Tillakaratne Dilshan took a brilliant one-handed catch to end a stubborn last-wicket partnership of 41 as Sri Lanka beat Australia by 20 runs on Monday to reach the Champions Trophy semi-finals.
Australia, needing to reach their target of 254 in 29.1 overs to make the last four, came out all guns blazing, but they lost wickets at regular intervals and, at 192-9, looked to be heading for a heavy defeat in the final Group A match.
However, Clint McKay and Xavier Doherty resisted for 75 balls, adding 41 runs for the last wicket to give Australia genuine hope of a victory that would have sent New Zealand through to the semi-finals instead of Sri Lanka.
Photo: Reuters
Australia still had more than seven overs to score the 21 runs they needed when McKay, on 30, scooped the ball firmly back toward the bowler, who leaped to his left and clung on to a spectacular catch before being mobbed by his ecstatic teammates.
“We knew it was going to be tough,” Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said at the presentation ceremony. “A big thank you to all the Sri Lanka supporters for turning up in such large numbers. I’ve never seen a crowd so big at The Oval. Our main objective was to get to the semis, so first of all we will enjoy tonight and then focus on India.”
Sri Lanka play India in the second semi-final tomorrow and group winners England face South Africa today. Australia, winners of the last two Champions Trophies, finished bottom of the group and exit the tournament along with New Zealand.
Photo: Reuters
“It would have been nice to win, but the goal for us was to win inside 29 overs,” Australia captain George Bailey said.
Australia started brightly after winning the toss when left-armer Mitchell Johnson trapped Kusal Perera leg before wicket with the third ball of the match.
Kumar Sangakkara, whose brilliant century won last week’s match against England on the same ground, spooned a catch to cover off McKay to leave Sri Lanka in trouble at 20-2, but the experienced Dilshan and 23-year-old Lahiru Thirimanne repaired the damage with a steady third-wicket partnership of 72.
Dilshan made 34 and Thirimanne reached his fifth one-day international half-century off 72 balls, before he was out for 57, pulling Johnson to Shane Watson at midwicket.
Mahela Jayawardene assumed responsibility for anchoring the innings and his 69th one-day half-century was packed with trademark wristy strokes.
The former captain became the eighth batsman to score 11,000 runs in one-day internationals and he struck 11 fours to earn the man-of-the-match award.
“Most important was winning and getting to the semi-finals,” Jayawardene said. “We’re playing hard, passionate cricket, but enjoying each other’s success has been the mantra for us for a long time.”
Dinesh Chandimal launched McKay over long-on for the first six of the innings in a breezy 31 off 32 balls and, although Sri Lanka lost wickets at regular intervals, Jayawardene worked the ball around effectively in the closing overs.
Australia signaled their intent when Watson thumped the first ball of the innings to the extra-cover boundary. The powerful opener was bowled by Nuwan Kulasekera for 5, but Glenn Maxwell, promoted up the order, launched a blistering attack, hitting a six and five fours in his 32 off 20 balls.
Maxwell was bowled by Lasith Malinga, Phil Hughes fell to Kulasekera for 13 and Bailey, dawdling over a quick single, was run out by Kulasekera’s direct hit.
Australia continued to play their shots and Matthew Wade made 31 off 23 balls before skying a catch to Dilshan on the long-off boundary.
They got past 164, ensuring Sri Lanka could not finish above England on net run rate, and Adam Voges made 49 before becoming the ninth man out with the score on 192.
McKay and Doherty batted sensibly, though, picking up singles at will and Sri Lanka looked short of ideas on how to separate them until Dilshan’s inspired intervention.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set