Tharanga and Dilshan steer Lanka into quarters

Another record by Sri Lanka in the World's Cricketing Scorecard! The opening stand of 269 between Upul Tharanga and Tillkeratne Dilshan saw Sri Lanka coast to an easy 139-run victory over a hapless Zimbabwe in a 2011 Group 'A' World Cup game under lights at the picturesque setting of Pallekelle Stadium on Thursday. This win saw Sri Lanka into the quarters.

Dilshan 144 and Tharanga 133 toyed with the Zim attack hitting it with ease and it was a sad sight to see the bowlers being carted all over the Park. And to complete his memorable day, Dilshan turned his off spinners cleverly to take 4 for 4 and justifiably won the man of the match award. It was a real treat to the Sri Lankan fans who lapped it all up to the strains of the brass bands and cheering that went with it.

Watching this avalanche one could not but agree with Chief Executive of the International Cricket Council Haroon Lorgart when he said that the 2015 World Cup will see the reduction of teams.

Better in the Twenty20

It is absurd playing teams that cannot just front up on equal terms. Paying teams just to make up the numbers is in no way promoting the game or diversifying it. They will be better off playing in the Twenty20 format.

When Zimbabwe won the toss it raised eye brows when Captain Elton Chigumbura asked Sri Lanka to bat. The done thing is to bat first and put the side batting second under pressure.

When the Tharanga-Dilshan stand was motoring along in top gear, Chigumbura would have been rueing his decision.

Never worried

The openers were never worried by the bowlers who did not get help from the wicket. It was a perfect batting wicket; and a wicket ideal for this style of game.

Tharanga and Dilshan made their career best scores in limited over cricket. It was tiredness that made them sacrifice their wickets. They could have batted through the 50 overs if they wished.

Once the openers went, saw some poor batting performances by the batsmen who followed. Thisara Perera, Mahela Jayawardena, Chamara Silva and Angelo Mathews needlessly threw away their wickets with some kindergarten stroke play. It did not make sense the way they gifted their wickets. This play was certainly not of a standard of the team that aspires to win the Cup, regardless of how comfortable a situation Sri Lanka was in.

On the other hand, when Zimbabwe replied their openers to batted sensibly to put on 116 for the first wicket. But once they went, the remaining batsmen were on the skids and in making 188 presented a 139 run victory to the Lankans. Brendon Taylor made a pleasing 80.

Taylor made victory

It was a birthday treat -with fireworks and all-that New Zealand's Ross Taylor provided the cricketing fans at Pallekelle. It was the type of batting that can only be equated to a massacre of bowlers rarely seen. While there were two dropped catches that proved costly for Pakistan, it did not detract from the brilliance shown by Ross Taylor and the gross disrespect with which he treated the well known Pakistan bowlers. He grabbed the opportunity to post a fireworks inspired century to drag Pakistan to a defeat in a Group 'A' 2011 World Cup match at the Pallekelle Stadium on Tuesday.

Pakistan well led by Sahid Afridi were waltzing smoothly in the tourney with victories over Kenya, Canada and Sri Lanka and seemed poised to enter the next round with an unbeaten record.

It fell on New Zealand and Pakistan to baptize the Pallekelle Stadium by playing the maiden game on that beautiful venue, where the SLC organisers had done a terrific job to get the stadium ready.

New Zealand won the toss and took strike. Pakistan who were on a roll were not going to take the Kiwis easy. They realized that the Kiwis had it in them to cause an upset. And that is exactly what the Kiwis did.

No ball six

In the first over after going for six off a no ball, 'Rawalpindi Express' Shoaib Akhtar shattered the stumps of big hitting Brendon McCallum at 8 to the delight of the Pakistanis.

Opener Martin Guptil was going well and when the second wicket of Jimmie How went at 55, the stage was set for the Pakistanis to take charge and bundle out the opponents for a gettable score.

Then it happened. Akhtar thundered in and let fly a beautiful out swinger that got the bat of a groping Taylor before he had opened his account and first slip and wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal watched the ball go by. Then when Taylor was on eight, Akmal put down a sitter.

Akmal has always known to drop sitters. AFP presented three of the best gloveman gags doing the rounds in the internet. - Behind every successful batsman there is Kamran Akmal. - What do Kamran and Michael Jackson have in common? They both wear gloves for no reason. - Kamran Akmal's favorite line? 'Can I drop you somewhere?

Regulation catches

It was regulation catches that any wicket keeper would gobble. But to the consternation of Akhtar and Pakistan, Akmal dropped the catch and that was going to be the end of the Pakistanis in their bid to have another victory under their belt and stay unbeaten. Taylor coming into this game had not been in the runs in the earlier games which would have been of worry to the team. But as for Taylor the selectors knew that he had it in him to come good.... and it was only a matter of time.The dropped catch was god send for Taylor. Making best use of the opportunity, Taylor put his head down and as he began to unwind, he unleashed a repertoire of bowler demoralizing strokes. The record book will show in the years to come how he in one attacked his tormentor Akhtar; he blasted him for three big sixes that cleared the ground by a long way and in the next over plundered 30 runs from an Abdul Razzaq over including three sixes.

Brutal hitting

What terrific hitting that was. And cricket fans watching the action at the scene and the millions watching on television would certainly have savored this display, brutal hitting that was. Pallekelle will not see another innings of such brutality for a long time to come. It was birthday celebrations for Taylor as he played a career best unbeaten knock of 131 off 124 deliveries with seven sixes and eight fours. In the last five overs the Kiwis pecked, believe it or not exactly 100 runs. The total of 302 was too much for the Pakistanis to attempt and they just collapsed in heaps, but were bailed out by a swashbuckling knock by Abdul Razzaq who struck 62 off 74 balls with 8 fours.

With the 302 a big ask, one wonders why the Pakistanis did not open with Sahid 'boom boom' Afridi and ask him to attempt to play one of his special innings and endeavour to break the chains and attempt an unlikely victory.

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