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Sri Lanka v England | 2nd Test | Colombo | Apr 3-7, 2012

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seems like a draw, smartly played by lanka , they dun need a win series win guaranteed with a draw
 
mahela is playing the same role that dravid played in england series. only difference is 1-2 batsman in lanka are helping out and lankan bowlers can bowl atleast on their pitches.
 
Samaraweera would be kicking himself for getting out with just 2 overs to go. Very poor but credit to swann.

Well Mathews , two jayas left. Just 30 runs the lead. This looks very bleak for the lankans , but you never know.
 
eventhough 6 wickets gone 2 of them of tail enders..i dont see any reason why cant SL bat 2 sessions tommarrow
 
From Cricbuzz:


"What a day we have had. Once again the DRS came into the limelight and there will be lots and lots written about the Dilshan dismissal. Already the Sri Lankan management have met the match referee regarding that issue."



Awwww poor Sri Lankans, they were over the moon when the DRS system went their way against India now they are crying :))) ............ SUFFER that would teach you!!!!!!!
 
Day Four

A decent effort from England in the end. The bowling and fielding was substandard in the first session, but couldn't really be faulted afterwards.

Sri Lanka played pretty well in response I thought, starting with the nightwatchman, who was plucky and fearless, an inspiration for those to come. Mahela, next up, was absolutely brilliant again, a first-rate batsman indeed. The absolute prize wicket. England don't seem to know how to get him out.

On the negative side, Thirimanne is clearly a bit of a hack so I won't go after him, but oddly enough one of my favourite players, Sangakkara, was a real letdown. He was out of form, granted - but after getting a start, his was truly an abysmal effort. The former captain could have been out numerous times, before his 90-ball 20 was brought to an end by Swann.

Then, the Mahela-Samara partnership seemed to have the match on a knife-edge for a while (it may yet prove crucial if England are chasing a problematic total). The partnership was technically accomplished and brutally effective, boring the bowlers into near-submission and, I suspect, those watching too. Swann plugged away, though, and finally broke the stand. Then he ripped out Randiv two balls later. England will sleep much better now.

You know, Swann is truly a world-class bowler, and England's most valuable player. I hope now everyone can see why England fans rate him so highly. It is not the usual case of tinted spectacles; Swann is genuinely special. He now has 27 wickets this winter, at an average of 24 with a strike rate of 49. All in conditions alien to him. And he always does it at crucial junctures in games. This reaffirms his status as England's best bowler.

So, apart from when the seamers and spinners take the new ball, there is pretty much nothing for the bowlers in this pitch. It is a flat pitch. Which is why England need to make further inroads quickly tomorrow, or this could turn into a dangerous lead. Mahela and Mathews might put up a partnership, and there is still the keepie to come. The tail-enders are clumsy but they too will be fighting hard.

If England end up chasing 160 against the clock, things could get *****ly once again. Ideally, England should open with Anderson and Swann tomorrow and try to limit the chase to 100. But as ever in test cricket, there are no easy sessions.

This season, England have already snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in Abu Dhabi and Galle. Winning even one of these tests would have made a noticeable difference to their season - alas. If England make it a hat-trick of bottle-jobs, they will deserve to lose the number one ranking, which is already hanging by a thread.

They simply have to hold their nerve this time.
 
Common sense

how many balls you can block to save a match ? or to kill time or any thing .. in the end one good ball and you are back to pavilion .. and then when you see a scored board ... runs wont be there because you didnt even try to make it

so a batsman should not do net practice in the match .. they should keep looking to take single and doube here and there ...

just like cook.... mahela and samaweera did good to stay out there but in the end they are in losing position because they didnt score runs and just played at snail pace . in the end no score on the board

No matter how much we say its a test match .. its a test match ... u need to score runs with playing shot on the ground for single double ....nudging around at 50% Strike rate.. its not risky .... because ONE GOOD BALL will GET YOU OUT
 
Pietersen's innings was just an absolute freak, in context. He wasn't facing great bowlers, but to time the ball the way he did when every other batsman has struggled to get it off the square ... well, it was just amazing. He beat his way to 150 whilst everybody else has been nudging their way around. Ian Bell's expression when he got out yesterday told you all you needed to know - nobody on the playing field yesterday had a clue how he managed to do it. Other players in either side might be able to keep up with him for 30 runs, but 151? An absolute freak of an innings. Not a great innings when judged on paper, given the opposition, but one of the best innings you'll see in 2012, if you were privileged enough to sit down, see it all, and watch everybody else bat around him. It may not yet win England the match, but it definitely deserves to.
 
He put it together in a short afternoon too. What a treat!
 
Think England will win this time and probably quite comfortably. Matthews and Jaya will be key to the game. But just feel that after going close a couple of times this team is now stronger to face up to their nerves against spin.
 
Brilliant late bowling from Swann.

Disappointed with Finn and Patel though.
 
Two good days in a row for England but Lanka are still in the match. Mahela, Mathews and Jayawardne are more than capable of putting on another 120 runs. If England have to chase 150 in the last two sessions of day 5 they could end losing it.

England must strike early and finish the job now.
 
Robert said:
I expect England to wrap this up by tea tomorrow.
Click to expand...

That's the hope.

Tragedy for Anderson, his last two spells were remarkable, and deserved atleast two wickets. We'd be looking at getting only two more and it'd be a sigh of relief.

Hopefully we can knock them out of the way before Lunch, and then bat it out in under a session.
 
Still some tough work ahead. No room for getting complacent. Mathews and Jayawardene on the wicket with HAPW Jayawerdene still to come England has to be on their very best.
 
SL completly lost the plot at the end, hardly scored any runs.
 
leatherface58 said:
I told them eng would win this. now if eng dont they need to go and hide into a cave.
Click to expand...

Vast understatement.



Of England's ability to screw it up. It could be 50-50 depending on what mood they are in.

They're favorites, but we should have won Abu Dhabi too..
 
pietersen will need to show up with the bat again cuz the lankans will be playing for a draw here
 
San: "The biggest problem of consuming deliveries and not scoring is when the set batsmen the get out. Thilan and Mahela played out a lot of overs but never kept the score ticking over and then they lost 2 wickets and now are staring at a defeat. Whatever the form of cricket, batsmen must look to score else they fall into this trap."

Cricinfo
 
Had Mahela but small inside edge reprieved him from the LBW. Looks difficult to bat out there, lead is currently 48

Uggggh this is gonna be tense. I'll actually miss it, I start work soon.
 
Long day ahead of SL, they must keep the scoreboard ticking ..... blocking overs is not the solution.
 
Turn, bounce and Mahela gloves to short leg!

Another 5-fer for Swann! Mint.
 
Mathews looks pretty ordinary against Swann. Gonna need something special from Prasanna to set the 150 target.
 
WOW The turn on offer is pretty scary, anything over 100 will be a nervy chase but don't think it'll go that far.
 
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