Wed, 13 Jul 2011, Scotland vs Sri Lanka, Tri-Nation Tournament in Scotland 2011, Only ODI-Bulletin

Sri Lanka maul Scotland by 183 runs

Sri Lanka signed off their tour of the United Kingdom with an emphatic 183 run win over minnows Scotland. The visitors had enough quality in the batting ranks to put on what proved to be a massive 284. In reply, the Scotts were no match to the incisive lankan bowling attack led by Malinga.

The hosts had chased down a 300-plus total against Ireland yesterday, 284 was a little less but the Sri Lankan bowling was lot more intimidating than the Irish. It took Lasith Malinga just 13 deliveries to do what he does best, rattle batsmen with pace and clever variations. Two wickets fell in the 5th over- Watts through a tame dismissal and MacLeod through a toe-crusher that took out off-stump. Kyle Coetzer went the same way, ball crashed into the base of off-stump sending it for a cart-wheel.

Josh Davey hit three flicked boundaries before Dhammika Prasad trapped him plumb in front. The bowler was on a hat-trick when Berrington was dismissed on the very next ball. At 36 for 5, the Scotland chase was as good as over.

Any hopes of a revival were also put to rest as Gregor Maiden and Preston Mommsen were sent back in quick succession to have the chase derailed at 49 for 7 in 16 overs. Lower order batsman, Majid Haq was the lone man to put up some resistance. His 61 ball 31, however, only delayed the inevitable. Lasith Malinga returned in the end to claim two more wickets to complete a 5-wicket haul. When the slinger is on song, it is no surprise that Scotland could manage only 101. Thus, the crushing 183 run defeat further emphasized the gulf between the two teams.

Earlier, Sri Lankan batters dominated at the start as well as at the end to put a big total of 284 on the board. Both their openers, Mahela Jayawardene and Dimuth Karunaratne breezed to half-centuries, there was bit of a middle-order stutter before a late charge provided by Jeevan Mendis and Lasith Malinga pushed the total over 250 when at one stage the game was even-steven.

On a sunny morning, the Lankan openers started brightly punishing the erratic Scotland bowlers. If Jayawardene had the class, his young partner Karunaratne matched him with flair. The two set the tone with a century opening partnership, 101 under twenty overs before Mahela fell for 64. His skipper, Tillakaratne Dilshan did not bat at his usual opening position but failed to make an impact as he was the only single digit dismissal in the top order. Karunaratne’s departure when the score was 140 started the mini-stutter.

Kandamby, Chandimal and Mathews could not build on their twenty’s, wickets falling at regular intervals. This allowed Scotland to tighten the screws and the Sri Lankan run rate began to dwindle. When Thisara Parera was removed by Goudie on 9, the innings was shaky at 238 for 7 in 46.1 overs. A below-250 score was on the cards and Scotland in with a decent chance to pull off an upset.

That, however, remained just an estimate- Malinga who is known more for searing yorkers than batting used the long handle to good effect. Gordon Drummond was at the receiving end of that violence in the 49th over as he was dispatched into the stands couple of times. Mendis completed the charge with two boundaries in the last over; the enterprising stand had yielded 46 in just 23 deliveries. The late flip propelled Lanka to 284.