Lanka gives Mahi’s men the blues
It was sad show by the number one ranked Test side in the globe against compatriots Sri Lanka in the first T20 match for the Royal Stag Cup to go down by 29 runs here on Wednesday. That the hosts dropped as many as five catches to let the visitors post 215/5 and then faltered in their chase will not be pleasing for new fielding consultant Mike Young who laid a lot of emphasis 0n fielding drills and there lies an uphill task for the Australian.
For the Lankans, skipper Kumar Sangakkara scored a innings of 78 to set up the platform for an imposing total.
Chasing at a asking rate of 10.80 an over, the home side got off to a blistering start with opener Virender Sehwag smashing 26 off 14 balls but his dismissal gave Lankans the hope that the end was not too far away for the Indians.
Matthews provided the big break for the Lankans bowling Gambhir, as he went for a paddle sweep on 55 (26b, 11×4). Sanath Jayasuriya then picked up 2/19 in his four overs to put a break on the Indian scoring. The Indian middle-order failed to replicate Sangakkara’s fireworks as India fell way short of the target, only some vigorous work by Ashish Nehra and Ashok Dinda getting them close to the 190 mark.
Earlier, Dhoni was left to rue his decision of sending the opposition in to bat, as his opposite number Sangakkara smashed a quickfire fifty to power Sri Lanka on to 215/5 riding on the extremely slipshod fielding by the hosts.
There will be a lot of catch-up work for the hosts before the next game in Mohali. One of the aspects will be on dealing with the fielding woes that just does not seem to be leaving the Indians any time soon.
