Article Originally posted on my blog.
” 30 to 40 runs more on the board and we could have been there in the finals ” – This thought must have surely gone through Vettori’s mind “n” number of times yesterday. Yes, with just 217 on board and with the mighty lankan tigers ready to pounce the bunch of Kiwi’s could do nothing else but surrender!
After kicking out South Africa in a low scoring thriller, Kiwis thought the same would apply against Sri Lanka too. But everything went haywire. You cant expect to contain the mighty lankan team who have the likes of Dilshan, Tharanga, Sangakarra, Jayawardena in top-notch form to falter. Healthy target would have been somewhere around 265. But the Kiwi batsmen were caught napping. All the pressure was on the Kiwi bowlers even before Lankans came into bat.
On the other hand, Lankan seamers and spinners did an amazing job bundling the Kiwi team to a short score which they could easily chase down. Murali with his doosra and Mahlinga with his fantastic yorker have proved they can break down the top batting order of any team!
Must say, right after 160-1, the lankans toppled out to 169-4 which is when the panic button was pressed! Kiwis did what they do best. Pressurize the new batsmen. Angelo mathews and Samaraveera were way too strong to be broken down.
Kiwis coming into the match had nothing to lose. They were the underdogs. But I feel, they could have done better to topple the Lankans with a better batting performance. Nonetheless, well-played Kiwis. Reaching semi finals was indeed a great job.
Congratulations to Sri Lanka for reaching the Finals.
India vs Pakistan in the 2nd semis today!
Bring it on, let’s have it!
Cheers
Muki
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