T20 ICC WORLD TWENTY20 WEST INDIES 2010 - Super Eight India vs SL

T20 ICC

World Cup

Twenty20

West Indies

OVER & OUT FOR INDIA

Mathews, Kapugedera Take Snaga's 

Boys To Semis After Initial Struggle

St Lucia: India's dreams of following Pakistan into the T20 World Cup semifinals evaporated after aninsipid and nearly uninspiring batting display here on Tuesday afternoon. Needing to beat Sri Lanka by at least 22 runs to stay in the hunt for a semifinal slot, they had to come out with all their big guns blazing; hoping that one or two big overs would somehow find theirway into the Beausejour Stadium.

         In theevent, they never materialized, giving Sri Lanka an attainable target of 163 for five; they needed just 143 on a batting paradise to stay alive at least until the encounter between Australia and West Indies.They did one better though: They overhauled the target itself. off the last ball of the game, to all but storm into the semifinals.

        In the late evening match, West indies will not only need to beat Australia but also do so with a huge margin to jump ahead on the run-rate. As really dawned on the till then cheering West Indians in the stands, a hush descented over them. The Indians had already fallen silent. Defending the impossible, India,after unleashing spinner Harbhajan Singh on a fast and bouncy track, handed the new ball to Ashish Nehara and rookie seamer Vinay Kumar on a haven for slow bowlers. It worked nicely as Nehra, after conceding a first-ball four, lured the dangerous Mahela Jayawardene into a suicidal edge.

        Next over, Vinay trapped Sanath Jaysuriya too to raise the hopes of even the worst pessimist. At 6 for two, with not much batting to follow, it looked like the first part of the miracle would at least come true. Dilshan and Sangakarra, however, warded off the imminent danger by adding 43 quick runs. The Lanka captain then, with Mathews in tow, raised 62 runs to keep them well and truly in the hunt. After 15 overs, even though Sangakarra had just tumbled for 46, they seemed to be in sight of thier first target, if not an outright victory itself: 36 in 30 has never been beyond reach in T20. Dhoni rotated his bowlers fast and furiously, hoping to keep the Lankans guessing and on their toes. Harbhajan, Piyush and Yusuf bowled to a plan, keeping a firm eye on the 143-mark; yuvraj was used and promptly discarded Lanka broke out in the 16th over, hitting two fours and following it up with another two in the next; a six in the 19th over, snuffed out India's chances. Mathews hit another six in celebration. Last over. 13 required.

          Earlier, India finally ceded to common sense and dropped the luckless Ravindra Jadeja. That wasn't all though"they also axed the off-colour Zaheer Khan and listless M Vijay. The opener's replacement, Dinesh Karthik, didn't exactly make Dhoni tool back in anger or regret though; but he at least made sure that the team got a start, which was just not forthcoming tioonow; 30 for no loss, and it seemed like a perfect launching pad.