Sri Lanka knock India out of ICC World T20 2010 by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Ground:	Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet
Scorecard:	India v Sri Lanka
Player:	KC Sangakkara, SK Raina
Event:	ICC World Twenty20 2010

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DateLine: 11th May 2010

 

The Sri Lankan side showed the fighting spirit that the Indian side lacked in the crucial Super Eight encounter. It was a crucial match for both the sides as they were chasing a semi-final spot. India needed to win the match by at least 20 runs while for the Sri Lankan side nothing less than a win would do.

 

India in the end found out that the tigerish resolve of the Lankan side was too hot to handle as Sri Lanka kept their cool till the end. India in their 20 overs scored 163 for the loss of 5 wickets. Sri Lanka in reply scored 167 for the loss of 5 wickets in their 20 overs.

 

Dhoni finally decided to bat first after winning the toss and his openers gave the side a sound start. After Dinesh Karthik (13, 12b, 2x4) was flummoxed by a slower one from Malinga, Raina joined Gambhir in the middle. The pair of southpaws kept the scoreboard ticking with some aggressive hitting coupled with some smart running between the wickets. Suresh Raina was in great touch as he got the boundaries and a huge six to keep India on par for a huge score. Dhoni promoted himself up the order to give a push to the Indian score but unfortunately for India that flourish never came. India scored 90 in their first 10 overs but could manage just 73 in the next 10 overs.

 

The Sri Lankan side in reply got of to a horrible start as they lost Jayawardene and Jayasuriya quickly. Sangakkara and Dilshan kept the Lankan hopes fluttering with some excellent stroke-play before Pathan got rid of the latter. Sangakkara found an able partner in Angelo Mathews and the two set the Lankan boat to the victory line. Though wickets fell towards the end of the innings the Lankan batsmen kept their cool and finally secured a hard earned win.