Tillakaratne Dilshan showed signs of returning to form and pushed Sri Lanka to 100 for 3 at the finish of 25 overs in Bulawayo. It was an fascinating first half of the play. The overnight rains meant the pitch had moisture in it to help both the seamers and spinners. The medium-pacers got movement and also exploited the two-paced nature of the wicket and the spinners found generous turn to keep the batsmen calm.
The situation demanded that the batsmen show self restraint and Dilshan did exactly that to slowly shake off his poor form. It wasn't the Dilshan that they have come to know. He hit his first boundary off his 35th ball and it wasn't until his 50th delivery that he selected to rush down the track to play one a massive shot. It was his abstinence against the new ball that stood out. There weren't lots of flamboyant on-the-up hits, dashes down the track and attempts to force the pace. He did try to play couple of aggressive shots against the new ball but when he found that he was mis-timing them, he quickly changed tack and commenced to work the angles.
Dilshan broke free against a slower one from Ashok Dinda in the tenth over and commenced to find his fluency. He selected to play close to the body against the spinners - Pragyan Ojha and Amit Mishra. He used his feet to either return or fully forward to drive and punch the spinners. He lifted Ojha for a huge four over long on and cut the errant Ravindra Jadeja for couple of successive fours in the 22nd over.
It was all looking nice for Sri Lanka but Dilshan ran himself out in the 24th over to permit India to come back in to the game. He turned Mishra to midwicket and hesitated before deciding to go for the single but could not beat the throw from Rohit Sharma.
Additionally, there was further drama, a touch comic in nature, when novice captain Suresh Raina forgot to tell the umpires that he desired to take the bowling Powerplay after the tenth over though he had a field set that met the requirements of the Powerplay. He realised his error later much to the amusement of Dilshan and the bewilderment of his team-mates and took the Powerplay in the 18th over. It didn't turn out to be a pricey mistake as this pitch demanded that the fielding captain assault with close-set fields.
The situation demanded that the batsmen show self restraint and Dilshan did exactly that to slowly shake off his poor form. It wasn't the Dilshan that they have come to know. He hit his first boundary off his 35th ball and it wasn't until his 50th delivery that he selected to rush down the track to play one a massive shot. It was his abstinence against the new ball that stood out. There weren't lots of flamboyant on-the-up hits, dashes down the track and attempts to force the pace. He did try to play couple of aggressive shots against the new ball but when he found that he was mis-timing them, he quickly changed tack and commenced to work the angles.
Dilshan broke free against a slower one from Ashok Dinda in the tenth over and commenced to find his fluency. He selected to play close to the body against the spinners - Pragyan Ojha and Amit Mishra. He used his feet to either return or fully forward to drive and punch the spinners. He lifted Ojha for a huge four over long on and cut the errant Ravindra Jadeja for couple of successive fours in the 22nd over.
It was all looking nice for Sri Lanka but Dilshan ran himself out in the 24th over to permit India to come back in to the game. He turned Mishra to midwicket and hesitated before deciding to go for the single but could not beat the throw from Rohit Sharma.
Additionally, there was further drama, a touch comic in nature, when novice captain Suresh Raina forgot to tell the umpires that he desired to take the bowling Powerplay after the tenth over though he had a field set that met the requirements of the Powerplay. He realised his error later much to the amusement of Dilshan and the bewilderment of his team-mates and took the Powerplay in the 18th over. It didn't turn out to be a pricey mistake as this pitch demanded that the fielding captain assault with close-set fields.
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