Lankans bring Kiwis down to earth

Elmo RODRIGOPULLE reporting from New Zealand

CRICKET: The Sri Lankan cricketers gave an awesome display to bring Kiwi cricket down to earth with a bang when they bundled them out for their second lowest score in one-day cricket at the famous Eden Park on Saturday, under lights.

It was one of the best team efforts seen by the Lankans for a long time and they richly deserved their success.

It has now become a habit that if the dashing left handed Sanath Jayasuriya fires Sri Lanka would win. It was so and his marvellous stroke play where he toyed with and humiliated the Kiwi bowlers would long be remembered.

At 37 and the manner in which he is batting, seeing the ball like a football, and launching out with Jessopian like hitting, amazes everyone and the question they ask is why was he forced into retirement and if he stayed that way what a loss it would have been to Sri Lanka cricket?

Jayasuriya I am sure must be aiming the shots he played at the selectors who forced him out and the critics who supported the poor thinking of the selectors.

More muscle, strength and success to the great Jayasuriya.

Kumar Sangakkara is batting at his peak. Blessed with good eye and twinkle toed footwork, Sangakkara is eye-catching when in full flow.

He plays the game not only with his bat, but above all, uses his head and knows how to adapt to situations and play for team and country.

When his team lost three quick wickets after the blazing opening stand, he together with Marvan Atapattu, did not panic, but milked the bowling intelligently and paved the way for the big score, which was also swelled by some lusty hitting by Farveez Maharoof.

Sangakkara also held on to a brilliant catch and no one would have faulted the adjudicators had they given the man of the match award to him.

Then when the Blackcaps batted they were made to look Blackcats, as the master of bowling wicket to wicket and moving the ball in, Chaminda Vaas got to work.

He made the batsmen look silly by having them stranded in front and left those watching wondering why they ever had a bat in their hands.

After Vaas wrecked the Blackcaps early batting, Lasith Malinga came back to strike like a typhoon to leave the batting in shame and shambles.

His yorkers and bouncers come screaming at the batsmen and with such speed that makes one wonder and ask from where he gets the strength and energy to keep firing constant pace at the batsmen. He never allows a batsman to relax for one moment.

Mahela Jayawardena said: 'After our two losses in Queenstown and Christchurch, we planned to go hard at the Kiwis in this game. We achieved that and there would be no letting up in Hamilton, although his poor form must be worrying him.

But that would not matter as his team keeps winning.

But Jayawardena promised to come good in Hamilton and show the Kiwis what he is capable of.

The Lankans drew the Test series and the comical 20 Twenty games and a 3-2 win in the limited overs game should be the icing on the cake.

EDENPARK, Aukland, Sunday.