Lasith Malinga loses his purple hat

Lasith Malinga loses his purple hat, Bangalore v Mumbai, 2nd qualifier, IPL 2011, Chennai, May 27, 2011

©AFP

Lasith Malinga loses his purple hat, Bangalore v Mumbai, 2nd qualifier, IPL 2011, Chennai, May 27, 2011©AFP

Malinga and Mathews not in SL Test squad for England

Sri Lanka in England 2011

Malinga, Mathews not in SL Test squad for England

ESPNcricinfo staff

April 20, 2011

Lasith Malinga

Lasith Malinga and Angelo Mathews are not part of the Sri Lanka Test squad announced today for the tour of England. Mathews is still recovering from a quad muscle injury that kept him out of the World Cup final and also the ongoing IPL.

Malinga's ability to last a five-day match has been doubtful for some time now. He last played a Test against India in the three-match home series last year, and even then he was rested for the second match. He has played only 30 Tests in a seven-year span, and has been sparingly used by Sri Lanka to keep him fresh for the shorter formats where he has proved far more effective.

The 16-member squad has four fast bowlers in Dilhara Fernando, Chanaka Welegedara, Suranga Lakmal and Nuwan Pradeep. Seamer Nuwan Kulasekara, who played in Sri Lanka's previous Test series, against West Indies, is not part of the squad. While Lakmal impressed in his debut Test series against West Indies, uncapped Pradeep is known to have a slinging action resembling Malinga's. Thisara Perera is the bowling allrounder in the squad.

Lahiru Thirimanne and Dinesh Chandimal have also received call-ups. Both are considered to be among the most promising Sri Lankan batsmen, and have already played ODIs. Chandimal debuted in the ODI tri-series in Zimbabwe last year as a wicketkeeper-batsman.

A vice-captain to Tillakaratne Dilshan, the newly-appointed captain, is yet to be announced. This will be Dilshan's first assignment as captain and will also be Sri Lanka's first overseas Test tour since the retirement of Muttiah Muralitharan.

The timing of the team's departure for the tour has been a subject of controversy as eleven Sri Lankan players, including former captains Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, are currently playing in the IPL and seven of them are in the squad for England. They were earlier asked by Sri Lanka Cricket to report to Colombo by May 5 five days before the team's departure for England. The move was criticised by Muralitharan, who said that the players had earlier expected to play in the IPL till May 20.

Sri Lanka squad: 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), 2 Tharanga Paranavitana, 3 Lahiru Thirimanne, 4 Kumar Sangakkara, 5 Mahela Jayawardene, 6 Thilan Samaraweera, 7 Dinesh Chandimal, 8 Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), 9 Thisara Perera, 10 Suraj Randiv, 11 Ajantha Mendis, 12 Rangana Herath, 13 Dilhara Fernando, 14 Chanaka Welegedara, 15 Suranga Lakmal, 16 Nuwan Pradeep

© ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Final: India won by 6 wickets

India v Sri Lanka, World Cup 2011, final, Mumbai

DHONI keeps India

Lasith Malinga stunned India with two early wickets, including the one that thwarted Sachin Tendulkar's bid for his 100th international century, but Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli responded with a doughty third-wicket stand of 83 to keep their team's hopes very much alive in the World Cup final at Mumbai. However, when Kohli was brilliantly caught by Tillakaratne Dilshan for 35, India were 124 for 3 after 25 overs, needing another 151 to secure the crown for the first time in 28 years.

Following a blistering finale to the Sri Lankan innings, in which 63 runs were smacked in five Powerplay overs, the onus fell on Virender Sehwag to respond with a volley of his own. But, having hit a boundary from the first ball of six of India's previous eight innings in the tournament, he was denied by Malinga at the seventh time of asking, and then worse was to follow one ball later. Trapped on the back foot by Malinga's skiddy round-arm style, he was pinned in front of middle and leg, and not even a review could save him from a second-ball duck.

The Wankhede Stadium was stunned into an eery silence, but as Mahela Jayawardene had proved for Sri Lanka, this is a surface that rewards finesse as much as brutality. To that end, Tendulkar started with an ominous intent, as he responded to a crushing weight of expectation with 18 runs from his first 12 balls, including two wonderful boundaries in three balls - a straight-driven four as Nuwan Kulasekera overpitched, followed by a crashing cut as he dropped too short and wide.

Malinga, however, was never less than menacing, and having hurried Tendulkar with a lifter outside off, he lured him into a loose drive to a full-length outswinger that grazed the edge to be snaffled by Kumar Sangakkara. His personal dream was over, and with it went the hopes of a faithless minority in the crowd, who turned to leave as soon as their hero was gone. But Gambhir and Kohli were in no mood to surrender, and slowly but surely they rebuilt the prospects of their team.

Thisara Perera and Nuwan Kulasekera played vital roles with the bat, but in their primary role as front-line seamers they lacked the menace of Malinga and were easily squeezed for 65 runs in their combined allocation of 10 overs. It took the introduction of the newcomer to the squad, Suraj Randiv, to unsettle the Indian accumulation, as his high-kicking offspin prompted a loose drive from Gambhir on 30, who was dropped by a diving Kulasekera at long-off.

In the final match of his career, Muttiah Muralitharan was held back until the 19th over, and though he started with a long-hop that was cut straight to point, he might have made the breakthrough from his second ball, as Gambhir galloped back for a second run to third man only for Sangakkara to fumble the shy as it bounced awkwardly in front of him.

But the breakthrough finally came from the third spinner in Sri Lanka's armoury. Dilshan's second over included a beautifully placed cut for four from Kohli, but one ball later he was on his way, superbly caught in the fingertips as Dilshan dived full-stretch across the crease to intercept a lofted drive. It left Gambhir, whose 56-ball half-century was an excellent controlled performance, and MS Dhoni with a massive responsibility on their shoulders, against an asking rate that was approaching six an over.

Mahela Jayawardene saved his best innings of the tournament for the day his team most needed it, as Sri Lanka withstood an inspired spell from Zaheer Khan to set India a stiff target of 275 in the World Cup final in Mumbai. On a hard and true surface that assisted the seamers but offered value for correct strokeplay, Jayawardene lifted Sri Lanka's tempo after a sluggish start before clicking into overdrive in the batting Powerplay, to finish unbeaten on a priceless 103 not out from 88 balls.

Four years ago at Sabina Park, Jayawardene produced a supreme century against New Zealand to carry his side to their second World Cup final, but this was an innings of even more exquisite application. He came to the crease with his side under the cosh at 60 for 2 in the 17th over, having been throttled by a Zaheer new-ball spell that contained three consecutive maidens and just six runs in five overs all told. But he responded with a tempo that scarcely wavered from a run a ball, until with Nuwan Kulasekera for company, he opened his shoulders to power through to his hundred from 83 balls - the sixth man to do so on the game's biggest stage.

The contrast between the start of Sri Lanka's innings and its finish was stark. With Zaheer leading the line, India restricted their opponents to 31 for 1 in the mandatory ten-over Powerplay, their lowest total of the tournament to date, below the 42 for 2 that they had made in their group-stage defeat against Pakistan. But then, at the death, the same attack was battered for 63 in the batting Powerplay, with Zaheer's final two overs being butchered for 17 and 18 respectively. Thisara Perera, in his first match for almost a month, set the seal on a stunning turnaround with 22 from nine deliveries, including a last-ball six that was battered from a good length over midwicket.

For an occasion of this magnitude, cool heads were the order of the day, and until Jayawardene trumped his efforts, no man in the stadium seemed cooler than Zaheer. His exemplary first spell realised seam, swing, pace and bounce, all allied to an immaculate line and length, as the hapless Upul Tharanga was tortured to the tune of two runs in 20 balls, before luring a fatal snick to slip where Virender Sehwag's sharp snaffle epitomised a watertight Indian fielding effort. Then, when he returned in the 37th over, Zaheer deceived Chamara Kapugedera with a beautiful slower ball that was driven to short cover, on route to equalling Shahid Afridi as the tournament's leading wicket-taker.

As one of five veterans from India's last World Cup final appearance in 2003, Zaheer's initial efforts could not have been further removed from the over-pumped performance he had produced against Australia in Johannesburg, in which he was cracked for 67 in seven overs, including 15 in the very first over of the game. This time, he did not concede that many until the end of his seventh over, but the speed with which his figures were vandalised was astounding. Though each of Jayawardene's 13 fours was a classy stroke in its own right, none was better than the last of them, an inside-out cover-drive to one of Zaheer's trademark outswinging yorkers, as he premeditated the late movement and filleted the ring of fielders on the off-side.

Alongside Jayawardene were two hard-hitting allrounders who have scarcely been called upon in the tournament to date, such has been the success of Sri Lanka's much-vaunted top four. Nuwan Kulasekera was eventually run out for 32 by a direct hit from MS Dhoni with 13 balls of the innings remaining, but he received a pat of gratitude from his team-mate as he went by, given how brilliantly he had responded to the needs of the hour. And then, by the time Perera had finished his onslaught, the decibel levels in the Wankhede Stadium had plummeted.

It had been a different story at the start of the day, when the excitement in the stands managed to drown out Kumar Sangakkara's call at the toss. After some confusion, with both captains believing they had won, the match referee Jeff Crowe eventually ordered a re-toss - which Sri Lanka won. And seeing as all but two of the previous nine World Cups had been won by the team batting first, it had the makings of a moment that would run and run.

At first, thanks to Zaheer, it seemed that India had done well to avoid taking first use of a seamer-friendly pitch. But inch by inch, Sri Lanka recovered the initiative. The mercurial Sreesanth was pressed into action because of the broken finger that Ashish Nehra had sustained against Pakistan, and conceded 52 runs in eight overs before Dhoni decided he could no longer be trusted. His first delivery led to a wildly over-optimistic lbw appeal against Tillakaratne Dilshan, for which he was warned to calm down by Aleem Dar, but despite a reasonably focussed start, the errors soon began to creep into his game.

It was Dilshan who loosened the early shackles with two fours in three balls in Sreesanth's third over, before Sangakkara followed up with two in two - a premeditated pull and an effortless straight drive - in a fifth over that also included an official warning for running on the wicket, and a free hit that was slashed through third man by Dilshan. But before he could build his innings, Harbhajan Singh bowled Dilshan round his legs in his second over for 33 from 49 balls.

India had two early wickets for their efforts, but to crack Sri Lanka's outer shell, three is the absolute minimum requirement, and with Sangakkara biding his time, Jayawardene crunched Harbhajan through point for four, before turning his attentions to Sreesanth, who was steered along the ground through third man, and the spin of Yuvraj Singh, who was belted through midwicket as he dropped short in his first over. On 48, Sangakkara suffered a rare lapse as he slashed at a wide ball from Yuvraj Singh to be caught behind at 122 for 3 in the 28th over, but thanks to Jayawardene's masterclass, there was no way through for India.

Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo

India won the 10th icc cricket world cup

1st news on the web before finish the match


India won the 10th icc cricket world cup
Dhoni guides India in tight finish

Lasith Malinga stunned India with two early wickets, including the one that thwarted Sachin Tendulkar's bid for his 100th international century, but Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli responded with a doughty third-wicket stand of 83 to keep their team's hopes very much alive in the World Cup final at Mumbai. However, when Kohli was brilliantly caught by Tillakaratne Dilshan for 35, India were 124 for 3 after 25 overs, needing another 151 to secure the crown for the first time in 28 years.

Following a blistering finale to the Sri Lankan innings, in which 63 runs were smacked in five Powerplay overs, the onus fell on Virender Sehwag to respond with a volley of his own. But, having hit a boundary from the first ball of six of India's previous eight innings in the tournament, he was denied by Malinga at the seventh time of asking, and then worse was to follow one ball later. Trapped on the back foot by Malinga's skiddy round-arm style, he was pinned in front of middle and leg, and not even a review could save him from a second-ball duck.

The Wankhede Stadium was stunned into an eery silence, but as Mahela Jayawardene had proved for Sri Lanka, this is a surface that rewards finesse as much as brutality. To that end, Tendulkar started with an ominous intent, as he responded to a crushing weight of expectation with 18 runs from his first 12 balls, including two wonderful boundaries in three balls - a straight-driven four as Nuwan Kulasekera overpitched, followed by a crashing cut as he dropped too short and wide.

Malinga, however, was never less than menacing, and having hurried Tendulkar with a lifter outside off, he lured him into a loose drive to a full-length outswinger that grazed the edge to be snaffled by Kumar Sangakkara. His personal dream was over, and with it went the hopes of a faithless minority in the crowd, who turned to leave as soon as their hero was gone. But Gambhir and Kohli were in no mood to surrender, and slowly but surely they rebuilt the prospects of their team.

Thisara Perera and Nuwan Kulasekera played vital roles with the bat, but in their primary role as front-line seamers they lacked the menace of Malinga and were easily squeezed for 65 runs in their combined allocation of 10 overs. It took the introduction of the newcomer to the squad, Suraj Randiv, to unsettle the Indian accumulation, as his high-kicking offspin prompted a loose drive from Gambhir on 30, who was dropped by a diving Kulasekera at long-off.

In the final match of his career, Muttiah Muralitharan was held back until the 19th over, and though he started with a long-hop that was cut straight to point, he might have made the breakthrough from his second ball, as Gambhir galloped back for a second run to third man only for Sangakkara to fumble the shy as it bounced awkwardly in front of him.

But the breakthrough finally came from the third spinner in Sri Lanka's armoury. Dilshan's second over included a beautifully placed cut for four from Kohli, but one ball later he was on his way, superbly caught in the fingertips as Dilshan dived full-stretch across the crease to intercept a lofted drive. It left Gambhir, whose 56-ball half-century was an excellent controlled performance, and MS Dhoni with a massive responsibility on their shoulders, against an asking rate that was approaching six an over.

Sri Lanka won by 9 wickets

Sri Lanka close in on massive victory

Sri Lanka v Kenya, Group A, World Cup 2011, Colombo

Malinga's yorkers dismantle Kenya

Thje Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran

Lasith Malinga

Lasith Malinga announced his return to full fitness by storming his way to an unprecedented second World Cup hat-trick with an exhibition of yorker-on-demand bowling that proved too much for Kenya's tail at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The visitors imploded to 142 all out despite dogged half-centuries from the Obuya brothers, who enjoyed plenty of fortune in a determined 94-run stand that kept the varied threats of Sri Lanka's bowling at bay for nearly 30 overs.

The Obuyas weren't exactly convincing - testing every edge of their bat, surviving close lbw calls, regularly air-driving outside off and rarely reading the spinner's variations - but hung on obdurately to take Kenya into triple-digits. A solid platform was in place when they had hauled Kenya to 102 for 2, but Malinga's burst demolished the tail as the final eight wickets were blasted out for 40 runs. None of the other Kenyan batsmen made it past single-figures.

The Kenyan collapse was rapid: it took only 22 deliveries for them to go from 127 for 4 to being bowled out. Muttiah Muralitharan started it off by getting the set batsman David Obuya to slog-sweep to midwicket.

Lasith Malingas two World Cup hat tricks

Malinga sets record with two World Cup hat-tricks

Lasith Malinga hat-trick takes Sri Lanka to victory

Lasith Malinga

Lasith Malinga claimed six wickets including a hat-trick as Sri Lanka bundled out Kenya for 142 inside 43 overs in their World Cup Group A match in Colombo today.

Malinga ran through the Kenya line-up en route to the second hat-trick of the tournament, following yesterday's effort by Kemar Roach for West Indies against Canada.

Brothers Collins and David Obuya put up admirable resistance as they scored laborious half-centuries but once their 94-run stand was broken, the remaining batsmen caved in quickly.

Batting first after winning the toss, Kenya crawled to 62 from 20 overs after losing openers Maurice Ouma and Seren Waters early on.

Nuwan Kulasekara struck in his first over by trapping Ouma lbw and Waters went the same way as a Malinga yorker knocked him off his feet, leaving Kenya on eight for two.

But the Obuya brothers defied the Sri Lanka bowlers and brought up their first 50-run stand - although the scoring rate was painstaking.

The pair also survived against spin duo Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan, though not without alarms, as Kenya reached 100 in the 31st over.

Collins brought up the slowest half-century of the World Cup off 95 balls, but was bowled by Malinga's yorker two runs later as Kenya slipped to 103 for three.

Angelo Mathews ended Steve Tikolo's struggle by having him caught at point for seven from 17 balls to leave Kenya on 120 for four.

David Obuya surpassed his brother's landmark as he reached 50 in 100 balls but he too was out soon after, holing out in the deep off Muralitharan.

New man Jimmy Kamande lasted only three balls before being run out brilliantly by Chamara Silva before the Kenya tail was wrapped up in double-quick time by Malinga.

He trapped Tanmay Mishra lbw with the last ball of his seventh over and claimed Peter Ongondo and Shem Ngoche in the first two balls of his eighth to complete the second hat-trick of his career.

A wild five wides down the leg side denied Malinga a fourth wicket on the trot and Elijah Otieno survived the next ball but fell to the fourth legitimate ball of the over to leave Malinga with career-best figures of six for 38.

Colombo: Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga became the first man to pick up two hat-tricks in World Cups when he skittled out three Kenyan tailenders in their Group A match on Tuesday.

Malinga, who missed his side's opening two matches with a sore back, fired back with 6-38 including the wickets of Tanmay Mishra (0), Peter Ongondo (0) and Shem Ngoche (0) with successive, full deliveries - the latter two clean bowled.

He finished with six for 38 as the Africans were dismissed for 142.

In 2007, Malinga grabbed four in a row against South Africa.

It is the second hat-trick of the 2011 World Cup after Kemar Roach took the last three Canadian wickets in West Indies' victory in Group B on Monday.