THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015 SPORTS GALLE: Sri Lanka’s Dinesh Chandimal plays a shot during the first cricket Test match between India and Sri Lanka yesterday. — AP New Zealand seek to Ashwin stuns Sri Lanka continue improvement GALLE: Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin grabbed two Tests before retiring from international cricket, break for five. Sangakkara punched the third ball DURBAN: Despite missing several key play- Australia this year. six wickets as India bowled out Sri Lanka for 183 walked in to the bursting of firecrackers and warm from Ashwin straight to silly-point fielder Rahul, ers, New Zealand are confident they can con- “A true test of a side is how well they go but then stumbled briefly in reply in a rousing start applause from some 1,500 home fans. who gleefully held on to the sharp chance. Mishra tinue their growth as a team when they take away from home,” said Hesson. “We have to the first Test yesterday. But the left-hander, the leading run-scorer in removed Chandimal and Tharindu Kaushal off suc- on South Africa in two Twenty20 internation- started to win series away from home on a Twelve wickets fell on the opening day and Tests among those still playing, faced just 12 deliv- cessive deliveries, but last man Nuwan Pradeep als and three one-day internationals this relatively consistent basis and that’s a sign India were themselves reduced to 28-2 before they eries before falling in the first over after the drinks denied the bowler a hat-trick. — AFP month. The first T20 is at Kingsmead in that we are making progress.” recovered to post 128 without further loss by Durban Friday and New Zealand go into the New Zealand beat South Africa by four stumps at the Galle International Stadium. match fresh from a crushing 80-run win over wickets with one ball to spare in the World Opener Shikhar Dhawan was unbeaten on 53 Zimbabwe in a one-off match in Harare last Cup semi-finals, but hopes of a meaningful and skipper Virat Kohli was on 45 during a third- Sunday. The Black Caps also won a one-day rematch have effectively been dashed in wicket stand of 100, leaving India just 56 runs away series in Zimbabwe, recovering from a sur- terms of playing personnel. from the lead. Dhammika Prasad trapped Lokesh prise seven-wicket defeat in the first match to McCullum has been rested for the tour Rahul leg-before for seven and Rohit Sharma win the next two convincingly. together with fast bowler Tim Southee. fell in similar fashion to Angelo Mathews for New Zealand have come a long way since Injuries have ruled out Taylor, all-rounder nine, but Dhawan and Kohli stepped in to deny Sri their previous visit to South Africa in 2012-13 Corey Anderson and Trent Boult, who formed Lanka further success. Ashwin, playing a Test match when they were thrashed in two Test match- a highly effective fast bowling combination on Sri Lankan soil for the first time, finished with six es before coming back strongly to win a one- with Southee. South Africa will be missing for 46 — his 11th five-wicket haul-as the home day series. batsman JP Duminy and fast bowler Morne team were bowled out in 49.4 overs after they won Coach Mike Hesson says that tour was the Morkel, who are on paternity leave. Morkel the toss and elected to bat. start of a New Zealand renaissance. “We will be available for the T20 games but hadn’t won a series in SA and we were under- Duminy will miss all the matches. Leg-spinner Amit Mishra, one of the three spin- strength, so to win that was a big achieve- South Africa will seek to atone for a disap- ners in the Indian team on an unusually dry pitch, ment for us. “That was the start of a pretty big pointing tour of Bangladesh, where they took two wickets off successive balls to hasten the two years, culminating in a World Cup final were beaten in a one-day series and had to end. and the Test team moving up the rankings settle for rain-hit draws in the two Tests. Ashwin said the two early wickets taken by steadily.” Hesson started the 2012-13 tour While Duminy and Morkel will be away for seamers Ishant Sharma and Varun Aaron, which with major question marks over his role as the birth of their first children, star batsman reduced Sri Lanka to 15-2, made his work easier. coach after Ross Taylor was controversially AB de Villiers is back after missing the one- “Once the seamers did their job, it was very sim- deposed as captain. day and Test matches in Bangladesh on ple after that,” he said. “I just wanted to get into my But New Zealand have soared since the paternity leave. David Wiese, who has previ- stride pretty strongly and start with a good appointment of Brendon McCullum as skip- ously played in T20 internationals, is likely to rhythm.” per. They have won four and drawn three of win a first one-day cap as South Africa seek their last seven Test series, while the one-day to rectify the lack of a genuine all-rounder, ‘TACKY WICKET’ side played thrilling cricket to reach the which was one of their weaknesses at the Ashwin said he expected the pitch to play slow- World Cup final against fellow co-hosts World Cup. — AFP er as the game progressed, making it tough for both batsmen and bowlers. “The wicket was really tacky in the morning and the ball was just deviating enough,” he said. “But as the game goes on, it is going to get really slow. One will have to work harder to get wickets. “From that aspect, we need to bat really well and see where we go from here.” Mathews top-scored for Sri Lanka with 64 and Dinesh Chandimal led a charmed life to make 59, the pair sharing a valu- able 79-run partnership for the sixth wicket after their team had collapsed to 60-5 before lunch. Chandimal-lucky to survive a dropped catch by wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha off Ishant in the second over after lunch when he was on five-hit nine boundaries. Mathews brought up his half-cen- tury with a six over long-on against veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh. He also hit six fours. Chandimal said the early moisture in the wicket made batting difficult, but acknowledged that the Indians Ashton Agar bowled well. “It was not easy to bat in the morning and India used the conditions well to make it tough for us,” he said. “The pitch eased out later in Burns, Agar in Australia the day. “We have not seen so much turn on the first day squad to face England at Galle before. This sort of turn, one usually gets on the fourth or fifth day. We will try to restrict SYDNEY: Cricket Australia yesterday named a 2013, also hit form in India after returning from India as much as we can and obviously try and bat refreshed squad for one-day internationals shoulder surgery, Marsh said. better in the second innings.” SRI LANKA: Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin celebrates after dismissing Sri Lankan cricketer against England, with all-rounder Marcus Matthew Wade takes over the wicketkeeping Kumar Sangakkara, playing the first of his last Dhammika Prasad during the first day of the opening Test cricket match. — AFP Stoinis, spinner Ashton Agar and batsman Joe position from Haddin and will play his first ODI Burns set to make debuts. Australia claimed since November 2014 while Steven Smith, their fifth World Cup in the 50-over game in expected to be named as Test captain following March but since then wicketkeeper Brad Haddin Clarke’s retirement, is named skipper. Current Lehmann apologizes for and Test captain Michael Clarke have T20 captain Aaron Finch was not selected after announced their retirement from the format. fracturing his foot while playing for Yorkshire Fast bowlers Mitchell Johnson and Josh last month. Hazlewood are also being rested after Australia’s “The reality is Aaron isn’t fit for selection at ‘poor’ Ashes campaign unsuccessful Ashes campaign against England, this stage and he also hasn’t played as much which followed a Test series in the West Indies. cricket as we would have liked him to following MELBOURNE: Australia cricket coach Darren Cardiff to start the series and an eight-wicket loss Michael Clarke who has come in for criticism from “The squad we have selected has a few fresh a couple of serious injuries,” Marsh said. Lehmann has publicly apologized for his team’s at Edgbaston in the third test. Australian media and former players for his part faces in it as well as some experienced players “He will return to Yorkshire, fitness depend- dismal performance in its Ashes series loss to “Not only do we want to be accountable for in the Ashes performance and his decision to that will provide us with the right balance,” said ent, for a few games of four-day cricket at the England. our efforts, but on behalf of our team I want to retire. “Michael deserves the chance to go out selectors’ chairman Rod Marsh. end of the season as he prepares for the In a column posted on the Cricket Australia apologize for the manner in which we have lost, with the respect and dignity that he has Marsh said Burns, 25, had impressed while Australian summer.” website Wednesday, Lehman admitted the team especially to those tour groups and individual undoubtedly earned over a fantastic career, and I playing in India for Australia A, where last week Leg-spinner Cameron Boyce has been includ- was “poor” during the current series, adding “we fans who paid to travel to the UK to watch us and want to see that career suitably celebrated,” he he blasted 154 from 131 balls against India A in ed for selection for the T20 International game.