Tag: Sri

COLOMBO - Sri Lanka reached the World Cup final with a five-wicket win against New Zealand on Tuesday as veteran off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan said goodbye to his home crowd.
Sri Lanka, set a modest 218 to win, wobbled in the middle before reaching their target in 47.5 overs with Tillakaratne Dilshan (73) and skipper Kumar Sangakkara (54) setting the foundation at a packed R Premadasa stadium. Muralitharan took his 534th wicket off his last ball on home soil as New Zealand

COLOMBO - Sri Lanka overcame a serious bout of the jitters to book their place in Saturday's World Cup final in Mumbai, as New Zealand bowed out in the last four for the sixth time in ten campaigns, though with their pride fully intact after another fabulous never-say-die performance in Colombo.
In a strange amalgam of the one-sided thrashing that Sri Lanka handed out to England in their quarter-final on Saturday, and New Zealand's last-eight fightback against South Africa in

COLOMBO - Sri Lanka may exploit a pitch used three days earlier and employ three specialist spinners for the second match in a row in Tuesday's World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in Colombo.
To New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori's consternation, the match will be played on the pitch used in last Saturday's quarter-final against England.
"They told us we are playing on the same one as England which is very surprising for us," Vettori told a news conference on Monday.

THE REAKITY CHECK - The Broader Perspective In a rematch of the 2007 World Cup semi-final, Sri Lanka take on the surprise package New Zealand in the first semi-final of the 2011 World Cup in Colombo today. While Sri Lanka have been more consistent with their performances in the tournament, New Zealand have been scrappy. However, they managed to pick themselves up just when it mattered and disposed of one of the favourites, South Africa, in the quarter-finals. The all-round depth of

COLOMBO - Jonathan Trott led an England fightback after a poor start to post 229 for six as Sri Lanka missed a slew of easy catches to let them off the hook in the World Cup quarter-final on Saturday.
Trott (86) added 64 runs for the third wicket with Ravi Bopara (31) and 91 runs for the fourth with Eoin Morgan (50) to anchor England to a fighting total on a slow wicket at the R Premadasa Stadium.
Sri Lanka went into the match with three frontline spinners -- Muttiah

COLOMBO - Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara hopes fit-again spinner Muttiah Muralitharan rises to the challenge of a World Cup quarter-final against England on Saturday. Sangakkara said the 38-year-old off-spinner, who will retire from international cricket after the tournament, was fully fit for the R. Premadasa stadium clash.
Muralitharan, who has a world record of 530 one-day wickets, injured his hamstring during Sri Lanka's impressive 112-run win over New Zealand last week,

COLOMBO - Sri Lanka batsman Mahela Jayawardene believes England are a team for the big occasion and should not be written off ahead of Saturday's quarter-finals. The 1996 champions take on England, who have never won the World Cup, in the last of four quarter-finals at R. Premadasa stadium and Jayawardene on Thursday warned his team against complacency. "They've had a very tough World Cup, I think all their games have been very close, but if you analyze it properly, they lost two

COLOMBO - Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss believes spin king Muttiah Muralitharan will be fit to face England in Saturday's World Cup quarter-finals. The 38-year- old off-spinner -- who has a world record 530 one-day wickets -- pulled his hamstring in the Group A match against New Zealand and had shortened nets on Wednesday. But Bayliss said Muralitharan will play on Saturday. "Murali did bowl for some 20 minutes today.
We are very confident that he will play and I think he's

KARACHI - MCB Bank plans to open four new branches in Sri Lanka next year, where six branches are already operational, making MCB one of the largest foreign banks in Sri Lanka.
MCB Bank Chairman Mian Muhammad Mansha called on the President, Mahinda Rajapakse, at the Temple Trees in Sri Lanka. Mr Mansha informed the president that his group is keen to in participate in the economic development of the island.
During the meeting, the MCB chairman presented an overview of his

THE REALITY CHECK - Though the match in Mumbai today isn't a must-win one for both sides, a win for either team can be crucial for the group standings. If New Zealand win, they can top the group. Sri Lankan may not get to the top of the group (their game against Australia was washed out and points shared) but a win may change their next round rivals.
Sri Lanka have done well in the tournament except one match against Pakistan. The Black Caps are hit by injuries and for them to

MUMBAI - New Zealand and Sri Lanka will Friday lock horns in a fierce tussle for final group positions in their last match ahead of the World Cup knockout round. The pressure to qualify is now off with New Zealand and Sri Lanka joined in the last eight by fellow Group A sides Australia and Pakistan, but final positions are crucial as they determine opponents in the next round.
New Zealand have emerged as the tournament's dark horses, winning their past three matches, including an

LAHORE - In an effort to revive international cricket in Pakistan, the PCB is in talks with its Sri Lankan counterpart for a short ODI and Twenty20 series later this year.
According to Pakistan Cricket Board sources, Sri Lanka Cricket is ready to send its team for the short limited overs series but want the Test rubber to be played in the neutral venues of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
"The talks with the Sri Lankans have been pretty positive so far and we are hopeful the series will

COLOMBO - Remnants of Sri Lanka's defeated Tamil rebels are undergoing military training in India in a bid to revive their separatist campaign at home, the island's prime minister said Thursday. DM. Jayaratne said an unknown number of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fighters were based at secret camps in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. "We have intelligence reports of three clandestine training centres operated by the LTTE in Tamil Nadu," the prime minister said in a

PALLEKELE - Tillakaratne Dilshan smashed 144 before taking 4-4 to help Sri Lanka beat Zimbabwe by 139 runs and reach the World Cup quarter-finals on Thursday. Together with fellow opener Upul Tharanga, who hit a career-best 133, Dilshan put on a new World Cup opening stand of 282 to guide Sri Lanka to an imposing 327-6 before a packed 30,000 crowd at Pallekele stadium. Zimbabwe made a fighting reply with Brendon Taylor (80) and Regis Chakabva (35) through a solid 116-run start before

ISLAMABAD - President Asif Ali Zardari proposed a currency swap arrangement between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in a meeting on proposed currency swap arrangements with friendly countries here at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Thursday, in order to reduce pressure on the foreign exchange reserves of both countries. The president urged swift finalisation of the currency swap agreement between Pakistan and China, saying that such arrangements should be concluded with Turkey and Sri Lanka to promote and

PALLEKELE - Sri Lanka are still to peak at the World Cup, vice-captain Mahela Jayawardene said on Wednesday, as the 1996 champions prepare to tackle Zimbabwe and book a quarter-final spot. Sri Lanka go into Thursday's game with five points from four games after wins over Kenya and Canada, a share of the points in a washed-out match against Australia and a narrow defeat at the hands of Pakistan.
Jayawardene believes that Sri Lanka's campaign has been energised by Lasith Malinga's

COLOMBO - Australia's World Cup Group A showdown with co-hosts Sri Lanka was called off on Saturday after incessant rain made any further play impossible.
Both teams will be awarded one point each. The match was intriguingly poised when the skies opened after huge black clouds had hovered overhead, Sri Lanka on 146 for three after 32.5 overs having won the toss. Captain Kumar Sangakkara (73 not out) and Thilan Samaraweera (34 not out) were still there in an unbroken fourth