Story The Lankan Lions' Journey|Australians collapse...(First 10 overs)

[Gorro_124]

Nice Presentation man!! I would have been good if Chandimal was in for Sanath..

 

[Bounce]

Pitch Report and Pre - Match Presentation
Third ODI: India vs Sri Lanka, Chennai

Pitch Report with Ravi Shastri

​

"Its been raining since yesterday night at the Chepauk stadium in Chennai. The pitch is very wet, looks quite damp out there. I wonder whether a cricket match would be possible on such a pitch. Hoping for the best, if a match takes place, the team which bowls first will have the early advantage. Batting will become very difficult with low bounce on such on a wicket. I predict that the D/L method will come into play and the team batting second will have less pressure compared to the one who bats first."

Pre - match presentation with Archana Vijaya

"Its really sad that the rain Gods haven't listened the prayers of the Cricket fans this time. The rain doesn't seem to stop and all we can do is just hope for the rains to certainly disappear. The pitch is so wet that even if the rain stops right now, the game will be begin 2 hours later than the scheduled time. This makes it clear that how difficult it looks for a match to take place. I just hope that we get to see at least a 20 over match, so that the cricket fans who have turned up in such large numbers at the ground don't go disappointed. Stay tuned for more news.
Chao"

 

[Bounce]

Match Called Off
Third ODI: India vs Sri Lanka, Chennai​

Unfortunately, the rain doesn't seem to stop and by having a detailed look at the pitch and the ground, umpires Simon Taufel and Asad Rauf call the match off. The three match ODI series between India and Sri Lanka is won by the Lankan Lions, 2-0.
The match being called off is a loss to the Sri Lankan team as they wished to test the bench strength out there. Nonetheless, the confidence of this team looks very high after defeating India in India. Now, they get a ample of time to take some rest before going to Australia.

The odds are in the favor of Sri Lanka for their tour to Australia as they have won the the ODI series against India pretty convincingly coupled with a shameful series for Australia against England recently.

The grounds men with the covers on

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Presentation Ceremony
3 match ODI series : India vs Sri Lanka​

It was an amazing tournament for the Cricket fans. Although we could see just two ODIs, but both of them were nail - biters and the results was unpredictable till the last ball.
For the Indian team, the positives would be the form of Virender Sehwag and Pragyan Ojha. No other player could actually make an impact in the two ODIs.
For the Lankan Lions, nothing went wrong. Dilshan, Sangakkara and Mahela, all looked in top form. Muralitharan, Mendis, Mathews and Kulasekara are also in good touch. Quite convincing series at the end for the Lankans.

The tournament was completely owned by Dilshan. 40 odd runs in the first match followed by a 161 in the second one makes him the Player of the Tournament.

Tillakartne Dilshan with the man of the series trophy​

At the end, one must admit that the Lankans completely outplayed the Indians. They deserved to win the tournament. Sri Lanka was good in all the three departments, batting, bowling and fielding. The skipper Kumar Sangakkara too was very wise in his decisions. All these factors eventually led to victory of Sri Lanka in the ODI series. Sri Lanka won the tournament 2-0.

Kumar Sangakkara helds the winning trophy of the 3 match ODI series.​

​

 

[Viral Shah]

Rain Rain Everywere

 

[Bounce]

Muttiah Muralitharan announces retirement

Muttiah Muralitharan, the world's highest wicket taker announced his retirement today. It came as a huge shock to the entire Cricketing world. Murali said that he would be retiring from all forms of the games. However, he also mentioned that if his team needs him for the 2011 WC, he will be ready to provide his services.
Muralitharan was looking in top form these days. He had a good ODI series against India, and therefore, his decision to finally quit cricket is a huge surprise.
No replacement for him will be sent to Australia for the ODI series is what SLC said.

Records​

1. The highest number of international wickets in Tests and ODIs combined. 1307 wickets.
2. The most 10-wicket hauls in a match at Test level (20). He is the only player to take 10 wickets/match against every Test playing nation.
3. The most 5-wicket hauls in an innings at Test level (60).
4. Fastest to 350, 400, 450, 500, 550, 600, 650 and 700 Test wickets, in terms of matches played.
5. Only player to take 10 wickets in a Test in four consecutive matches. Murali has achieved this feat twice.
6. Only player to take 50 or more wickets against every Test playing nation.
7. Muralitharan and Jim Laker (England), are the only bowlers to have taken 9 wickets in a Test innings twice.
8. 7 wickets in an innings against the most countries (5).
9. Most Test wickets taken bowled (153), stumped (37) and caught & bowled (30). Bowled by Muralitharan (b Muralitharan) is the most common dismissal in Test cricket (excluding run out).
10. Most successful bowler/fielder (non-wicket keeper) combination - c Mahela Jayawardene b Muttiah Muralitharan (62).
11. Most number of Man of the Match awards in test cricket (18), jointly held with Jacques Kallis.

A glance at the Legend's test career

1st Craig McDermott lbw 9 vs Australia - Match #1 - Test #1195
50th Navjot Sidhu caught Ruwan Kalpage 43 vs India - Match #13 - Test #1247
100th Stephen Fleming bowled 59 vs New Zealand - Match #27 - 1359
150th Guy Whittall caught sub (Mahela Jayawardene) 17 vs Zimbabwe - Match #36 - Test #1395
200th Dominic Cork caught Romesh Kaluwitharana 8 vs England - Match #42 - Test #1423
250th Naved Ashraf lbw 27 vs Pakistan - Match #51 - Test #1489
300th Shaun Pollock caught Tillakaratne Dilshan 11 vs South Africa - Match #58 - Test #1526
350th Mohammad Sharif caught and bowled 19 vs Bangladesh - Match #66 - Test #1561
400th Henry Olonga bowled 0 vs Zimbabwe - Match #72 - Test #1585
450th Daryl Tuffey caught Sanath Jayasuriya 1 vs New Zealand - Match #80 - Test #1644
500th Michael Kasprowicz bowled 0 vs Australia - Match #87 - Test #1688
520th Mluleki Nkala caught Mahela Jayawardena 24 vs Zimbabwe - Match #89 - Test #1698 - Breaks Courtney Walsh's world record
550th Khaled Mashud caught Thilan Samaraweera 2 vs Bangladesh - Match #94 - Test #1764
600th Khaled Mashud caught Lasith Malinga 6 vs Bangladesh - Match #101 - Test #1786
650th Makhaya Ntini caught Farveez Maharoof 13 vs South Africa - Match #108 - Test #1812
700th Syed Rasel caught Farveez Maharoof 4 vs Bangladesh - Match #113 - Test #1839

The records and wickets' glance have been taken from muralitharan.com.
Also, just for the storyline to develop good, here he retires from all the formats unlike to what he has actually done.

 

[Viral Shah]

Bye Bye Murli. We gonna Miss You after this series

 

[Meet]

Thats really a bad news.:crying
@Bounce-at least keep him playing in stories.....

 

[Bounce]

at least keep him playing in stories

Now that he is retired, he doesn't deserve a place in it.

 

[Bounce]

The Lankan Lions Reach Australia​

The Sri Lankan team reached Australia, and the Australian press couldn't resist themselves from having a word with the man of the series of the ODI tournament against India, the biggest fear for the Australians and the newly appointed Sri Lankan vice captain, Tillakaratne Dilshan.
The press couldn't manage to talk much with the star, but the official interviewer of Channel 9 managed to have some chat with Dilshan.

A snap from the match when the two sides met last time against each other in the T20 WC, 2010​

Interviewer: Today we have the Sri Lankan vice captain with us, Tillakaratne Dilshan with us on the "Talk Show!". Good morning Dilly and welcome to our show.

Tillakaratne Dilshan: Thanks.

Interviewer: You had a pretty good outing in Zimbabwe and India but before that, the T20 WC and the IPL Season 3 were some odd moments which you would like to forget. How did you manage to get your confidence back?

Tillakaratne Dilshan: Hmm....it wasn't really difficult. The IPL and T20 WC were ofcourse pretty bad for me, but when I was appointed as the skipper of the Lankan team for the tour of Zimbabwe, it came to me as a pleasant surprise. At the same time, it was then when I actually felt the pressure of the entire team and I think that has helped me a lot.

Interviewer: Pretty interesting. And since then you have been batting like a bomb. A century in Zimbabwe and then huge 161 against India! Its for that reason that the entire Australian media is busy talking about you from the Lankan side. What's your take on that?

Tillakaratne Dilshan: The 161 against India was pretty convincing. The pitch was very flat and batting was quite easy. And its not only me of whom the media should talk about. I played well last time, maybe, this time it would be someone else's chance. Our team has many quality players and all of them can deliver when required. Our recent victories are purely on the basis of team performances. I feel that a team cannot win on the performance of one single player.

Interviewer: And any words on Muralitharan's sudden retirement?

Tillakaratne Dilshan: Personally, it came as a shock. He was bowling pretty well this season. There were some tough times for Murali in the end of 2009, but one can never deny his capabilities. We all expected a retirement, but not now. Murali had also said that he would like to have 800 test wickets under his name and he was just 8 wickets away from it! Now that he is not a part of the team, the bowling department ofcourse looks a bit poor. No player can replace Murali. We just hope that players like Randiv, Mendis and Herath try to come in his boots and do well for the side.

Interviewer: Who would be your biggest fear from the Australian side?

Tillakaratne Dilshan: Aaah....can't answer this (laughs). Each player is good on someday and bad on the other. I have always taken each new delivery independently. Usually, I don't really think about the bowler. If the ball is good, defend it and respect it. But, if its lose or short and wide, it has to be smashed. Australians have some decent bowlers like Tait, Bollinger, Hauritz and Johnson. Each of them are top class and can damage the batting line up of any side.

Interviewer: One last question. What do you think the outcome of the Test and the ODI series would be?

Tillakaratne Dilshan: Both the teams are pretty good. Starting from the openers to the middle order batsmen and from pace bowlers to the spin department, both the teams are very strong in them. It would be very unfair to pick up a team at the moment. If we are able to continue our good form over here as well, it wont be much difficult for us. However, Australians are returning here after a humiliating ODI series defeat against England and they would want to get back to the winning notes as quickly as possible. Its going to be tough, but I would certainly hope that we finish slightly above the Aussies.

Interviewer: That's great. It was fun talking with you Dilshan. Thanks a lot for giving your precious time to us.
So the players are ready and the atmosphere is perfect for a fierce battle between two of the extremely talented sides of the Cricketing world. The first ODI will take place in just a day or two.
Bye for now!

 

[Viral Shah]

A sweet and short interview and nice presentation.

 

[Bounce]

Pitch report and the toss
First ODI: Australia vs Sri Lanka, Melbourne

Pitch Report with Jeremy Coney

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"Its a bright sunny day out here at the MCG. The temperature is quite hot and the humidity is high, but it won't really cause too many problems due to an early start as the wind blows pretty quick here. The pitch looks quite good as well. It has even bounce and a good carry through to the keeper. The ball might just start spinning from the 25th or 30th over of the first inning. The pitch curator has done a wonderful job and we certainly are in for a treat. I predict that its going to be a close game and might just edge in the favor of the home side, Australia."

Australia wins the toss and elects to bat first​

Australia:
Shane Watson
Tim Paine (†)
Ricky Ponting (c)
Michael Clarke
Shaun Marsh
Michael Hussey
Steven Smith
James Hopes
Ryan Harris
Doug Bollinger
Shaun Tait

Sri Lanka:
Tillakartne Dilshan
Mahela Jayawardene
Kumar Sangakkara (†) (c)
Sanath Jayasuriya
Thilan Samarweera
Chamara Kapugedera
Angelo Mathews
Nuwan Kulasekara
Suraj Randiv
Lasith Malinga
Ajantha Mendis

- Players to watch out​

 

[Viral Shah]

Australia will be all out between 245-260

 

[Varun]

Back to this forum after a break. Nice update, the last two. Would be interesting to see how it goes for Sri Lanka.

 

[Bounce]

Australia will be all out between 245-260

Have simulated the match but not yet posted it.
I am sure that you guys are in for a treat.

Common, I will run a small competition.
The three most closest members to guess what Australia scores in the first innings get a reward of vCash 50K each.

 

[AkshayS]

good writings Bounce, Murali will be missed from INT. cricket.
Nice presentation, simple yet good.

Off Topic:loving your avvy.