Sports
‘Felt like I was playing against Stuart Broad in England’ – Angelo Mathews
“The wicket was not offering anything for the fast bowlers but he was still moving the ball.”
11 of Stuart Broad’s 17 overs in the second innings in Galle were maidens. Angelo Mathews, who faced 37 Broad deliveries in that innings, managed only one scoring shot against him. At times, Mathews said, it felt like he was facing Broad in England.
On a pitch that has historically been unkind to quicks, Broad was not only phenomenally accurate, he also attacked the stumps more than he might at home, bowled leg-cutters that almost spat off the dusty Galle surface, and changed up his pace. He’d also taken three wickets for 20 in the first innings, sparking the collapse that essentially won England the match.
Mathews went on to make 71 in the second innings, but thanks in part to Broad’s miserly bowling, Mathews’ strike rate was down at 32.
“We all know what kind of a bowler Broad is – he’s taken over 500 Test wickets and he’s one of the best fast bowlers going around,” Mathews said. “On any kind of surface, the wicket was not offering anything for the fast bowlers, but he was moving the ball. One spell I felt like I was playing in England against him because he was moving the ball. That’s very difficult for a fast bowler to do in these conditions in Galle.”
England spinners were not far behind on the accuracy front, according to Mathews. Dom Bess and Jack Leach bowled 74.5 overs between them in the second innings, going at less than three an over between them. Leach claimed a five-wicket haul, and Bess took three wickets. They took 14 of the 20 Sri Lanka wickets to fall in the match.
“Even the spinners didn’t give anything away,” Mathews said. “They didn’t give loose deliveries at all. Even though the wicket was turning, and they were trying to take wickets. It was pure Test cricket where they held on to a line and length and we actually made a lot of mistakes by trying to go for too many shots too early off good balls, where we couldn’t score off.”
Despite the England attack’s accuracy, and although many Sri Lanka batsmen got out playing attacking shots, Mathews does not think a more conservative batting approach represents Sri Lanka’s best hope of levelling the series in the second Test. Generally, the thinking at Galle has been to score your runs briskly, before the inevitable unplayable delivery comes your way.
“The way I play is different to Dinesh Chandimal or Kusal Perera or Niroshan Dickwella,” Mathews said. “We’ve got to find our scoring options rather than try to copy some other batsman. Joe Root played a magnificent innings and we can learn a lot from the way he batted, but sometimes the shots he played, we can’t play. We need to be able to understand what we can and what we can’t do on these wickets against their bowlers.
“It’s not about being conservative. You always have to look to score runs. But you need to understand how you can score runs off these bowlers and in these conditions.”
(ESPNCricinfo)
Forced to follow on after being dismissed for 111 runs, Risinu Kithmuka scored an unbeaten half century to anchor St. Servarius’ batting line up to force a draw to their Under 19 cricket encounter against S. Thomas’ at Mount Lavinia on Friday.
The dogged knock facing 121 balls, helped the visitor post 93 for five wickets at close.
In a match dominated by the home team, Aaron David’s century was the highlight for S. Thomas’. They posted 269 for four wickets at close on day one and declared on the overnight score.
Meanwhile at Kotahena, Mevan Dissanayake top scored with 91 runs inclusive of eight fours and three sixes for St. Benedict’s to post 295 for 9 declared against Sri Dharmaloka Kelaniya.
Results
Thomians dominate against St. Servatius’ at Mount Lavinia
Scores
S. Thomas’ 269 for 4 decl. in 73.3 overs (Jaden Amaraweera 40, Avinash Fernando 50, Aaron David 100n.o., Reshon Soloman 56; Lasindu Ramanayaka 2/87)
St. Servatius’ 111 all out 54.4 overs (Risinu Kithmuka 26, Thathsilu Bandara 20; Minon Warnasuriya 2/14, Chamash Gunawardena 2/24, Shanil Perera 3/18, Reshon Solomon 2/09) and 93 for 5 in 36 overs (Risinu Kithmuka 51n.o.; Aaron de Silva 2/30, Shanil Perera 3/23)
Bens 295 for 9 decl., Sri Dharmaloka 87/2 at Kotahena
Scores
St. Benedict’s 295 for 9 decl. in 56.4 overs (Mevan Dissanayake 91, Vihanga Rathnayake 42, Yohan Edirisinghe 31, Ayesh Gajanayake 49; Sathindu Praboda 4/98, Tharusha Mihiranga 2/66)
Sri Dharmaloka 87 for 2 in 25 overs (Senuka Pehesara 40, Kaveen Deneth 40n.o.; Ayesh Gajanayake 2/27)
by Reemus Fernando
Pakistan marched into the final of the Under 19 Asia Cup with a clinical eight wicket win over Bangladesh in the rain-hit semi-final in Dubai, after a dominant bowling performance led by Abdul Subban set up a straightforward chase. The victory sets up a final clash against India, who won the first semi final against Sri Lanka earlier in the day.
Opting to field after winning the toss in the rain-reduced 27-overs-a-side contest, Pakistan made early inroads as Bangladesh slipped to 24 for 2 inside six overs. Captain Azizul Hakim offered brief resistance to steady the innings, but wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals.
Fast bowler Subhan was the standout with the ball, picking up four wickets to dismantle the middle order. From 55 for 2 in the 13th over, Bangladesh lost five wickets for just 38 runs, collapsing to 93 for 7. The lower order struggled to rebuild, and Bangladesh were eventually bowled out for 121 in 26.3 overs, with no batter able to convert a start into a big score.
In reply, Pakistan’s chase was smooth. After the early loss of opener Hamza Zahoor in the first over, Sameer Minhas anchored the innings with a composed, unbeaten 69, ensuring there were no further hiccups. He struck six fours and two sixes as Pakistan cruised to 122 for 2 with 63 balls to spare.
With this knock, Minhas took his tournament’s tally to 299 to be the highest run-getter.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 122 for 2 in 16.3 overs (Sameer Minhas 69*, Usman Khan 27; Samiun Basir 1-17) beat Bangladesh 121 in 26.3 overs (Samiun Basir 33; Abdul Subhan 4-20, Huzaifa Ahasan 2-10)by eight wickets
[Cricinfo]
Vihaan Malhotra and Aaron George’s patient half-centuries helped India beat Sri Lanka in a rain-reduced game and set up an U-19 Asia Cup final with Pakistan.
It was a game where the momentum kept changing hands. India had Sri Lanka at 28 for 3 after opting to bowl. Captain Vimath Dinsara and Chamika Heenetigala hit back with a 45-run stand, but Sri Lanka soon lost 3 for 11. A 62-run stand between Heenatigala and Sethmika Seneviratne followed, but India again turned it around in the final three overs.
In reply, India were 25 for 2 as Sri Lanka sniffed a comeback. But Malhotra and George added an unbeaten 114 runs in a partnership of two halves: the first 62 runs they added took 51 balls, while the next 52 came off 36 deliveries. It was Malhotra who swung the game India’s way when he went 4, 4, 6 off Dulnith Sigera in the 13th over. Malhotra reached his fifty off 35 balls, while George took 43 balls.
India’s win was set up after their bowlers restricted Sri Lanka to 138. Kishan Singh and Deepesh Devendran struck early, while Vedant Trivedi’s direct hit ran Kavija Gamage out in the sixth over.
But Kanishk Chouhan struck twice in the 12th over, and Khilan Patel in the 13th, to force Sri Lanka to rebuild again. That brought Heenatigala and Seneviratne together. Seneviratne was the attacking of the two while Heenatigala, limping a little, was more patient. At 118 for 6 with three overs left, and with Seneviratne connecting it cleanly, Sri Lanka may have hoped to post 150. But just 20 runs amid two wickets in the last three overs applied the brakes on their scoring.
India will meet Pakistan in the final on Sunday.
Brief scores:
India Under 19s 139 for 2 in 18 overs (Vihaan Malhotra 61*, Aaron George 58*; Rasith Nimsara 2-31) beat Sri Lanka Under 19s 138 for 8 in 20 overs (Chamika Heenatigala 42, Vimath Dinsara 32, Sethmika Senevirathne 30; Henil Patel 2-31, Kanishk Chouhan 2-36) by eight wickets
[Cricinfo]
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