo

COLOMBO: The second and the final Test match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand will begin tomorrow in Colombo.

Sri Lanka had defeated New Zealand in the first Test and thus the Kiwis have to win the second Test to avoid the series loss.

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori expressed hope that his team would display better game this time.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara said that his team would again give good performance in a bid to win the series 2-0.

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Sri Lanka bat against New Zealand in second Test

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka''s captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and elected to bat in the second and final cricket Test against New Zealand at the Sinhalese Sports Club here on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka made three changes from the team that won the first Test in Galle by 202 runs, leaving out all-rounder Angelo Mathews, spinner Ajantha Mendis and seamer Nuwan Kulasekara.

They were replaced by batsman Chamara Kapugedera, seamer Dammika Prasad and left-arm spinner Rangana Herath. The Kiwis retained the same team that lost in Galle.

New Zealand: Daniel Vettori (capt), Tim McIntosh, Martin Guptill, Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, Daniel Flynn, Brendon McCullum, Jacob Oram, Iain O''Brien, Jeetan Patel, Chris Martin. 12th man: Daryl Tuffey.

Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (capt), Tharanga Paranavitana, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedera, Muttiah Muralitharan, Thilan Thushara, Dammika Prasad, Prasanna Jayawardene, Rangana Herath. 12th man: Ajantha Mendis.

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SLanka whitewash Kiwis despite Vettori ton

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka clinched second spot behind South Africa in the official rankings as they swept aside New Zealand by 96 runs in the final Test on Sunday to sweep the series 2-0.

Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath claimed five wickets as the Kiwis, set an improbable victory target of 494 runs, were bowled out for 397 in their second innings just before tea on the fifth day.

"It''s a great achievement to be number two," said Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara. "But a Test is a test when it is played against tougher opponents. We have a long way to go to improve in all forms of the game.

"I think at the moment we are scratching the surface. If we perform consistently in the next two to three years, we can turn back and say we have done well.

"Herath was incredible today, bowling about 50 overs in the hot weather. He is a good companion for Muralitharan because he takes the pressure off him."

The success leaves Sangakkara with four wins in five matches as captain since taking over from Mahela Jayawardene in the preceding home series against Pakistan.

Sri Lanka had to overcome spirited batting by Kiwi captain Daniel Vettori and heavy rain during the lunch break that delayed resumption by 35 minutes to build on their 202-run win in the first Test at Galle.

Vettori hit 140, his fourth Test century, to lead a stirring fightback by the lower order after the top batsmen had failed to put up any resistance.

"To score 400 in the fourth innings was pleasing but it is still disappointing to lose the match," he said. "Some more runs from the guys at the top could have taken the game the full distance."

The left-hander frustrated the Sri Lankans for more than four hours in which he faced 189 deliveries and hit 16 boundaries before he was last man to be dismissed.

Vettori scored 272 runs and claimed 10 wickets in the series, and in the process became only the eighth batsman in history to achieve the double of 3,000 runs and 300 wickets.

Vettori put on 124 for the seventh wicket with Jacob Oram (56) and 69 for the ninth with Iain O''Brien, who kept his captain company at the crease for an hour and 18 minutes while making a paltry 12.

"If we had not lost Oram just before lunch it could have been two very interesting sessions," he said.

"We have got the talent but we are not turning that talent into big scores. I think we have been guilty of trying to force the pace too much, instead of just trying to bat on and on like the Sri Lankans.

"The key was to put up a fight but we were not able to do that in the series."

The hosts, who were joint second in the rankings with India, needed to win both Tests to claim the number two spot on their own. India are now third while Ashes losers Australia take fourth place.

The success leaves Sangakkara with four wins in five matches as Sri Lanka''s captain since taking over from Mahela Jayawardene in the preceding home series against Pakistan.

"Herath was incredible today, bowling about 50 overs in the hot weather," he said. "He is a good companion for Muralitharan because he takes the pressure off him."

Vettori hoped for a better showing in the two Twenty20 internationals against Sri Lanka on Wednesday and Friday and the tri-series featuring India which starts here on September 8.

"I think there is a confidence in our side in the shorter format of the game, so hopefully we will see a turnaround in the team''s fortunes," he said.

[Arslan]

hmm..

Sl becoming more nd more stronger

will give tough time in icc trophy

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kaal har gaye t20

kaal hai dosra t20

bond ko dekh k maza hi agaya

[Arslan]

clz match tha kaafi

middle order collapse kar gaya SL ka nahi tau easily match jeet gaye thy