England in thrilling two-wicket win over Sri Lanka

Chris DHAMBARAGE reporting from Dambulla

CRICKET: England pulled off a thrilling two wicket victory over Sri Lanka with seven balls to spare in the third day night one day international worked off at the Rangiri Dambulla Stadium yesterday.

After restricting the opposition to 164 runs England reached their revised target on the Duckworth and Lewis scoring system while scoring 164 for 8 from 46.5 overs. Their victory was in the balance at one stage but some intelligent batting from their late order batsmen helped them to clinch a close win and take a 2-1 lead in the five match series.

Earlier Farveez Maharoof continued his excellent form in the series with a three-wicket burst that brought Sri Lanka right back into the game.

The right arm fast bowler who was promoted to the new ball role due to his accurate seam bowling exploited the helpful conditions as England's batsmen struggled to combat him while chasing a slightly revised target of 164.

The target which England had to chase was 164 from 48 overs and the change was because the match was shortened because of the earlier rain breaks. Sri Lanka of course needed early wickets to stay in the contest after making a modest 164.

Chaminda Vaas made the first breakthrough when Alastair Cook prodded forward at an outswinger and provided a thin edge to Kumar Sangakkara.

However wicket keeper batsman Phil Mustard tried to take the game away from Sri Lanka with an aggressive approach, but after three good boundaries he dragged Maharoof into his leg stump with the aid of the thigh pad.

Earlier England restricted Sri Lanka for a modest 164 runs from 41.1 overs despite a fighting half century from Tilekeratne Dilshan.

The right hand middle order batsman who was dropped from the Test squad for the tour of Australia next month showed a lot of character in compiling a top score of 70 from 84 deliveries.

Dilshan walked into the middle at a vital stage of the innings when Sri Lanka were sliding towards disaster having lost four of their top batsmen for just 42 runs by the 15th over. His task was not only to build up a partnership but also to carry Sri Lanka towards a competitive total.

The 30-year-old veteran playing in his 129th one-day international gave a fine example of building a innings while batting under tremendous pressure. He also crossed the 2,500 run mark while completing his tenth one-day international half century.

But this was a special occasion for Dilshan who lifted Sri Lanka into a safe position after they had been in a real dangerous situation at one stage.

He watched from the pavilion both openers Jayasuriya and Tharanga both make a god start and then throw their wickets away rather carelessly.

The situation became even worse for the Lankans when skipper Mahela Jayawardena and vice captain Kumar Sangakkara both departed within the space of twelve deliveries.

Opening bowler Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad were brilliant in their opening spells as they swung the ball to a great extent to trouble most of the batsmen.

In fact Broad, tasted immediate success when his opening delivery, a weak loosener short and wide of off-stump, was flogged by Mahela Jayawardene straight to point. The youngster then followed up by grabbing another fortunate wicket in his next over thanks to Kumar Sangakkara's noble gesture.

The Sri Lankan wicket keeper batsman offered Phil Mustard a faint edge, but neither England's wicket-keeper nor Broad appealed for the catch.

However, Sangakkara was already walking back to the pavilion, sportingly giving himself out to leave the Sri Lankan score at 42 for 4 in the 15th over.

But Dilshan began his mission to repair the early damage despite the fall of wickets at regular intervals from the other end. It was disappointing that neither Chamara Silva, Jehan Mubarak or Farveez Maharoof failed to provide any support when Dilshan was waging a lone battle from one end.

Dilshan eventually found a reliable partner in the form of Dilhara Fernando and the pair added a useful 46 runs for the ninth wicket that helped Sri Lanka at least pass the 150 run mark. Dilshan was finally dismissed for a splendid 70 in the 41st over with the total at 164.

SRI LANKA

U. Tharanga b Sidebottom		15
S. Jayasuriya c Swann b Sidebottom	11
K. Sangakkara c Mustard b Broad		 9
M. Jayawardene c Collingwood b Broad	 2
C. Silva c Mustard b Swann		11
T. Dilshan c Collingwood b Swann	70
J. Mubarak c & b Swann			 6
F. Maharoof c & b Swann			 7
C. Vaas run out				 4
D. Fernando c Collingwood b Sidebottom	11
L. Malinga not out			 0
EXTRAS (b 1, lb 11, w 6)		18
TOTAL (all out; 41.1 overs)		164
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-22, 2-33, 3-37, 4-42, 5-85, 
6-93, 7-106, 8-118, 9-164
BOWLING: J. Anderson 8-0-35-0, R. Sidebottom 8.1-1-19-3 (2w), 
S. Broad 8-0-26-2 (1w), P. Collingwood 7-0-38-0 (3w), G. Swann
10-2-34-4

ENGLAND

A. Cook c Sangakkara b Vaas	 	 0
P. Mustard b Maharoof			14
I. Bell c Dilshan b Maharoof		16
K. Pietersen lbw b Maharoof		 8
P. Collingwood lbw b Jayasuriya		31
O. Shah b Jayasuriya			19
R. Bopara lbw b Malinga			 7
G. Swann b Fernando			25
S. Broad not out			20
R. Sidebottom not out			 7
EXTRAS (b-1, lb-8, w-6, nb-2)		17
TOTAL (eight wickets, 46.5 overs)	164
Did not bat: J. Anderson
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-5, 2-23, 3-44, 4-47, 5-94, 6-101, 7-107, 8-147
BOWLING: Vaas 6-1-20-1 (1w), Maharoof 10-0-34-3 (2w), Fernando 10-1-30-1 (1nb, 1w), 
Malinga 7.5-1-39-1 (1nb, 1w), Dilshan 3-0-8-0, Jayasuriya 10-1-24-2 (1w)
Result: England win by 2 wickets
Man of the match: Graeme Swann (England)
* Match restricted to 48 overs after three short rain delays