Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Sri Lanka keep hopes alive, India bite the dust

Sri Lanka keep hopes alive, India bite the dust
St Lucia, May 11: Sri Lanka beat India by 5 wickets at a thrilling match of the Twenty20 cricket World Cup at St Lucia tonight. The last-ball sixer by islander Chamara Kapugedara proved to be the dampener for India’s race for a semifinal berth. Chasing a target of 164, Sri Lanka made 167 for the loss of five wickets in the stipulated 20 overs.

Earlier, Suresh Raina top scored for India with a 47-ball 63 as his team scored a competitive 163 for five in their crucial Super Eights match. India were 90 for one at half-way mark but could not accelerate much afterwards due to slow nature of the wicket.

If India manages to beat Sri Lanka by 20 runs, they will keenly watch the next match where an Australia win over the West Indies would clear their passage to the semifinals. Given the do-or-die situation, India batted aggressively and positively. Dinesh Karthik, who replaced Murali Vijay, started off with a bang by dispatching the first ball of innings off Angelo Mathews to the point boundary. Karthik (13) looked in good touch as he was striking the ball well but a leading edge off Lasith Malinga ended his stay at the crease, though India made a steady start.

No comments: