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Mahela has scored 11 of his 34 100s at the SSC, Colombo.
Showing posts with label Mahela Jayawardene. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mahela Jayawardene. Show all posts
Mahela Jayawardene's Backpack
Mahela has scored 11 of his 34 100s at the SSC, Colombo.
Did Sri Lanka Give It Their Honest Best?
In sentencing Mervyn Westfield to four months in prison for accepting payments to under-perform in a county game, Judge Anthony Morris said "For financial gain you betrayed the trust placed in you to play honestly and to the best of your ability." The crown prosecution service issued the following statement: "Devoted sports fans who pay hard-earned money to watch competitive matches have a right to expect players to do their honest best for the team, whether those games take place in the biggest world class arenas, or at their local ground."
How should "devoted sports fans" feel about the decisions of captains like Mahela Jayawardene and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, when they choose not to pursue a victory in conditions one can hardly call treacherous - on the contrary you might even call them encouraging - in the last match of a test series while they're 1-0 ahead? Have these captains and their teams done their honest best to win a match? Don't give me this hogwash about the series being at risk when hardly any wickets have fallen in the lead up to the declaration, for goodness knows how many overs.
Disgracefully, in both cases the risk was minimal. We hear a lot about Test cricket dying, and people losing interest. We hear a lot about players calling it the "ultimate test" and how it needs to be preserved. There will always be portions of a game, almost any game, which are boring. But to agree to a draw when there is ample opportunity to force a result robs spectators and the game alike. Test cricket is about patience, but you're only testing people's patience when you decide not to make a game a contest. Draws can be fun, results can be boring, but who has ever walked into a ground hoping that a team would call off a reasonable, and potentially exciting, chase so that they can bask in the glory of their banked result?
When questioned, Jayawardene's callous reply was "Well, we won the series, right?" Imagine if Salman Butt, on being questioned (and lest the point is lost, for robbing spectators of watching his team give their honest best) about the spot fixing scandal said, "Well, we won the match, right?"
If the ICC and the players are actually serious about wanting to save test cricket, and this hasn't become one of those fake "We must do all we can to end world poverty" quips you hear at every event from fund-raisers to beauty pageants, they need to start making sure people want to watch test cricket. One way to do that is to play to win. But nobody talks about this. Oh no, its far easier to say India and the BCCI are determined to destroy test cricket. A sham, the whole show.
How should "devoted sports fans" feel about the decisions of captains like Mahela Jayawardene and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, when they choose not to pursue a victory in conditions one can hardly call treacherous - on the contrary you might even call them encouraging - in the last match of a test series while they're 1-0 ahead? Have these captains and their teams done their honest best to win a match? Don't give me this hogwash about the series being at risk when hardly any wickets have fallen in the lead up to the declaration, for goodness knows how many overs.
Disgracefully, in both cases the risk was minimal. We hear a lot about Test cricket dying, and people losing interest. We hear a lot about players calling it the "ultimate test" and how it needs to be preserved. There will always be portions of a game, almost any game, which are boring. But to agree to a draw when there is ample opportunity to force a result robs spectators and the game alike. Test cricket is about patience, but you're only testing people's patience when you decide not to make a game a contest. Draws can be fun, results can be boring, but who has ever walked into a ground hoping that a team would call off a reasonable, and potentially exciting, chase so that they can bask in the glory of their banked result?
When questioned, Jayawardene's callous reply was "Well, we won the series, right?" Imagine if Salman Butt, on being questioned (and lest the point is lost, for robbing spectators of watching his team give their honest best) about the spot fixing scandal said, "Well, we won the match, right?"
If the ICC and the players are actually serious about wanting to save test cricket, and this hasn't become one of those fake "We must do all we can to end world poverty" quips you hear at every event from fund-raisers to beauty pageants, they need to start making sure people want to watch test cricket. One way to do that is to play to win. But nobody talks about this. Oh no, its far easier to say India and the BCCI are determined to destroy test cricket. A sham, the whole show.
What did Sanga & Mahela do
To declare when a batsman is just 24 shy of a test hundred that shows rare character. But then Mahela was dismissed just 26 shy off a test double. Had he batted on, Samara' would’ve had his hundred. Worse, Sanga was dismissed 81 shy of a triple hundred. Had he batted on, almost everybody in the Lankan lineup would’ve been assured of some milestone. Mendis’ maiden test fifty, he was that close to it. It was one of those days, Lanka was dreaming four fingers.
India plays Sri Lanka every second day.
The organizers did not foresee this India-Sri Lanka final, they expected this Micromax Cup to be like their silly product promise, nothing like anything.
Truth is, Micromax is like everything, and so is their Cup. So while the Micromax guys were hell-bent on a Bangladesh-India/B’desh-Pak/B’desh-Lanka final to push their silly promise down our throats, what happened was quite the opposite – we’re on to a final, that’s just like any other day in Indian or Lankan cricket, they’ll play each other.
Even Sachin can’t take it anymore. He’s stopped playing Lanka in his sleep. Bhajji, who knew what was coming, refused to play Lanka every second day, dropped out of the dress rehearsal. No doubt he’s ‘saving his best for the finals’ and is more than aware he can ‘perform every second game’
While Lanka who won the rehearsal with a bonus point, were distraught that their big margin of defeat ‘counted for little’. Even though Sanga said nothing, it was clear from his expression he wanted their bonus point to ‘count for something’. His close friend, Mahela agreed, “Kumar wanted our big win against India to mean something, but here in spite of topping the league table, we can have one bad day at the office and lose the coveted Micromax Cup”.
Sanga refused to comment and asked us to speak to his lawyer, when reminded that he was his lawyer, he said, “I wanted our big win against India to mean something, but here in spite of topping the league table, we can have one bad day at the office and lose the coveted Micromax Cup”.
Elsewhere Sehwag was sick of these India-Lanka games – “it’s a good time to get injured, I’d rather be fit for India-B’desh games…” he then broke into a song, “Minnow yaan na Minnow…”
Also read: Scared Lankans
The power of Crashrafool compels you
You had thought that when Bangladesh exited from the T20 World Cup, Crashrafool had left the Caribbean too. The proper cricket could now start. No physically and mentally challenged ball of talent around to frustrate you to your death.
Then you saw India play. These world class batsmen were falling victims to short balls. Murali Vijay was a frequent and often the first offender. Gambhir was not far behind, as was Yusuf Pathan. You didn’t think Pathan was going to be the only one not following the latest trend did you?
“This is normal!” you scream. Indians fall for the short balls like the teenage girls fall for the latest, effeminate, pre-pubescent singer with ugly hair. What you did not realize is that underneath the disguise of the short ball there was also a large number of stupid shots being played that lead to their dismissals. Stupid shots, world class batsmen- remember these two phrases for now.
Then we have a look at Sri Lanka and those two phrases resonate from the back of our minds. Again, world-class batsmen (albeit less than India) and stupid shots. Even Mahela played a stupid shot. You know Mahela? Whose T20 WC resume so far reads 81, 100, 98*? Yeah, that Mahela.
The mystery lies in the power of Crashrafool. He too goes to short balls and stupid shots, except he is a semi-world class batsman. Okay, quarter. Fine, one-sixteenth. But his power spreads far and wide, even when he is not on the islands. He leaves his trace and world class batsmen sniff it out like FBI-trained Labradors. They then proceed to revive the trace into a full-fledged Crashrafool-esque performance. The same flamboyance and then the same brain fail. It is all very touching.
The Crashrafool is pleased, yes, he is very pleased.
by Purna
who blogs at Cricket Minded
Bored Game: World T20 League Update
Finally there rain has stopped and the business end of the tournament has started after Bangladesh were upset by an unseeded Australia! Mahela Jayawardene is in sublime form with a low score of 81 after 3 matches and that motivates Jacques Kallis to keep scoring so that he can get the orange cap (Yes, he is still stuck in THAT mode) ! The Indians were undone by quality short pitch fast bowling AGAIN ( getting bored of this already). Kemar Roach and Jerome Taylor will be licking their lips to repeat what Fidel Edwards did @ Lords in 2009. The Aussie pace trio has been in top form and looks like they will win THIS as well unless someone stops them in the Semi-Finals at St.Lucia.
Things are hotting up in the Bored League as well with the usual suspects Ex-IBL Chief Mahek and Yours Truly in the Top 3. Mahek is at the top of the tree, followed by Technosiastic, who has no transfers left! We have Bored Members Purna, Achettup and Homer in 18th, 24th and 30th respectively Just one inspired pick from any of the top 5 will make sure they get into the top spot! Do make the BIG match players as your trumps as you never know when they will rise up to the occasion like Afridi did in the Semis and Finals of the previous WorldT20.
On a personal note, due to my crappy net connection and Cricinfo's error not to show the changes I made, 2 of my transfers were gobbled up when I was trying to fill my team up with English players and am paying for it BIG time now!
Aditya
Chairman and Commissioner
Bored Game : World T20 league
The clarity of a selfish cricketer.
Mahela didn’t do much for the first half of the IPL. Then Sanga, his Punjab skip, made him open - a hundred was followed by many more impact innings. That form continues into the World T20, 100, 98, he’s scoring like Dilshan used to, only more.
Then you have Gambhir, DD skipper. He drops down so Warner can open with Sehwag. Their opening doesn’t click yet Gambhir continues with them; both Sehwag and his form worsens, from patchy to scratchy. At that point, I did think it both selfless and stupid of Gambhir to open with Warner. Reckon the Aussie coach prevailed.
Now Gambhir finds himself opening for India. Facing his DD spearhead, Nannes. What does he do – not much, it’s been a while he opened; anything other than his mouth.
As for Warner, all that time spent opening in India, facing spinners, sure helped him. What does he do - rams 6s of spinners like he grew up facing them.
I don’t know if Gambhir realises it, but he’s lost his clarity, simplicity, aloofness. He should stop trying to be somebody he isn’t – drop the talk, bat.
Whose Team is it Anyway?
We're well and truly into the third season of the IPL and just like the first two editions we have a team that just can't seem to win. It's official: Kings XI Punjab are the Kolkata Knightriders/Deccan Chargers of 2010. A lot of talk has revolved around captaincy and the impact players have disappointed.
Cricinfo ran a pretty cheap piece on the big disappointments of this season and it was no surprise that four of them were from Kings XI. But the most damning aspect of their presence was the amount of money they're being paid. Yuvraj Singh, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Shantakumaran Sreesanth are making over $2.8 Million a season. You could probably add Brett Lee ($900,000) and Irfan Pathan ($925,000) to the list.
This begs the question: Who is in control of the side? Sangakkara has cut a forlorn figure everytime things haven't gone his way, Jayawardene led the side one game and it looked better but still crumbled under pressure, and it's best not to talk of Yuvraj's involvement of lack thereof.
There was, however, one man last night who seemed to believe. He is just another domestic cricketer using the IPL to make some money and maybe impress the selectors. He has captained the Indian Under-19 side in the past, shown glimpses of his ability with a couple of rousing innings, taken the gloves when his captain was banned, and retained them even with the skipper coming back. Step forward Manvinder Bisla. You made yourself visible last night by making sure you were inconspicuous. You were neat behind the stumps (That wide off Lee was unfortunate), made sure the bowlers were motivated, applauded pretty much every fielding effort, and even had the instinct to go up to Shalabh Srivastava after the over in which Sreesanth dropped a sitter, something your captain or icon player should have been doing.
It is a pity such intangibles will be lost on your franchise and the national selectors because you don't strike a gorgeous pose when you hit a cover drive or don't have the ego to make yourself visible to those fans who are looking for cheap fun. But I hope someone like Shane Warne sees what you're about. You did take the attack to him and did well until you were foxed by the great. Maybe Warney will come back to the IPL next season and want you in his side. Players like you show leadership is not about entitlement, it's all about initiative and how far you're willing to go for your team even if you don't get the glory.
The Difference.
Sri Lanka are chasing Bangladesh's puny sub 250 score with ease. Jayawardene is playing as if the last month never happened. Tharanga likes to score on pitches in places where Bengali is spoken.
Bangladesh struggled and stuttered and sputtered to reach 249 on this pitch. A day ago, Mighty Mahmudullah swung his bat and spanked the highly ranked Indian consortium of bowlers and dart throwers and pie chuckers.
With India's bowling being the way it is and Shakib having learnt the lesson that he must not bat first here, our hopes lie perhaps too much on the toss.
Here is what I hope turns out to be the sequence of events:
We lose the toss and are made to bowl second in both our remaining matches. Dilshan will bat like an Anti Buddhist and earn his desired locker in the DD dressing room ahead of Ashish Nehra, Thushara will make Dhoni blush. Maybe we manage to win the next one, it would be a close match then because remember, we've lost the toss and are bowling second. Or we could lose both but go through to the finals, eliminating Bangladesh on the basis of NRR. The heroics of Mushfiqur will not be in vain though, Dileep Premachandran will write a glowing feel good article about Bangladesh's performance which will leave people questioning their understanding of cricket and its intricacies, their knowledge of its history, the socio-politico-cultural-psychological factors and their vocabulary.
But on the day of the final, the unplanned for happens and India win the toss. Sri Lanka will politely be asked to bat first. But as a proud and young unit building a core team for the 2011 in this very sub continent, Sri Lanka will refuse to lose the toss and lose to the toss.
Dilshan will shine and the Tharanga will fly high as Sri Lanka will post a mammoth freaking target of 415. That's nearly 10 times the average Raina score!
But we are not the third best team in ODIs for nothing. Each batsman will make a fist of it and proceed to show Sri Lanka exactly how to chase a score of say..415.
Sangakkara will issue a heartfelt apology in Sinhalese, even the confused Dhaka crowd will clap for a speech well made, Dhoni will let out a solitary, secret, internal sigh of relief and the bowlers will let out a collective sigh of relief.
In the end, the difference between the two teams will be Sri Lanka's lucky streak with the toss. The difference will be their inexperience bowling second on this goddamn pitch.
by Crownish
blogs at FCKING BLOG (Fantasy Cricket Kings Blog)
Bangladesh struggled and stuttered and sputtered to reach 249 on this pitch. A day ago, Mighty Mahmudullah swung his bat and spanked the highly ranked Indian consortium of bowlers and dart throwers and pie chuckers.
With India's bowling being the way it is and Shakib having learnt the lesson that he must not bat first here, our hopes lie perhaps too much on the toss.
Here is what I hope turns out to be the sequence of events:
We lose the toss and are made to bowl second in both our remaining matches. Dilshan will bat like an Anti Buddhist and earn his desired locker in the DD dressing room ahead of Ashish Nehra, Thushara will make Dhoni blush. Maybe we manage to win the next one, it would be a close match then because remember, we've lost the toss and are bowling second. Or we could lose both but go through to the finals, eliminating Bangladesh on the basis of NRR. The heroics of Mushfiqur will not be in vain though, Dileep Premachandran will write a glowing feel good article about Bangladesh's performance which will leave people questioning their understanding of cricket and its intricacies, their knowledge of its history, the socio-politico-cultural-psychological factors and their vocabulary.
But on the day of the final, the unplanned for happens and India win the toss. Sri Lanka will politely be asked to bat first. But as a proud and young unit building a core team for the 2011 in this very sub continent, Sri Lanka will refuse to lose the toss and lose to the toss.
Dilshan will shine and the Tharanga will fly high as Sri Lanka will post a mammoth freaking target of 415. That's nearly 10 times the average Raina score!
But we are not the third best team in ODIs for nothing. Each batsman will make a fist of it and proceed to show Sri Lanka exactly how to chase a score of say..415.
Sangakkara will issue a heartfelt apology in Sinhalese, even the confused Dhaka crowd will clap for a speech well made, Dhoni will let out a solitary, secret, internal sigh of relief and the bowlers will let out a collective sigh of relief.
In the end, the difference between the two teams will be Sri Lanka's lucky streak with the toss. The difference will be their inexperience bowling second on this goddamn pitch.
by Crownish
blogs at FCKING BLOG (Fantasy Cricket Kings Blog)
Outnumbered.
It is no secret that Sangakkara consults with a numerologist before big games.
On the first day of the Motera test, numbers came into play – when MSD was batting on 110, the plan was to have Dammika Prasad, Lanka’s 110th test player bowl at him.
MS was dismissed by Prasad on the very first ball of his 87th over.
As for number 69, Mahela Jayawardene, MSD had no answers. Mahela was all over India.
Of course, once Mahela makes it to 215 it will be a good idea to bring on Bhajji, India’s 215th test player. Other options: Zaks, 231, Yuvi, 247, Ishant 258, and Mishra, 259.
But then knowing the wily old fox, Mahela, he will try his best to avoid the above scores.
If for some reason he refuses to score beyond 204 today, it could be because No. 206, Dravid is waiting at first slip.
Jo'burg is so much like Karachi!
On day 1 of the 1st test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the Lankans were 3 down for not much when the Pakistan Vice Captain dropped a sitter off the Lankan Captain.
Mahela was on 43 then and went on to score 240.
On day 1 of the 1st test between Australia and South Africa, the Aussies were 3 down for not much when the South African Captain dropped a sitter off the Aussie Captain.
Ponting was on 40 then and is on 76 now and will go on to score?
i fear for srilanka...
not coz mahela jayawardene has resigned from captaincy...
but for the reason what i saw in yesterday's match that india won...
...and the name of my fear is tillakaratne mudiyanselage dilshan...
he was all over the place yesterday...
yelling at bowlers...shouting at fielders...
one moment he looked to be in heaven...
and another looked as if he will have a heart attack...
one shot from batsman and you could see how his shoulders dropped...
all in all a nervous wreck...
he was a text book example of how a captain should not behave on field...
so please srilanka, if you want to appoint any captain...
arrange another T20 match with us...to see how he fares...
we are anyway free still...before we play next T20 match with nz...
and we can do atleast this much for you...for being such a good neighbors...
yes dhoni?
ps: even bcci seems to like this idea...
Cable takes Mahela.
by Naked Cricket
It was Mahela Jayawardene’s sixth and last four. The cable crashed and so did MJ.
India relies a lot less on technology. Still not clear whether they appealed for a run-out to Billy. Or maybe it didn’t appeal to Billy.
45.2 Patel to Jayawardene, no run, what's happened here? Jayawardene played the ball towards point and Mendis ran for the single from the non-striker's end, he was sent back and the throw came back to Munaf who broke the stumps with Mendis just short of his crease, Doctrove didn't refer it to the third umpire for some reason, I'm not sure the Indians appealed initially, Yuvraj then came up to Dhoni a while later and asked him to ask the umpire to refer it, Dhoni goes up to Doctrove and has a word, he isn't going to refer it.
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