Sri Lanka sink Kiwi ship-Super 8 World Cup’07

Sri Lanka came with a clinical performance to beat New Zealand in their group 8 fixture. Batting first the Kiwis were pegged on to the back foot losing early wickets. Having said that, Lankans bowled with some fine control and fire to dismiss the opener and captain Fleming for a duck. To add to the Kiwi misery, Ross Taylor was also dismissed for a duck compounding the misery for the batting side.

It was then up to the experienced Scott Styris who carried his bat through the innings to redeem the tottering Kiwi winnings. He struck a fantastic and patient 111 off 157 balls. To give him company was Jacob Oram who scored a vital 31 runs in a breezy fashion.
Sri Lankans curbed the total by getting rid of Brendon McCullum cheaply for 1 which virtually took the wind out of the Kiwi sail! Although Franklin and Styris, in the end, ensuring that the team reached a respectable total of 217 in their allotted 50 overs. A total that was well short by some 30-40 runs.

Sri Lanka also got off a nervous start losing Tharanga early but marauder Jayasuriya and Sangakkara struck fine half centuries to virtually take the game away from the Kiwis. Jayasuriya struck 64 runs from his willow, a knock that had 5 fours and a six while Sangakkara hit 69 runs with 3 boundaries. The Lankans reached the total in the 45 overs with 6 wickets in hand, a comprehensive victory indeed!