New ball bails out Sri Lanka

New ball bails out Sri Lanka Daily Mirror---

Lasith Malinga clean bowls England batsman Matthew Hoggard with a trademark yorker to give Sri Lanka victory. (Pic by Dinuka Liyanawatta) Channaka de Silva reporting from Kandy Sri Lanka brushed off an amazing England rearguard action and pulled off a breathtaking 89-run victory in the nick of time on the fifth and final day of the first cricket test here at the Asgiriya stadium yesterday to grab a 1-0 lead in the three match series. Ian Bell and wicket keeper batsman Matthew Prior produced a late fight back, and threatened almost to take the game away to a draw in a fighting seventh wicket stand of 109 after an initial domination by the home side on the final day. "Ian and Matt showed a lot of character. But unfortunately their attempt finished 20-30 minutes short" said England skipper Michael Vaughan who also singled out man of the match Kumar Sangakkara to have taken the game away from them. However, Sri Lankan bowlers who looked ineffective and average in the afternoon on either side of the tea break when Bell and Prior dictated terms, grabbed back the reins with the second new ball, just in time to snatch the final four wickets within nine overs. Paceman Lasith Malinga bowled Matthew Hoggard with perfect yorker under a rapidly fading light with only nine overs of play remaining to finish the England innings for 241. Bell who top scored with 74 and Prior who made a determined 63 occupied the crease for two and a half crucial hours as the local bowlers struggled on an unhelpful surface that was getting slower by the minute. England who began the day on nine for one had fallen to a hopeless 139 for six just three overs after the lunch break. But Bell and Prior stuck on with guts as champion bowler Muralitharan, who snatched the all-time bowling record in the first innings when he took a six wicket haul, looked pretty ordinary and ineffective as he went wicket-less in the two sessions. Skipper Mahela Jayawardene took the second new ball in the 80th over as his bowlers simply looked pedestrian with the old ball, and strangely decided to call Muralitharan to bowl the third over with it. "The wicket was very slow and we knew we had to be patient and play a waiting game till we get opportunities. They finally came with the second new ball" said Jayawardene. "We sometimes try Murali with the new ball as he could get the shiny ball to skid and do something with the dirt. It worked today", he added. Muralitharan getting more zip and bounce with the harder new ball, struck the vital blow in his second over when he outsmarted Prior with a doosra that bowled the right hander for 63. Two balls later in his next over, Murali produced an off spinner that beat Bell, who was playing for a straight one or a doosra, and bowled him for 74 after a five hour vigil at the crease. The double blow put England on 249 for 8 and a horrible mistake by umpire Azad Rauf, who ruled Ryan Sidebottom out leg-before to a ball that hit the bat first, condemned the visitors to deeper trouble before a hobbling Hoggard who is uncertain to play any further part in the tour because of injury, tried all tricks to hold the locals but failed. Earlier, Veteran paceman Chaminda Vaas who had delivered the first blow on the previous evening removing opener Alistair Cook, struck twice more early last morning in a magnificent spell that opened the floodgates. "The early wickets were very vital and that was one main reason for this result", said Jayawardene.Vaas had skipper Michael Vaughan caught behind for five in his second over of the morning and then in his next over, accounted for night watchman James Anderson with a beautiful delivery that pitched in line of middle stump and nipped back to hit the off stump, defeating the left hander who was playing for a straight ball. Paceman Dilhara Fernando operating from the other end defeated the dangerous Kevin Pietersen with an express delivery that cut back sharply to shatter the stumps. Pietersen made only 18 and added 28 for the fourth wicket with Bell. Paul Collingwood and Bell added 35 for the fifth wicket before Collingwood drove Dilhara Fernando straight to Kumar Sangakkara at short extra cover and England slumped to 90 for 5, just after one and a half hours of batting. All rounder Ravi Bopara batted grittily with Bell and shared a valuable 49-run sixth wicket stand, either side of the lunch break, but with the score on 139, legendary Sanath Jayasuriya playing in his last test of a glittering career trapped Bopara leg before for 34 to be the sixth man out. England - Sri Lanka Final Scoreboard Sri Lanka 1st innings: 188 England 1st innings: 281 Sri Lanka 2nd innings: 442-8 declared (K. Sangakkara 152) England 2nd innings (overnight 9-1): A. Cook c Silva b Vaas 4 M. Vaughan c P. Jayawardene b Vaas 5 J. Anderson b Vaas 11 I. Bell b Muralitharan 74 K. Pietersen b Fernando 18 P. Collingwood c Sangakkara b Fernando 16 R. Bopara lbw b Jayasuriya 34 M. Prior b Muralitharan 63 R. Sidebottom lbw b Muralitharan 1 M. Hoggard b Malinga 8 M. Panesar not out 2 Extras: (b5, lb9, nb11) 25 Total 261 Fall : 1-4 (Cook), 2-22 (Vaughan), 3-27 (Anderson), 4-55 (Pietersen), 5-90 (Collingwood), 6-139 (Bopara), 7-248 (Prior), 8-249 (Bell), 9-253 (Sidebottom). Bowling: Vaas 17-3-56-3 (nb5), Malinga 15-3-39-1 (nb4), Muralitharan 36-12-85-3 (nb1), Jayasuriya 14-6-28-1, Fernando 12-1-39-2 (nb1).