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Sri Lanka 228 for 9 (Atapattu 65, Sangakkara 53) beat India 203 for 9 (Tendulkar 74) by 25 runs
Scorecard

Sri Lanka underscored their supremacy at home with a 25-run win over India to win the Asia Cup in style. The R Premadasa stadium reaffirmed its status as one of Sri Lanka’s safe houses. You can seemingly do what you like, but once Sri Lanka have a score on the board – and it may be as low as 228 – they defend it tooth and nail. They have all the weapons they need in a canny left-arm seamer, a vicious off-spinner and a host of other spinners who seem born to deny batsmen the space and time needed to score. India began their innings needing to score at 4.58 runs per over to win and by the 40th over the asking rate reached 8.9. And soon, they were put out of their misery.When Marvan Atapattu won the toss and unhesitatingly chose to bat, India’s chances of winning the Asia Cup receded ever so slightly. Soon, Irfan Pathan, in his exuberant manner, did his bit to level the odds with a fine first spell that got rid of the dangerous Sanath Jayasuriya, trapped in front of the stumps (28 for 1). Ashish Nehra, one of two other left-arm fast bowlers in the Indian line-up, did his bit by removing Avishka Gunawardene (31 for 2).Then, just when India sniffed a chance of kicking Sri Lanka when they were down, Atapattu and Kumar Sangakkara came together in a match-winning 116-run partnership for the third wicket that took Sri Lanka out of the woods. An already slow pitch grew steadily slower and lower and the spinners began to come to the fore.But Atapattu showed the way, putting behind the niggling self-doubts that would have been caused when he survived a confident shout for lbw early on. Twin drives on either side of the bowler, all along the turf, played with the full face of the bat, left fielders with no chance and the packed house at the Premadasa stadium increasing their already-earsplitting support of the home team.

Sangakkara had his own share of luck, but to his credit, toughed it out to make an invaluable 53. First, he was dropped on 6 by VVS Laxman at second slip when a flashing drive off Zaheer Khan only resulted in an edge. Two carved boundaries through point, one crunching cut off Harbhajan Singh and a forceful pick-up shot over midwicket signalled Sangakkara’s ability to put the chance behind him. However, on 38, Sangakkara was left stranded mid-pitch when he played the ball down to short third man and thought about pinching a single. Lakshmipathy Balaji, on the field as a substitute, fired the throw in at near-yorker length and Dravid failed to collect. But it was third-time lucky for the Indians when Sehwag got a ball to sneak past Sangakkara’s bat and kiss the outside of the off stump (147 for 3).At this stage it became clear that the fancy totals of 270 and 280 that were freely bandied around by pundits was not on the cards. Tendulkar (2 for 40) and Sehwag (1 for 32) did a fine job in tandem, and Sri Lanka only managed 228 for 9 from their 50 overs.India’s run chase began as a mirror image of Sri Lanka’s. Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Zoysa bowled to the field set to them, put the ball in the right places, took the pace off the ball, and got rid of two batsmen with only 26 on the board. Virender Sehwag was trapped in front by Vaas while Ganguly’s nibble at a ball was exhilaratingly snatched at slip by Mahela Jayawardene.With Sehwag the powerhouse back in the hutch India shifted to the lowest gear. Tendulkar battled for survival, only chancing his arm when the ball begged to be hit, and VVS Laxman tried to find his groove. Laxman could not have chosen a worse match to feel his way back into international cricket after an injury. He batted 34 balls for 12, but the boundaries simply were not forthcoming and his attempt to manufacture a shot only ended in his spooning the simplest of chances to Tillakaratne Dilshan off Jayasuriya (62 for 3). Rahul Dravid, India’s crisis man, got off to a fine start under the circumstances, stealing singles to the keep the strike rotating. Then, with 16 to his name he shaped to cut Upul Chandana and Dilshan snapped up a sharp chance at slip after a quick juggle (96 for 4).Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif, heroes of many an Indian run-chase, came and went without much impact. Yuvraj struggled to get the ball away, repeatedly sweeping and missing till he waltzed down the track and was clean bowled by Chandana (119 for 5). Kaif attempted an ambitious chip before he got his eye in and only holed out to long off (135 for 6). Chandana ended with 3 for 33 from 10 overs of innocuous-looking yet deadly legbreaks.But surely, while there was Tendulkar there was still hope. After Billy Bowden repeatedly reprieved Tendulkar on close shouts, his painful innings of 74 (100 balls, 7 fours, 1 six) came to an end when he was bowled through the gate by Dilshan. India were 140 for 7 needing 99 from 64 balls, and were dead and buried. The match ground to its inevitable end, only delayed by some old-fashioned slogging from Zaheer.

All Today’s Yesterdays – July 5 down the years1929
Birth of a left-arm spinner whose career makes Phil Tufnell’s look boring. With Tony Lock you got a bit of everything, and he belonged on the front page. There was a chucking rumpus – he was no-balled in the Jamaica Test in 1953-54 – a fiery nature which would have better suited the quickest of bowlers, some spectacular and fearless work at short leg, and, later on, a charge of indecent assault of young girls he was coaching in Australia. Most of all, though, there was a famous partnership for Surrey and England with Jim Laker. Lock is often remembered for taking only one wicket at Old Trafford in 1956, while Laker took 19. Lock’s finest Ashes moment came three years earlier, when he took 5 for 45 in the second innings of England’s Ashes-regaining victory at The Oval. Lock’s action continued to court controversy – Doug Insole once asked if he’d been run out after being bowled by Lock’s quicker ball – but he eventually remodelled his action successfully, after being astounded when he saw himself on film. He is one of only five men to be stuck tantalisingly on 49 Test caps. Lock settled in Perth, and captained Western Australia with panache for a while. He died in 1995.1954
A genial Kiwi is born. John Wright’s style of batting – he had most of the shots; he just often chose not to use them – is pretty archaic nowadays, but he was a key part of New Zealand’s coming-of-age as a Test nation in the 1970s and ’80S. In his first Test innings, at Wellington in 1977-78, he batted six hours for 55 – a vital innings in the Kiwis’ first victory over England at the 48th attempt. Nine of his 12 Test hundreds came in draws. That should have been 10 in 13, but having been stuck on 99 for 23 minutes, Wright charged Phil Tufnell at Christchurch in 1991-92 and was stumped to spark a massive collapse. Wright averaged 61 against India, who he now coaches and led to one of the more famous Test series victories, over Australia in 2000-01.2001
A delirious start to an Ashes series. Once upon a time, the first day of the first Test between England and Australia would be a cagey affair – Australia closed on 207 for 3 in 1989 – but times have changed, and here there were 427 runs and 12 wickets in 90 extraordinary overs. Pick of the day was Alec Stewart and Andy Caddick’s feverish slog. They added 103 for the tenth wicket in the blink of an eye, and the initiative was England’s … for all of 15 minutes. Enter Michael Slater, who if he did nothing else all summer gave Australia the whip hand in the series by lashing 18 runs off Darren Gough’s first over. Normal service was resumed on the second day, with Steve Waugh grinding England down, and with Adam Gilchrist later belting an incredible 152, England were trounced within four days.1957
At Trent Bridge, Tom Graveney carved a famous 258 in the third Test against West Indies. England stormed to 619 for 6, but were denied victory by two wonderful innings: Frank Worrell carried his bat for 191 in the first innings, and after West Indies followed on, Collie Smith denied England with a Test-best 168 in the second. Just over two years later, Smith was dead, after a car crash in Staffordshire.1905
A South African captain is born. The popular wicketkeeper-batsman Jock Cameron was only 30 when he died of enteric fever in Johannesburg in 1935. Shortly before he had excelled on South Africa’s tour of England, famously hammering 30 off one Hedley Verity over in a tour match against Yorkshire. He was a superb, unobtrusive keeper, and a flashing batsman who made ten fifties but no Test hundred.1988
Humiliation for England at Old Trafford. Their innings defeat to West Indies went into a fifth day, but in reality there were less than three days of playing time. England were bulldozed for 135 and then 93, with Malcolm Marshall taking 7 for 22 in an imperious second-innings display, the greatest figures of a great career. It all added up to a depressing five days for England’s oldest debutant for 41 years. Essex’s John Childs was 36 years 320 days, and bowled well for figures of 40-12-91-1. Shame about the rest. England started this final day on 60 for 3, rain their main hope of salvation. But Marshall washed them away in just over an hour – and within five minutes it started pouring down.1991
Only 12 men have ever taken a wicket with their first ball in Test cricket, and Richard Illingworth became the first Englishman to do so for 44 years against West Indies at Trent Bridge on this day. The forward defensive played by Phil Simmons could have come straight from the textbook, but to his horror the ball spun back and bowled him, hitting the stumps almost apologetically. The last Englishman to achieve the feat was another Worcestershire left-arm spinner, Dick Howorth. This one didn’t affect the match, though: West Indies won by nine wickets to square the series at 1-1.1973
Harold “Dickie” Bird made his Test debut at Headingley, umpiring the third Test between England and New Zealand. Twenty-three years later, Bird retired, having stood in a record 66 Tests. Anecdotes have poured forth ever since.Other birthdays
1959 Tim Shaw (South Africa)
1964 Saleem Raza (UAE)
1968 Shahid Anwar (Pakistan)

World renowned star batsman, Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards ofAntigua was inducted into the Cricket Hall of Fame in a gala ceremonyheld at the Radisson Hotel, Cromwell, Connecticut, Saturday, September29. The former West Indies’ captain was hailed as one of the greatestWest Indies players ever, and a fitting role model for youths toemulate. The large turnout stood and applauded Sir Vivian followinghis induction.Sir Vivian joins such past inductees as Sir Garfield Sobers, GeorgeHeadley, Sir Leonard Hutton, Sir Frank Worrell, Sir Everton Weekes,Sir Clyde Walcott, Sir Conrad Hunte, Alfred Valentine, Lance Gibbs,Rev. Wesley Hall, Clive Lloyd, Hanif Mohammed and umpire Tom Ewart tothe prestigious halls.Master of Ceremonies Attorney Rudolph Cohen, also a former member ofthe West Indies cricket team, relived some of the feats of the WestIndian hero, who tore the hearts out of Australian speed demons DennisLillee and Jeffery Thompson, during a tour of that country in 1975-76.One of the most important aspects of Sir Vivian’s career, Cohen said,is that after he became captain of the West Indies’ team, he continuedhis performance as a leader, never losing a series.Stating that it was a great honour to have Sir Vivian in our presence,Cohen explained how great a character Sir Vivian is by recalling aresponse he gave to a question during an interview. Asked about analleged catch taken at the wicket during one of his innings, Cohensaid that Sir Vivian replied that he is playing the game long enoughto know when he hit the ball.Sir Vivian paid tribute to all the people who helped him along theway, in particular his older brother Donald, and fellow AntiguanCharles Henry, whom he said took him to see his first Test match.Thanking the Cricket Hall of Fame’s committee for the honour bestowedon him, The Master Blaster,as he is affectionately called, saidthat despite his now known feats he was just as nervous going to thewicket as any other player. He lamented, however, that he had to comeall the way to North America to receive this honour, something whichhe believes should be done in the Caribbean.In responding to a question from the audience, Sir Vivian paid tributeto former player Lawrence Rowe, whom he described as one of thecoolest individuals that he has ever come across and said that as faras the game is concerned Rowe will always be his hero. Rowe, he said,always whistles while batting, but during a tour of Australia whilethey were at the wicket facing the speedsters’ Thompson and Lillee, henoticed that the whistling was missing. He said that he calmly wentdown the wicket to Rowe to enquire what was wrong in which Rowereplied that the men were dishing out fire today.To a question about his thoughts on the present state of West Indiescricket, Sir Vivian put the blame at the leadership of the West IndiesCricket Board, which he said needs to be united. Like the economy weare in a down cycle at the moment. It will take hard work andcalculated decisions to get us out of it, and when that is done, thenwe will have something to shout about again, he said.We have the talent, he said, but in order for us to go forward, theyoungsters coming into the fold must realize that we must know wherewe are coming from in order to know where we are going,he said.Luckily for me, we had people to look up to, emulate and follow after,he added, stating that it is quite easy for us to forget that we haveto crawl before we can walk.During the ceremony two proclamations were received, one fromConnecticut Governor John G. Rowland and the other from the city ofHartford’s Council declaring the day Sir Vivian’s Day in the state andcity respectively.Earlier that day Sir Vivian attended a reception held in his honour atthe Hartford Public Library, visited the Cricket Hall of Fame and acricket match at the city’s Keney Park between a visiting English teamand current the local champions, the West Indian Social Club.Receiving presidential awards for their services to the game andsupport for the Cricket Hall of Fame was The Weekly Gleaner, The WestIndian/American Newspaper, U.S. Cricketer International and Torontobased comedian Norman Sabu Grant, who kept the audience in stitchesat the start of the program.

Frank Tyson, the former England fast bowler, and renowned as one of the quickest to have ever played the game, has died at the age of 85 in Australia.Earning the nickname ‘Typhoon’ for his extreme pace, Tyson played 17 Tests for England between 1954 and 1959, taking 76 wickets at an average of 18.56. His demanding action put huge strain on his body and he retired at the age of 30.One of Tyson’s most memorable performances came in the 1954-55 Ashes in Australia, in which he picked up 28 wickets in five Tests, at an average of 20.82, helping England achieve a 3-1 win and formed a potent new-ball partnership with Brian Statham in the series.He only managed 1 for 160 in the first Test in Brisbane but finished with 10 wickets in the second Test in Sydney, taking a six-for in the second innings to lead England to a 38-run win, after he had earlier been knocked out by a short ball from Ray Lindwall.In an interview in 2013, Tyson recalled the Sydney spell. “Ask some of the Australians and they’ll say my fastest spell was Sydney – the match where I was sconed by Ray Lindwall. I was pretty cranky about what had happened and I did bowl fast. But I wouldn’t say that it was the best I’d ever bowled.”Frank Tyson during the 1954-55 Ashes where he claimed 28 wickets•Getty Images

He bettered that with 7 for 27 in the third Test at the MCG, which England won by 128 runs, a spell that Richie Benaud rated as the quickest he had ever seen. reported: “The pitch was worn and the experts predicted that England must look to Appleyard, pointing out that the conditions were made for his off spin, and probably they were right, but Tyson and Statham saw England home without Hutton having to look elsewhere for any bowling”Sheer speed through the air coupled with the chance of a shooter at any moment left the Australian batsmen nonplussed. Tyson blazed through them like a bush fire. In seventy-nine minutes the match was all over, the eight remaining wickets crashing for 36 runs.”Born in Lancashire, Tyson had initially looked to play for them but he broke down during his one 2nd XI match in 1949 and he subsequently had an eight-year career with Northamptonshire. His first-class career spanned 244 matches between 1952 and 1960, and he finished with 767 wickets.After his retirement in 1960, Tyson emigrated to Australia where he became headmaster of a school for a time, before coaching Victoria. He was a commentator and a successful writer, penning numerous books on the game. Through a stint with the Mumbai Cricket Association in the 1990s, he also helped groom local bowlers, including former India Test bowlers Abey Kuruvilla and Paras Mhambrey, and had a few more stints with the state association.

The Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA), during an internal meeting today, has formed 10 sub-committees that will work under court-appointed observer, former Justice Mukul Mudgal, in regards to the organisation of the fourth Test between India and South Africa. Justice Mudgal will be going to the Feroz Shah Kotla at 11am on Saturday morning for his first meeting with senior DDCA officials.”Today we have formed the 10 sub-committees that will be working for the smooth conduct of the Test match. Each committee will have a chairman and also have three-four members,” DDCA treasurer Ravinder Manchanda told PTI. “Tomorrow Justice Mudgal will be coming to Kotla for inspection and first meeting with the officials. We have asked all our executive committee members to be present.”However Manchanda said that they are yet to finalise the names of the members in each committee. “We will fill up the names by tomorrow. We will need tosee what Justice Mudgal advises,” he said. “We will certainly obey and follow his instructions.”

Four internationals helped themselves to half centuries as India A ended the opening day against Zimbabwe Select at the Harare Sports Club on 331 for 5. Mohammad Kaif won the toss and his batsmen, led by Robin Uthappa’s characteristic 88 off 85 balls, made largely untroubled progress.Uthappa and his opening partner Cheteshwar Pujara got off to a brisk start, adding 56 before Pujara fell for 9, edging to the slips. Parthiv Patel, coming in at No.3, made 67 and was involved in two half century stands. He added 77 and 68 with Uthappa and Kaif respectively, strengthening India’s position. After his departure, Kaif (63) and Rohit Sharma (65) scored patient half centuries but they too failed to convert their scores to three figures. S Badrinath, the Tamil Nadu middle-order batsman, was undefeated on 24 at the close.Chandrakanth Pandit, the coach, said he was satisfied with the number of fruitful partnerships. He also praised Uthappa for his aggressive knock. “They all batted extremely well and dominated the fast bowlers,” Pandit told the . “The only thing I thought could have gone better was that if one or all of them had gone on to get hundreds.”

Darren Gough has been ruled out of the remainder of the Natwest Series due to an injured left shin. Graham Onions, the Durham pace bowler, who is in England’s Champions Trophy 30 has been called up as a replacement and will join the squad on Monday.After playing in the Twenty20 against Pakistan as well as the opening two matches of the NatWest Series, Gough will miss the last three matches after an MRI scan revealed a bone stress reaction in his left shin.”Darren has been released following pain in the outer aspect of his left leg,” Dr Peter Gregory, the ECB Chief Medical Officer, said. “Prior to the Twenty20 he had rested for two weeks to settle mild bone bruising of the left shin. The pain from this had settled when he joined the England squad but has returned over the course of the past three matches.”An MRI scan today showed a marked bone stress reaction in his fibula and Darren has been advised to rest from bowling for six weeks. He will return to Essex to receive ongoing assessment and rehabilitation.”Gough added: “I’m obviously extremely disappointed that this injury has ruled me out of the England side, I was looking forward to a strong NatWest Series which could have helped my chances for the upcoming winter tours.”I’ve had a niggle for about a month which seemed to clear up with a couple of weeks rest before the NatWest Series but unfortunately it has returned to the point where I can’t go any further at the moment.”Gough failed to take a wicket during his brief return to the national team, suggesting he has lost penetration with the new ball. However, the bowler himself said: “I was pleased with the way I bowled without much luck during the first few matches so it’s disappointing I won’t be able to play any further part in this series.”England were already due to name a replacement pace bowler in their squad after Steve Harmison was ruled out with a back problem before the opening match. England are 1-0 down in the five-match series following Sunday’s seven-wicket defeat at Lord’s.

Greg Chappell, the India coach, has defended India’s batting performance which saw them set a modest target of 226 against an inexperienced Zimbabwe bowling attack, saying that criticism from outside was easier than performing in the middle.”Sitting outside perhaps it is not easy to understand how difficult the wicket was in the centre. It was moving and slow as well and the bounce was spongy,” Chappell was quoted as saying by PTI. “There has been some encouragement in the sense that all batsmen have managed to spend time in the middle, sometime or the other. It’s all a question of bringing it together and building up on the start.”Chappell backed Sourav Ganguly, the Indian captain, who yet again failed to play a long innings. “I am pretty happy with the way he [Ganguly] has shaped up. He was looking confident. On the ball he was dismissed, usually he hits it for a single but today he wanted to hit it for four. These things happen in the game.”He also said that he understood that batting collapses such as the one against New Zealand where India were 44 for 8 happened occasionally. “Having played the game myself, I know how wickets can fall in a clutter. The best way to come out of it is to not yell at the batsmen. Maybe now that they have had this experience they know how to react to such situations in future.”Venugopal Rao who has two ducks in as many games in the series also recieved Chappell’s support. “He [Venugopal] is a fine youngster with good attitude and he knows that the team is behind him,” said Chappell. “Unfortunately, twice in two games he got two very good balls.”Though Ganguly termed India’s victory by 161 runs over Zimbabwe as a much better performance than in their match against New Zealand, he still felt that there was scope for improvement. “We batted better and it should improve further as the tournament goes on,” said Ganguly. “The team needs to put partnerships together at the top of the order and batsmen need to get hundreds to win games for us.”Ganguly admitted that India has lost their way during the middle overs but also said that the wicket at Harare was soft and spongy. “The wicket in Bulawayo was quicker but here the ball came slowly off the pitch.”

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The NatWest Series eventually got underway today at Edgbaston – well, almost.Like the opening match, the second one, between New Zealand and West Indies, was abandoned, but at least there was some action today. After a quickfire innings by Brian Lara boosted West Indies to 122 for 4 from their reduced and interrupted quota of 21 overs, New Zealand were cruising towards their revised target of 140 when the rain returned after 13.4 overs to force the umpires to call the match off at around 7.20pm.It was a stop-start day all along. When play finally began at 2.15, Stephen Fleming won the toss and unsurprisingly chose to bowl first. West Indies progressed to 39 for 0 from 10 overs before another lengthy rain-break, and then added 82 more runs afterwards. New Zealand then reached 97 for 2 from 13.4 overs before the rain had the final say.West Indies’ innings was one of two parts. Before the showers returned in the afternoon, Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who was wearing two black anti-glare stickers under each eye similar to an American football player, made a solid start as the New Zealand attack failed to take advantage after winning the toss. However, in keeping with the series so far, the rain came back and the covers were whipped back on.Play resumed a little under two hours later, and New Zealand immediately hit back as the batsmen struggled against the seaming ball. Scott Styris struck with his first delivery when he trapped Chanderpaul lbw for a sluggish 14 from 42 balls (56 for 1). Dwayne Smith then clipped a wide one from Styris behind to Brendon McCullum for 1 (59 for 2), and Gayle edged Jacob Oram to McCullum for 30 (59 for 3).Lara and Ramnaresh Sarwan got things back on track for West Indies. Sarwan cut and hooked Oram for four, and Lara clipped Oram past fine leg for his first boundary. Then came the improvisation from Lara, who smacked Oram for 22 runs in one over. The first three balls he shuffled right across to the off side and whipped him past fine leg for four, then smacked the next two over the off side for a four and a six.Lara was then out in bizarre circumstances. He again moved over to the off, and after he hit Chris Cairns to leg, his bat swung right round and touched the stumps (115 for 4). Sarwan then squeezed Cairns past fine leg for another boundary, and West Indies had given themselves a sporting chance of victory.Ravi Rampaul, though, had a nightmare first over, bowling four wides and two no-balls as it went for 18. However, Ricardo Powell helped to forget that bad start with a wonderful diving catch at backward point to dismiss Fleming for 12 (20 for 1), and Jermaine Lawson then took his second wicket when Nathan Astle edged him to Gayle at first slip for 12 (50 for 2).As the skies darkened and the drizzle returned, Styris and Hamish Marshall progressed with few scares towards New Zealand’s target. But as the rain became heavier, the umpires had no choice but to go off, allowing the weather eventually to win the day. West Indies – and England – will be hoping for more luck tomorrow at Trent Bridge.

Andrew Leipus, the physiotherapist of the Indian team, may get a two-year extension to his contract instead of the one year that he has been offered so far. Sources from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) told Rediff.com that the abrupt departure of Adrian Le Roux had shaken up the management, and they were keen to make sure that Leipus stayed with them for the long term.Leipus has been on an annual contract since he began working with the Indian team in 1999. The BCCI had extended it by another year after the World Cup. But after Le Roux’s exit, the BCCI decided to preempt the possibility of Leipus quitting by offering him a two-year extension.Jagmohan Dalmiya, the president of the BCCI, was the brain behind the idea, arguing that a longer contract would elicit more commitment and loyalty from the physio. BCCI sources said: “He [Dalmiya] has informally spoken to Leipus, and the proposal should be ratified by the working committee soon.”It was unclear if John Wright, the coach, would also be offered a two-year contract. Wright was given a one-year extension after the World Cup.