who will take this home????

we all wish it will come to Sri lanka!!!!!

All the best for our Sri Lankan team!!!!!

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene led by example as his century inspired his team to reach the World Cup final.

Jayawardene is hugged by his senior pro Sanath Jayasuriya

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene led by example as his century inspired his team to reach the World Cup final.

"After losing early wickets I knew I had to bat out the 50 overs and get a score on the board," he said, following the win over New Zealand.

Sri Lanka will now face either South Africa or Australia on Saturday.

"If you're going to win the World Cup you might as well beat the best so whoever comes along I'm sure our guys are confident enough."

Having lost to Australia in the semi-finals under the Duckworth-Lewis ruling four years ago, Jayawardene was pleased history did not repeat itself.

"We've been playing some really good cricket but the most important thing was for us to turn up for this game and stick to the basics, to bowl in good areas and bat in partnerships," he said.

"Even though it was a big game it was still a game of cricket, and all credit to the guys. We knew all about New Zealand and it was a tough game for us."

Bowling round the wicket helps me a lot, that's a tactic we use for right-handed batsmen because you can't see which way the ball is going Muttiah Muralitharan

Jayawardene, the man-of-the-match, was also pleased his side were able to post a good score despite the loss of Sanath Jayasuriya, who has scored two centuries in the tournament, for only a single.

"We've had a lot of belief in our batting and a lot of guys have chipped in," he said. "It's all about taking responsibility and getting the job done.

"Obviously Sanath missed out here but hopefully he can get a big one in the final."

"The hundred wasn't in my mind, I just wanted to bat the 50 overs and make sure I was still there at the end. A few shots connected, it was a pretty small ground, so everything went very well."

There was a marked contrast in the compilation of his innings, with 48 balls required to score his first boundary but his second fifty taking only 28 deliveries.

"The first fifty I was just just trying to survive, get singles, rotate the strike and build partnerships," he explained.

"[Tillakaratne] Dilshan changed the momentum of the whole set-up, he came in and got quick runs so there was less pressure on me.

"I thought I would wait until the 45th over and then see what I could do."

Sri Lankan supporters celebrate victory at Sabina Park

Jayawardene then had an inspired moment in the field as he brought on Dilshan to break the important partnership between Peter Fulton and Scott Styris.

"We can give the ball to a lot of guys, they have a lot of confidence in themselves," he said.

"I was just juggling around, I needed a wicket at that particular moment, I didn't want to use my strike bowlers up that early in the innings and Dilshan chipped in then we realised we could go through their innings.

"That's when Murali came in and obviously he's a great bowler and he got the job done."

The master spinner himself was seen beaming even more vigorously than usual at the start of play.

"I was confident because I thought this would be a turning wicket," he revealed, before paying tribute to his captain's sublime century.

"Mahela's innings was one of the most brilliant I have ever seen," he said.

Murali's four-wicket haul saw him overtake Australian veteran Glenn McGrath as the tournament's leading wicket-taker with 23 scalps.

"Bowling round the wicket helps me a lot, that's a tactic we use for right-handed batsmen because you can't see which way the ball is going."

The 34-year-old used his infamous doosra to good effect on several occasions and added: "People were ready for sweeping so I thought the doosra would get the top-edge."

Jayawardene timed his innings perfectly in Jamaica

Mahela Jayawardene's masterful maiden World Cup century led Sri Lanka into the World Cup final with an 81-run victory against New Zealand in Jamaica.

The captain took 48 balls to strike his first boundary but paced his ninth one-day century expertly.

Sri Lanka scored 102 runs from the final 10 overs to amass 289-5.

Peter Fulton and Scott Styris shared 73 but five wickets fell for 11 runs in four overs as the Kiwis suffered a fifth World Cup semi-final defeat.

New Zealand needed a sound start and a magnificent spell from charismatic paceman Lasith Malinga ensured they did not get one.

The Sri Lanka bowlers were aided by some cloud cover not evident when they batted, but exploited the conditions superbly.

Having nipped one back at pace to trap Stephen Fleming in the second over, Malinga produced a succession of unplayable leg cutters that Ross Taylor and Fulton could only smile wistfully at as the ball fizzed past the outside edge.

In partnership with the economical Chaminda Vaas they left the Kiwis in turmoil and the first boundary did not materialise until the ninth over.

There was a brief period of respite when Malinga was taken off after a spell of 1-5 from four overs and Dilhara Fernando replaced him.

In his first over Fernando was twice warned for running down the wicket by Rudi Koertzen and bowled three no-balls.

Styris, with a century and four fifties already to his name in the tournament, despatched him for two sixes.

Malinga returned and had him well caught for 17 at mid-on by Muttiah Muralitharan, but no-ball was called and Styris and Fulton recorded their 50 stand from as many deliveries.

With dark clouds beginning to close in around Sabina Park, Sri Lanka were relieved to reach 20 overs, the point at which a result could be determined.

Malinga's magnificent spell put New Zealand on the rack early on

At that stage, however, the partnership had taken New Zealand only two runs behind the required Duckworth-Lewis rate.

Occasional spinner Tillakaratne Dilshan was introduced in the 22nd over and made the decisive breakthrough with his fifth ball, Styris chipping to mid-wicket.

But few could have predicted the severity of the collapse that was to follow.

Murali managed to cling on to a return catch offered by Jacob Oram, while Brendon McCullum injudiciously top-edged a sweep next ball and was brilliantly caught by a diving Chamara Silva at square-leg.

Fulton's resistance ended in the next over and though Craig McMillan managed to swipe two sixes despite being severely hampered by a stomach muscle injury, the Black Caps were already at half-mast.

Last man Jeetan Patel launched Dilshan for a straight six in a final wicket stand of 59 from 10 overs but the Sri Lankans were not to be denied a place in the final for the first time since their memorable victory in 1996.

Jayawardene's day began well when he won the toss and quickly decided to bat first. With Stephen Fleming admitting he was also keen to bat first, it looked looked like being a significant factor.

But Sanath Jayasuriya looked back in disbelief in the third over after his attempt to turn a straight one from James Franklin failed and the middle stump was knocked back.

That counteracted some early success for Sri Lanka when Shane Bond, New Zealand's strike bowling weapon, struggled with his line and was glanced for two fours in his opening over by Upul Tharanga.

Bond was taken out of the attack after his four overs went for 18, Tharanga adopting a bold approach in the absence of Jayasuriya.

Kumar Sangakkara was dismissed when advancing down the wicket and mis-timing high off the bat to mid-on, while Tharanga's innings ended on 73 when he missed a sweep and was bowled around his legs.

Bond returned after 32 overs and had success, but the paceman was fortunate with a dubious decision.

Silva swept Vettori into the second tier at mid-wicket to give some impetus to the innings but was given lbw by Koertzen when replays showed a thick inside edge into his pad.

Jayawardene, who arrived at the crease in the 14th over, hooked a short one from Bond for four and was on 46 with 10 overs left in which to accelerate.

A magnificently struck straight drive off Oram disappeared into the sightscreen but Jayawardene's second six was due to a lapse from Bond at fine-leg.

Jayawardene, who failed to reach double figures in the 2003 World Cup, had made 69 when he swept a full toss from Patel, but Bond could only tip the ball onto the rope in an over costing 14.

The captain maintained the momentum, however, with cuts of contrasting power to the backward point fence off Franklin in the 47th over.

Two more boundaries in the penultimate over took him to three figures, his ninth one-day century recorded in style with a textbook square cut.

There was more to come in the final over from a rattled Bond, Jayawardene hooking a full toss for his third six as he and Russel Arnold raced to a 50 stand from 26 balls to leave the Kiwis firmly on the back foot.

When Sabina woke up to Mahela

April 25, 2007

Mahela Jayawardene shed his inhibitions and unveiled a stunning repertoire of strokes © Getty Images

It takes a lot to impress them here at Sabina Park. Many of the locals who came through the turnstiles were weaned on some of the game's all-time greats. Some were here in 1983, when Viv Richards hit a violent 36-ball 61 to transform a dying Test into an improbable triumph, and those whose memories stretch back further can recall the silken strokeplay of Lawrence Rowe. So when they started purring towards the end of Mahela Jayawardene's innings, you knew you were watching something special.

At the lunch break, the word most used to illustrate his unbeaten 115 was "sweet", but those who uttered it didn't use it as you would to describe a tasty-but-insubstantial dessert. They were marvelling at his range of strokes, the impeccable timing, and an ability to find the gaps that is the preserve of the truly exceptional.

A cursory look at Jayawardene's one-day figures suggests an underachiever, and he would be the first to admit that translating immense talent into innings that matter hasn't always been easy. It perhaps didn't help that he was always marked out for greatness, or that people back home saw him as the successor to Aravinda de Silva, the shotmaker extraordinaire and hero of the 1996 triumph.

Too often a pretty cameo would be cut short by a lackadaisical stroke and the nadir was reached at the last World Cup, when his seven visits to the crease fetched him just 21 runs. His dismissal, caught behind off Brad Hogg, encapsulated Sri Lanka's limp surrender in that Port Elizabeth semi-final and you could scarcely blame him for a jittery start when he arrived at the crease on Tuesday morning.

"We were anxious and nervous," he said later. "Till I faced my first ball, it was hard to get the butterflies out of the stomach." The difference this time was that he went into the game with 414 runs to his name and three innings that had showcased a special talent.

As he had against West Indies in Guyana, he started extremely cautiously, weighing up the opposition bowling, sussing out the pitch and doing little more than tap the odd ball into the gap. At Sabina Park, as he had at Providence, he scored only 22 off the first 50 balls he faced. This though was a World Cup semi-final, and there was no Sanath Jayasuriya at the other end to tear the bowlers apart while he played himself in.

A sweep was played with such precision that the fielders running from deep square leg and fine leg nearly collided, and other shots dragged the fielders all the way to the rope before mocking them by crossing it

Chamara Silva and Tillakaratne Dilshan helped create some mid-innings momentum, but it was clear that Jayawardene would have to apply the finishing touches. And even though Stephen Fleming brought Shane Bond back into the attack with a view to a quick kill, it was the Sri Lankan batsmen who suddenly started to float like butterflies and sting like bees.

In a manner befitting the local legend Rowe - "There was no shot that I couldn't play" - Jayawardene shed his inhibitions and unveiled a stunning repertoire of strokes. A precise straight loft and a disdainful mow over midwicket had the crowd in raptures, but it was the delicate touches, the tickle to fine leg and the twirl of the wrist that sent the ball speeding to third man, that made him look a class apart from every other batsman in the game. A sweep was played with such precision that the fielders running from deep square leg and fine leg nearly collided, and other shots dragged the fielders all the way to the rope before mocking them by crossing it.

It was the sort of innings that defines a career. "I'd probably put this right at the top," he said. "This was a World Cup semi-final." In truth, it's hard to see how he could have played it a couple of years ago. At the press conference, Jayawardene talked of how he had benefited from the responsibilities of captaincy, and a coach who combined an amiable exterior with a tough-love approach. "Tom [Moody] has definitely pushed me to the limits," he said. "He's not happy when I'm cruising." It's a measure of the man's humility - and that applies to most of his team-mates as well - that he took chastisement in the right spirit instead of spitting the dummy like other cricketers from the subcontinent.

We all know where they ended up. As for Sri Lanka, they are where they always wanted to be. "This was a big hurdle for us to jump, but we're there now," Jayawardene said. "We've been preparing for that day for some time." The identity of the opposition doesn't bother him much. Regardless of whether it's Australia, the deserving candidates, or South Africa, the back-door entrants, Sri Lanka will have to deal with a fast and bouncy Barbados pitch.

The captain, who led with such imagination in the field, isn't intimidated. "To win the World Cup, you have to beat the best," he said simply. It helps to have gnarled old hands on board, hands that have previously touched the game's greatest prize. And though only Muttiah Muralitharan, Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas remain from that celebrated bunch, Jayawardene was in no doubt as to how much his crew owed to Arjuna Ranatunga's world-beaters.

"The '96 guys changed the face of Sri Lankan cricket completely," he said. "They paved the way for us. Those guys went through a lot of hardships, and we're reaping the rewards for that." The biggest harvest awaits on Saturday.

Jayawardene propels Sri Lanka into final

April 24, 2007 22:01 IST

Sri Lanka turned in a fine all-round performance to beat New Zealand by 81 runs and storm into the final of the World Cup on Tuesday.

Powered by a brilliant century from their captain Mahela Jayawardene in the first semi-final at Sabina Park, Jamaica, the 1996 champions posted 289 for 5 and then bowled out the Kiwis for 208 in the 42nd over to condemn them to their fifth World Cup semi-final defeat.

In Saturday's final in Bridgetown, Barbados, Sri Lanka will face either Australia or South Africa, who meet in Wednesday's second semi-final.

Muthiah Muralitharan was Sri Lanka's wrecker-in-chief, claiming four wickets for 31 runs which broke the back of the New Zealand batting.

Sri Lanka innings:

Two champions with impeccable credentials showed, at the start of the first of the death games in this World Cup, why it is not going to be about skill, or form, or experience; why nerves, more than any of the other factors, will finally dictate how the last phase of this World Cup will play out.

As early as the 3rd over, James Franklin served up the sort of ball Sanath Jayasuriya has built an entire career on: full in length, around or just outside off, moving in just a touch; everything in the slot for the southpaw to go forward and flick, off his pads and over the square leg-midwicket region he so favors.

Jayasuriya went forward, he flicked. Improbably, he missed. And seemingly in shock, he spun around to check the disarray his stumps were in (1/6; 13/1).

From the moment he walked out after Mahela Jayawardene won the toss and opted to bat first, Jayasuriya looked tight; tense; burdened seemingly by the weight of the team's expectations and, perhaps, his own. And a shot he has played in his sleep (I don't know, I'd lay good odds that a high proportion of his 1317 ODI fours and 238 sixes have come with that shot) misfired, just when he needed it.

At the other end was Shane Bond - consistently brilliant for the Kiwis throughout this tournament. His first spells thus far have been characterized by great pace, immaculate control, and the sort of late movement that has made life hell for batsmen of the highest class. Those spells have made him the Kiwis' enforcer - the man who creates such unimaginable pressure at one end, that his lesser partners are enabled to fire at the other.

Precisely those qualities seemed to desert him here: Bond's first spell had all the earmarks of a man groping in the dark for something - a torch, a bottle of water - he knows is within easy reach, but cannot find. Bowling seemingly in a fog, Bond overpitched, pitched too short, went down leg, went wide of off - and outside of the last ball of his first over, that got all elements just right to beat Upul Tharanga's outer edge, seemed a shadow of the bowler he's proved himself in this competition.

Then again, if the champions misfired, the first semifinal has thus far given a platform for lesser lights to step up. Again, one player on either side did just that: Tharanga for the Lankans, and James Franklin for the Kiwis.

In 9 previous visits to the crease in course of the Cup, Tharanga has managed just 219 runs. To compound the problem, those runs have come at a strike rate of under 65 rpo - neither the aggregate, nor the rate of scoring, really falling in with the Lankan game plan.

Today, he fired. He started with two flicks to fine leg off Bond; from there on he cut, drove with ease and absolute grace, he flicked, and no matter the lines or the field setting, kept finding the boundaries with almost ridiculous ease.

There were the odd near-mishaps - edges that flashes past slip and point; inner edges that flashed past the stumps; a drive that was airborne for that heartbeat too long, though not long enough to find the fielder. But that is the nature of opening in today's game, and Tharanga's near misses were not serious enough to dampen the batsman in flight.

For the Kiwis, Franklin put it all together to near perfection. He has 11 wickets from nine games coming into this match; and hasn't been as tight and economical as Fleming might have wished - but today, he was perfect: immaculate line, perfect length and variation, and just enough late seam to keep the batsmen from going after him.

Kumar Sangakkara, hugely influential behind with wickets but not as much in front of it for the Lankans in this tournament, started off quietly, seeming content to let Tharanga fire while he focused on batting long. Nothing wrong with that strategy, but if that was his preferred plan, it defeated logic for him, in the 14th over, to come down the track and play the sort of casual waft at a Franklin delivery that picked out Fleming at mid on in the softest of dismissals (18/42; 67/2).

It was a strange innings from a batsman who is normally good to watch - he neither got the range and timing on his shots, nor managed to roll the strike over often enough to let his partner do the heavy lifting. When he was out, for instance, Sangakkara had played 41 deliveries while Tharanga, who had faced 9 before Sangakkara came out to bat, had only faced a further 23; against that, Tharanga had scored 30 to Sangakkara's 18.

Mahela Jayawardene, who has towards the latter half of this tournament batted himself back into decent form, went the Sangakkara way - he was neither fluent with his shots, nor smart in his ability to roll the strike over.

The captain's comatose play has had the additional effect of dampening Tharanga's ardor. Well, almost - the batsman, shortly after bringing up his 50 (51 balls, 8 fours), went skipping down the track to pick Vettori on length, and loft him effortlessly over the long off boundary for the first six of the innings; cleverly, he then waited for the shorter length, laid back, and cut a brace behind point before ending the over with an educated outer edge down to third man for four more.

The Lankans had come dangerously close to being becalmed during the 15-20 over mark (just 15 runs were scored in that period) but as the innings approached its halfway mark, seemed to be picking up the pace again, with more determined hitting and very quick running between wickets.

At the toss, Jayawardene pointed out that the wicket seemed to not have the pace pre-match punditry suggested it would; he felt too that it would take spin as the game wore on. Stephen Fleming, who said he would have liked to have batted had he called right, appears to agree - the Kiwis have gone into this game with the extra spinner in Jeeten Patel, in place of the additional pace of Michael Mason.

Fleming used his bowlers well, taking Bond off early after a first spell of 4-1-18-0; giving the impressive Franklin an extended spell, split down the middle for a change of ends (8-1-33-2); using Jacob Oram, who with his height can create disconcerting bounce off good length (7-0-30-0) to help Franklin keep a tight grip on things during the power plays, and as soon as the field restrictions were off, paired his two spinners together to take the pace right off the game.

A hidden problem for Fleming will likely surface in the second half: Scott Styris has some kind of injury to his right hand. The fingers are strapped; the area around it clearly appears to be swollen, and he has been very ginger in the field. How it will affect his batting remains to be seen; it looks highly unlikely, though, that he can do his full part with the ball.

The key to the second half of the innings could well lie with Bond: if he can come back and find his radar, at a time when the ball begins reversing, he will give Fleming the trump card he needs.

The Kiwis had a couple of run out chances; though the ground fielding remained good, the fielding side somehow seemed to miss that extra edge - and Dead Eye Dick accuracy -- Lou Vincent brings to the close cordon.

The way the pitch is playing just now (Patel was already getting the odd ball to really `go'), Sri Lanka will likely be happy with 240 or thereabouts on the board to defend. To get there, Tharanga will need to make the most of this innings, and Jayawardene will need to keep him company at least up to the 35-over mark, so the Dilshans and Chamara Silvas can come out and play with freedom.

Progression: 1-25 overs

5 overs: 19/1 @ 4.75 (Upul Tharanga 11/14; Kumar Sangakkara 4/4)

10 overs: 46/1 @ 4.60 (Tharanga 25/20; Sangakkara 13/37)

15 overs: 69/2 @ 4.60 (Tharanga 41/39; Mahela Jayawardene 0/7)

20 overs: 84/2 @ 4.20 (Tharanga 49/50; Jayawardene 6/26)

25 overs: 111/2 @ 4.44 (Tharanga 73/73; Jayawardene 9/33)

Overs 26-50

Two `duh!' moments defined Sri Lanka's progress through the middle overs.

The first was Upul Tharanga's. Having batted superbly from the start of his innings, sussed out the wicket, conditions and bowlers and gotten to that point in the innings where he should have been looking to cash in, the southpaw gave it all way in a moment of madness.

Daniel Vettori, unable to get the sort of traction and turn Jeetan Patel was getting, had resorted to bowling quick and flat to keep the runs down. To one such ball, full and on the stumps, Tharanga moved so far across his stumps looking to sweep, he exposed his stumps and was bowled behind his back (73/74; 111/3).

If Tharanga knee-capped himself, Chamara Silva was assassinated by Rudi Koertzen who, with 174 games, is the most experienced umpire in the field.

Bond had come back in the 33rd over; in the 35th, he bowled one on a fullish length angling in from outside off. Silva looked to play on the on side, but managed only a thick - real thick - inside edge onto his pads.

Bond's appeal was more in hope than expectation; powered, perhaps, by the frustration of things not going his way on the big day. Koertzen thought about it for a few heart beats - and up went the finger, in one of the silliest decisions of this Cup. Not only was the edge clearly visible to the naked eye, umpires for this Cup have been fitted with earpieces to pick up such sounds, and the edge sounded out with bell-like clarity even on the stump microphones (21/36; 152/4).

Silva was the one who, while his captain seemed intent on keeping his wicket intact, looked to get a move on; his getting a bum decision was a setback to Lanka's progress.

The two wickets seemed to have sharpened Jayawardene's focus - with Dilshan coming out and batting in his usual bustling fashion, the Lankan captain began opening up, batting with greater freedom and adding the lofted drives to his alphabet of taps and nudges and the occasional short arm pulls that he had been relying on till then.

The Lankan captain played a couple of lovely lofted drives for four, and in the 44th, stepped further up the gears with a superb straight loft, a seemingly effortless push that sailed the ball over the straight fence, for six.

Around this period, the Kiwis began to feel the pressure - and to unravel. Hamish Marshall missed yet another in a series of run out chances that punctuated the Lankan innings; to the very next ball, from Patel, Jayawardene slog swept and Shane Bond capped a very ordinary day by making a total mess of it at deep third man. For starters, the fielder was not back on the line; he then made the added mistake of first coming in as the shot was hit; realizing he was going in the wrong direction, he jumped instead of back-pedaling, and finally ended up palming the ball onto the rope for six.

With Dilshan cleverly nudging the last ball of that over to the third man fence, Sri Lanka was beginning to motor. 14 runs came in the over; 46 came in the period between 41-45. And just when everything looked in place for the assault, came the second ridiculous decision of the game.

Oram bowled one from very wide in the crease, the angle clearly taking it down the leg side. Dilshan attempted to paddle, missed, and was hit on the pad - the strike, on the front pad, in front of leg stump. There was no way, on that angle, that ball could have hit another two stumps placed after the leg stump, but Simon Taufel - according to the players themselves, the best of current umpires -- this time raised the finger to cut short an innings that was breezing along at better than a run a ball, and terminating an 80-run partnership at a healthy 7.5 rpo that threatened to put wings under the Sri Lankan innings (30/27; 233/5)

The final phase of the Lankan innings was a master-class from Jayawardene. When occasion afforded, he was classical; when he needed to, he was innovative, even cheeky; either way, he was incredibly effective, repeatedly finding the boundary despite the best efforts of Fleming with his field settings, and the desperate dives of the fielders. The shot selection was immaculate, the placement so sure it was as if his bat was radar-powered.

It was classic acceleration: his 25 had come off a very slow 54 balls; his 50 in 78 - and from there, he raced to his hundred, with a cute paddle off Oram for four, a crisp pull for two, a blast through point for four more, to get to his 103 off 104 balls. A captain's innings, if ever there was one - he was calm throughout, in total control, seemingly unworried by his slow run rate during the first half of his innings; he timed his acceleration brilliantly, and made the difference between a par score, and a potentially winning one.

The 50 of the partnership came off 26 balls, but Arnold really had nothing to do but enjoy the show. Having gotten to his century in the 49th over, and retained strike with a single, Jayawardene greeted Bond in the final over with a cracking square cut off a short, wide delivery for four; Bond responded with a wide down the off side and when he re-bowled the ball, Jayawardene stepped into it, took it on the full, and lofted it over the midwicket fence for six. When a lofted drive ended in a single, Arnold took over, moving across his stumps and pulling a ball going outside off through square leg for four. A single took Sri Lankan to 289/5 - the slof phase producing 102 runs for the loss of one wicket, the final five producing 56 runs in a withering assault.

There was little joy for the New Zealanders in the field, and with the ball, today. The standard of fielding was several percentage points below the usual standard; the bowling largely uninspired.

Franklin was the best during the early phase, but couldn't put it together at the death and had to be taken off with one over unbowled; Bond went for 59 runs, for the one wicket courtesy Koertzen. Oram couldn't rein the runs in either, going for sixty; Patel and Vettori were all good in the first spells and ordinary at the death - and Fleming's problems were exacerbated by Styris' injury, which allowed him to bowl just one over, and McMillan, who was off the field with some sort of stomach-muscle injury.

The one point in New Zealand's favor is that they have, in the recent past, chased down big scores with aplomb. With a finals berth to gain and nothing to lose, they could go ballistic - but to do that, they will first have to get over the tremendous mental low their performance with the ball and in the field has cast over them.

Progression: 26-50 overs

30 overs: 129/3 @ 4.30 (Jayawardene 17/47; Chamara Silva 9/15)

35 overs: 154/4 @ 4.40 (Jayawardene 28/57; Dilshan 1/2)

40 overs: 187/4 @ 4.67 (Jayaywardene 46/74; Dilshan 16/15)

45 overs: 233/4 @ 5.17 (Jayawardene 77/93; Dilshan 30/26)

50 overs: 289/5 @ 5.78 (Jayawardene 115/109; Arnold 14/14)

New Zealand innings

An incredible spell of ferocious fast bowling by Lasith Malinga set the tone for the chase.

The little quick ran in like a destructive whirlwind, slinging them down through the corridor with amazing accuracy and on perfect length; Stephen Fleming managed to resist only two deliveries before succumbing to the third.

To make a fist of the chase, the Kiwis needed Fleming to fire. Malinga played extinguisher, though, with a delivery that landed off and jagged in at high speed. Fleming faced to spot the movement inwards, was beaten on a hesitant prod, and Koertzen this time had no problems on the appeal (1/4; 2/1).

Then came a period of play in which Malinga bowled, Sangakkara gathered with varying degrees of difficulty and, sandwiched between the two and unsure what he was doing there, Peter Fulton just shook his head and smiled ruefully.

An involuntary outer edge, which fell just short of Russel Arnold at slip, was the first run taken off Malinga by the bat - and that came off the 11th delivery he bowled. But throughout the opening exchanges, runs were aberrations - after the first six overs, Malinga's figures read 3-1-5-1 and Vaas was going 3-1-3-0.

It was in the eighth over, when Vaas finally bowled one wide of off, that a batsman - Taylor - managed to lay bat on ball with enough vigor to find the boundary.

Where most captains would have been tempted to keep Malinga on, Jayawardene took him off after just four overs and brought Dilhara Fernando on - and finally, the batsmen managed to get a look in. Fernando over-stepped twice in the first over; worse, he was twice warned by umpire Koertzen for running on the wicket.

A third warning would have been fatal, therefore Fernando was forced to go around the wicket, further reducing his efficiency.

Vaas, in the middle of a very long spell, struck in the 11th over when Taylor, who had repeatedly been turned inside out by Malinga and was clearly feeling the pressure, tried a hoick across the line. The batsman missed; the ball hit the pad, and umpire Taufel ruled the batsman out, though Hawkeye indicated later that the ball may not have come back off the seam enough to hit the off stump (9/25; 32/2).

The decision was not quite as obvious as the ones the umpires got wrong in the Lankan innings, but clearly, the two officials were feeling the pressure as much as the players.

Scott Styris walked out in his usual position, and from the way he started off, with two emphatic boundaries followed by a huge loft over long off when Fernando bowled the fuller length, it was clear that whatever was wrong with his fingers, it wasn't enough to affect his batting. With Styris providing the acceleration, New Zealand finally looked like getting a bit of a move on.

Jayawardene brought Malinga back for a second spell and the move almost worked. To a delivery that wwas very quick and very full, Styris looked to flick off his pads, but managed only to scoop it up towards mid on. Muralitharan raced around, dived, and held a superb catch - only to find the umpire standing with his arm out for the no ball.

Muralitharan came on in the 17th over, initially staying over the wicket to the right handed Fulton. The third ball was the doosra, beating the batsman who was looking to play with the spin - the edge flew through where a slip should have been standing.

Malinga was again removed, after just the one over; Fernando was brought back, with a change of ends probably to get him away from Koertzen's end. The move back-fired, spectacularly: the first ball was a no ball that Styris walked into and blasted back over the bowler's head, for a huge straight six.

Clearly aware the back-up seam bowler was low on confidence, the Kiwis then went after Fernando, with Fulton ending the over with a superbly flicked six off his pads, moving into the shot nicely to reduce the angle on the right hand bowler bowling round the wicket. The over, the 19th of the innings, produced 20 runs and the Kiwis had clawed back into the game.

Fulton, who had kept smiling in increasing embarrassment as the first 11 balls he faced of Malinga's managed just one touch, picked up on the momentum generated by Styris; in the 20th over, he showed off electric footwork, picking a Murali doosra, skipping down the track and hitting beautifully over the straight field for six.

Jayawardene rejigged his game plan and tried to slow the game down; removing his attacking bowlers, he replaced them with Jayasuriya and Dilshan. The move proved inspired: Styris, in a bid to keep the momentum going, looked to chip Dilshan over the infield, misread the flight and turn on the ball, and Jayawardene at short midwicket timed his jump to a nicety to grab a crucial catch (37/38; 105/3).

The Lankan skipper, who has been growing in that role through this tournament, then produced a master-stroke: he took Dilshan out of the attack after that wicket-taking over and brought back Murali, to attack Oram. The bowler went round the wicket, the batsman was unsure whether the ball was a doosra or a regulation off break; his hesitant push saw Murali dive forward, and sideways, to take a stunner (3/4; 114/4).

That was a prelude. Brendan McCullum walked in ahead of Craig McMillan, went down on one knee to the first ball he faced and looked to sweep; the doosra caught the top edge and Chamara Silva, at backward square raced headlong to his left, then went airborne as the ball dropped in front of him, to pull off a catch fuelled entirely by adrenalin (0/1; 114/5).

The next over produced another wicket - Jayasuriya bowled just back of length, Fulton looked to come on the front foot and play on the on, but played too early and got the leading edge

At the end of 21 overs, the Kiwis were looking good, on 103/2 (Sri Lanka, at that point, was 83/2). 21 deliveries later, the chasing side had lost four wickets for 12 runs - and the game, as a contest, was over; there was just Craig McMillan, with an injury and a runner, and the tail between Sri Lanka and a place in the finals.

To add an additional edge, Muralitharan begins the 26th over of the innings on a hat-trick.

Progression: 1-25 overs

5 overs: 10/1 @ 2.00 (Peter Fulton 5/19; Ross Taylor 0/7)

10 overs: 30/1 @ 3.00 (Fulton 14/36; Taylor 8/23)

15 overs: 52/2 @ 3.46 (Fulton 23/50; Styris 8/14)

20 overs: 100/2 @ 5.00 (Fulton 39/67; Styris 34/30)

25 overs: 115/6 @ 115/6 (McMillan 1/1; Vettori 0/3)

The first half of the chase had killed the contest.

Only the last rites remained, and they were administered swiftly, with brutal efficiency. In the 26th over, Murali sent down yet another doosra; Vettori pushed at it like he was poking at a snake with a stick, missed, and was rapped on the pad in front (0/4; 116/7).

Craig McMillan, in obvious pain, made a statement of sorts, hoisting Jayasuriya high over midwicket for six, then whipping the next ball through fine leg for four. Four overs later, in the 31st, he went after the bowler again, stepping to leg, getting under a straight ball and smashing it like a forehand down the line in tennis, high over the bowler's head for six more.

Jayasuriya adjusted; anticipating an encore, he fired the next ball in fuller, and quicker, to beat the flailing bat and crash into leg stump (25/20; 144/8).

In the next over, Murali got a wicket with an off break for a change. It pitched off, broke back, went through the gap between bat and pad, and cleaned out Bond's middle stump (2/4; 249/9).

Franklin and Patel then produced a last wicket stand that underlined that the demons were all in the minds of the Kiwis, not on the pitch. Sri Lanka, too, seemed to go off the boil a bit, here, with some ragged bowling and indifferent fielding.

The last wicket put on 52 at a run a ball, heading into the slog. At the end of 40 overs, New Zealand needed another 95 runs off 60 deliveries. More significantly, its score was 195/9 - against Sri Lanka's 187/4 at a similar point in its innings.

Clearly, losing wickets in a heap was what hurt the chase - and for that, the inability of any one of the New Zealand batsmen to focus on batting through, as Jayawardene had done, was the single biggest reason.

Dilshan - who triggered the Kiwi slide with the wicket of Styris - ended the resistance when Patgel failed to control a drive down the ground, and holed out to Fernando at long on (34/38; Franklin not out 30/38; New Zealand 208 all out), to give Sri Lanka an 82-run victory and passage to the final.

As performances go, it was a story of opposites: Sri Lanka got it right in every single department and the Kiwis got it wrong every time; Jayawardene didn't put a foot wrong with the bat or in the field; Fleming - the most storied of World Cup skippers - couldn't get the best out of his bowlers and managed just 1 with the bat; Bond was completely ineffective, his Lankan counterpart Malinga was totally unplayable; Vettori went for 51 and got one wicket in 10 largely ineffective overs, while Muralitharan added another four to his total.

It was a surprising implosion from the hitherto fluent Kiwis; Sri Lanka, meanwhile, upped their game several notches when they needed to, and go into the final looking like the one team capable of giving the Australians a fight - when the Aussies get there, that is.

Progression:

30 overs: 138/7 @ 4.60 (McMillan 19/18; Franklin 5/12)

35 overs: 165/9 @ 4.71 (Franklin 12/21; Patel 11/15)

40 overs: 195/9 @ 4.87 (Patel 24/30; Franklin 28/36).

N Zealand v S Lanka

STEPHEN FLEMING v CHAMINDA VAAS

Fleming is the man the Kiwis look to for leadership and a positive start when batting, and after a sticky spell earlier this year he has found some form at this tournament.

An unbeaten 102 against Bangladesh and three half centuries have helped him amass 352 runs in nine games. However, he is vulnerable against top-class bowlers who can move the ball through the air or off the seam early on.

Vaas may have lost a bit of pace but he is one of the canniest operators around and causes the very best batsmen problems, particularly by swinging the ball in. He has been miserly in the Caribbean and taken 14 wickets in eight games.

Fleming has had no end of problems against him recently, dismissed for a duck on the last four occasions their paths have crossed. In fact, Vaas has dismissed him more often (11 times) than any other bowler in one-day internationals.

SCOTT STYRIS v MUTTIAH MURALITHARAN

New Zealanders claim they play Muralitharan as well as anyone but, statistically, at least, they have come unstuck on many an occasion against him.

The master off-spinner is the joint-second leading wicket-taker in the World Cup with 19 victims and tied the Kiwis in knots again last week.

But one man stood tall against him, the doggedly defiant Styris, who has proved tough to shift for opponents.

Solid rather than spectacular, he is arguably in the form of his life in terms of one-day cricket and, apart from Fleming, represents New Zealand's best hopes of posting a competitive total.

SANATH JAYASURIYA v SHANE BOND

Jayasuriya, the most capped ODI player of all time (388 games) might be in the autumn of his career but he has lost none of his ability to take on bowlers early on and get his side off to a flyer.

The 37-year-old thrashed a magnificent 115 against West Indies, one of two centuries in this tournament, during which he has scored 403 runs at just over a run a ball.

He thrives on width and is ruthless with anything short but Bond, with his 12 wickets at a remarkable average of 12.83 and a fantastic economy rate of 2.58 runs per over, has been giving virtually nothing away in this competition.

The injury-prone Kiwi has dropped a bit of pace but has compensated for that with nagging accuracy and even Jayasuriya treated him circumspectly last week in Grenada.

MAHELA JAYAWARDENE v DANIEL VETTORI

Jayawardene has shown his attacking attitude in his captaincy and batting, providing along with Jayasuriya a big proportion of his team's runs.

One of the most technically correct batsmen around, he has barely looked troubled at the crease and is an expert at nudging spinners around.

But Vettori, who won their personal duel in Grenada by inducing a false stroke, is one of the most intelligent cricketers in the world and just the sort of opponent who can keep Jayawardene in check.

His clever variations on slower wickets have made him very difficult to get away but he has taken some hammer in the last two games against South Africa and Australia.

Along with Shane Bond, he is critical to New Zealand's chances of restricting the aggressive Sri Lankans and will need to recover his poise by Tuesday.

On a lively Sabina Park pitch, this clash could set the tone for the rest of the game.

Jayasuriya faces pressure at the top

April 19, 2007 16:01 IST

Starting today, we're bringing back all the 2007 World Cup players in the most valuable player (MVP) list. We will also order the list based on total points.

Sanath Jayasuriya is still the top-ranked player with 699 points. But he faces stiff competition from Scott Styris (695), Jacques Kallis (670), Graeme Smith (658) and Matthew Hayden (641). Muttiah Muralitharan (538) and Ricky Ponting (511) aren't too far behind.

With just six World Cup games to go, the race to become the MVP is tantalizingly poised.

Rank	Country	Player	Runs	Balls	Ct | St	Rc	Bb	W	Run Outs	M	Total
1	SL	Sanath Jayasuriya	403	402	3	212	320	5	1.5	9	699.40
2	NZ	Scott Styris	435	538	3	184	276	8	0.5	8	695.40
3	SA	Jacques Kallis	480	569	3	251	336	5	0.5	9	669.60
4	SA	Graeme Smith	441	419	7	152	150	4	0.5	9	657.80
5	Aus	Matthew Hayden	477	437	5				0.5	8	641.40
6	SL	Muttiah Muralitharan	3	3	4	276	418	19	0.0	8	538.00
7	SA	AB De Villiers	357	335	5				2.0	9	519.00
8	Aus	Ricky Ponting	414	428	5				0.0	8	510.60
9	Aus	Glenn McGrath	0	0	0	272	357	20	0.5	8	505.60
10	Aus	Brad Hogg	45	21	3	260	378	15	0.0	8	490.60
11	NZ	Jacob Oram	162	227	5	192	315	9	1.5	8	479.40
12	SL	Mahela Jayawardene	414	516	3				1.0	9	454.20
13	NZ	Daniel Vettori	24	21	2	336	466	15	0.0	8	438.00
14	NZ	Shane Bond	0	0	3	154	358	12	0.0	7	435.40
15	Aus	Adam Gilchrist	302	325	5 | 4				1.0	8	433.00
16	Eng	Paul Collingwood	270	357	6	252	300	5	1.5	8	428.40
17	Aus	Nathan Bracken	0	0	2	182	328	14	0.0	7	426.40
18	SA	Andrew Hall	25	30	2	292	417	14	0.5	8	425.60
19	SL	Chaminda Vaas	23	18	3	207	370	12	0.0	8	423.60
20	Aus	Michael Clarke	319	321	4	63	72	0	0.5	8	407.80
21	Eng	Andrew Flintoff	77	120	3	239	355	12	0.0	7	406.00
22	SA	Herschelle Gibbs	303	324	7				1.0	9	405.80
23	SL	Lasith Malinga	2	9	2	214	260	15	0.5	6	372.80
24	Aus	Shaun Tait	0	0	1	354	375	16	1.5	8	371.00
25	NZ	Stephen Fleming	340	396	1				0.0	8	368.20

Ct: Catches taken | St: Stumpings | Rc: Runs conceded | Bb: Balls bowled | W: Wickets taken | M: Matches played.*Run outs are counted as 1 for a direct hit, and 0.5 if the player is an equal participant in a run out dismissal.

The Chernoff gallery of the top nine World Cup 2007 players appears below. The data below the face is in the following format: total points | total runs / strike rate | wickets / economy rate.

There are three Australians, two Sri Lankans, three South Africans and one New Zealander in this list. It is very likely that one of these will go on to become the MVP.

Here are the faces of the nine highest scoring batsmen in the Super Eights (batting points | total runs / scoring rate). If two players have scored the same number of runs, the player with the higher points appears first.

Recall that batsmen have round faces and a short and wide nose. They smile more when they score more runs. Batting all-rounders have taller noses, and their faces that aren't so round.

Batsmen scoring more runs appear higher in this photo gallery.

We are also giving the total batting points of these nine players (remember that the total points are obtained by adding the batting, bowling and fielding points). Kallis, for example, has 505 batting points out of 670.

Here are the faces of the nine highest wicket-taking bowlers in the Super Eights (bowling points | wickets / no. of runs conceded per over). If two players have scored the same number of wickets, the player with the higher points appears first.

Bowlers have tapered faces, a tall and thin nose, and bigger ears if they take more wickets.

Bowlers taking more wickets appear higher in this gallery.

Notice that 494 out of McGrath's 506 points are for his bowling contributuions.

Here are the faces of the nine most successful fielders in the Super Eight ( fielding points | run outs / catches / stumpings).

Fielders who take a lot of catches have wide eyebrows (see "McCullum" or "Sangakkara"), and those that participate in run out dismissals have bigger eyes ("Vincent").