- Late City Edition Friday 31st July, 2009 Murali to retire from Tests Murali stars with bat as Sri Lanka win Rex Clementine reporting from Dambulla The batting Power Play proved to be crucial in the first One-Day International between Sri Lanka and Pakistan here at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium as both teams scored sub- stantially during the five over peri- od, but it was the Pakistanis who threatened to do most damage with Rex Clementine some big hitting towards the end of reporting from Dambulla their innings. Pakistan were reeling at 140 for ber seven and open with Shoaib Malik, Barely a week after Chaminda Vaas eight with Sri Lanka sure of a compre- a number six batsman also raised eye- retired from Test cricket, world’s highest hensive win when the ninth wicket brows. wicket taker Muttiah Muralitharan pair of Umar Gul and Mohammad Malik, who made a century in the stunned cricket lovers by setting Aamer opted for the Power Play in the last Test, struggled at the top of the November 2010 as the date for his retire- 40th over and ran riot as Sri Lanka order yesterday before being cleaned ment from Test cricket. showed signs of complacency with the up by Nuwan Kulasekara, who picked Muralitharan was named Man of the game almost in the bag. up two wickets. Thilan Thushara was Match for his all-round performance in After seeing off the quota of ten impressive claiming three for 29, but it yesterday’s first One-Day International overs of ace spinner Muttiah was Muralitharan who had a major against Pakistan here in Dambulla and Muralitharan, the two tail-enders impact on the game, this time with his announced his plans to retire from Tests. turned things on with some big hitting. batting. He will also retire from One-Day Sri Lanka had scored 54 runs in the He won the Man of the Match Internationals after the 2011 World Cup, Batting Power Player towards the lat- award after hitting 32 runs in 15 balls but said would continue to play T-20 crick- ter part of their innings having played with four boundaries and a six and et for a few more years. catch up until then and the tourists helped Sri Lanka to reach 232 for nine “Next year’s Test series against the gave the Sri Lankans a taste of their in their 50 overs. Having batted at num- West Indies is going to be my last. But I own medicine with some clean hitting. ber 11 most of his career, Murali was Pakistan’s Mohammad Aamir, center, gets accidentally in the way of Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan, would like to play One-Day cricket till the The 43rd over of their innings promoted to number nine yesterday next World Cup and want to continue play- bowled by Lasith Malinga leaked 20 with some big hits needed and walking left, as Anjelo Mathews runs during the first one-day international cricket match between Sri Lanka ing T-20 cricket for a few more years,” runs and lasted for eight balls and the in to bat with five overs to go he did and Pakistan, in Dambulla. Sri Lanka won by 36 runs. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan) Muralitharan said. pair brought the target down to 38 runs exactly what Sri Lanka required hit- SCOREBOARD That means, Muralitharan will be left in 36 balls at one stage. With the ting the last three balls of the 46th over with roughly six more Tests and the pre- bowlers finding it difficult to break the bowled by Umar Gul for 14 runs. Sri Lanka S. Afridi c Sangakkara b Thushara 27 dictions of him taking 1000 wickets in partnership, it required a direct hit Pairing up with Angelo Mathews, U. Tharanga c Akmalb Razzaq 17 M. Yousuf c Sangakkara b Kulasekara 4 Tests won’t be a reality. “I am not going to from Mahela Jayawardene from back- he also hit 13 runs each in the last two S. Jayasuriya c Aamer b Gul 15 Y. Khan c Mathews b Thushara 12 play for a long time and we have to play ward of point to dismiss Aamer and over of Shahid Afridi’s spell giving the K. Sangakkara c Afridi b Ajmal 36 Misbah-ul-Haq c & b Muralitharan 9 Test matches regularly if I am to get 1000 pull the game back towards Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan innings some momentum. M. Jayawardene run out 33 F. Alam c Sangakkara b Jayasuriya 31 Test wickets, but we end up playing less Aamer, making his ODI debut, hit Sri Lanka’s batting had struggled C. Kapugedara c Akmal b Afridi 8 A. Razzaq lbw b Muralitharan 17 Test Matches,” he said. 23 runs in 21 balls with two boundaries throughout the Test series and the T. Samaraweera c Younus b Razzaq 10 U. Gul b Malinga 33 He also indicated the knee injury he and earlier had taken three for 45 in his trend continued here too with the A. Mathews c & b Aamer 43 M. Aamer run out 23 suffered ahead of the Test series had ten overs. After the 62 run stand in 44 exception of Kumar Sangakkara (36) N.Kulasekara c Razzaq b Aamer 16 S. Ajmal not out 0 played a major role in his decision to balls for the ninth wicket ended, and Mahela Jayawardene (33), who M. Muralitharan b Aamer 32 Extras: (5lb, 5w, 1nb) 11 retire. “I knew my knee is not right. Malinga nailed Gul with a yorker to was needlessly run out, the rest were T. Thushara not out 8 TOTAL: (all out) 196 Doctors said that I have to go through it help Sri Lanka take a 1-0 lead. unconvincing. L. Malinga not out 4 Overs: 44.4 and train harder. I can’t go for an opera- Gul, who picked up just a solitary Thilan Samaraweera, playing his Extras: (1b, 4lb, 4w, 1nb) 10 Fall of wickets: 1-29, 2-41, 3-48, 4-73, 5-78, 6- tion as I will be out for six to seven months wicket was last man out and nearly first One-Day International in four TOTAL: (for nine wickets) 232 95, 7-134, 8-134, 9-196. if I go through an operation. That means pulled off the game for Pakistan with years, managed only ten runs and so Overs: 50 Bowling: Kulasekara 7-1-30-2, Malinga 8.4-0- my career is almost over. I thought of put- 33 in 21 balls with six boundaries, did Chamara Kapugedara, who was Fall of wickets: 1-31, 2-45, 3-93, 4-100, 5-125, 50-1 (2w, 1nb), Thushara 8-0-29-3 (2w), ting up with it and train hard and go on.” but Pakistan’s batsmen had left too making his return to the national 6-131, 7-173, 8-204, 9-223. Muralitharan 10-0-46-2, Mathews 5-0-22-0 (1w), Muralitharan has claimed 770 Test much for the tail after another disap- side. Kapugedara scored eight runs. Bowling: Aamer 10-0-45-3 (1w, 1nb), Razzaq Jayasuriya 6-0-14-1. wickets in 127 Tests and 507 wickets in pointing effort with the ball. Angelo Mathews’ impressive run 10-0-33-2 (1w), Gul 8-0-46-1 (1w), Ajmal 10-0- Umpires: A. de Silva, (SL), S. Davis, (Aus). ODIs. The tourists have struggled to win in international cricket continued as 40-1, Y. Khan 2-0-13-0 (1w), Afridi 10-1-50-1. Third umpire: K. Dharmasena, (SL). a game during the tour so far and on he top scored with 43 runs in 50 deliv- Match Referee: A. Hurst, (Aus). Monday went down to Sri Lanka ‘A’ by eries with three boundaries helping Pakistan Toss won by: Pakistan 15 runs. Their decision to drop Fawad the hosts to bat their quota of 50 K. Akmal b Thushara 20 Result: Sri Lanka won by 36 runs. Farbrace to Alam, who opened in the Tests to num- overs. S. Malik b Kulasekara 9 Series: Sri Lanka leads (5) 1-0. leave Sri Lanka in August T20 Champions League draw released Paul Farbrace, who has been assis- tant to Sri Lanka Head Coach Trevor NEW DELHI (AP) - Royal national T20 tournament involving 12 top Victoria and New South Wales quali- The two English teams will be decid- Bayliss for three years, has informed his Challengers Bangalore will take on Cape provincial teams from seven nations. fied from Australia, with Cape Cobras ed after the domestic Twenty20 champi- employers, Sri Lanka Cobras in the inaugural match of the Host India will have three teams in and Diamond Eagles from South Africa, onship ends in August. Cricket (SLC) that he will be leaving Twenty20 Champions League in October. the competition, with Deccan Chargers Trinidad and Tobago from West Indies, A total of 23 matches will be played the job to take over a new coaching posi- Organizers released the draw and Delhi Daredevils joining Bangalore Otago from New Zealand and Wayamba between Oct.8-23 at three venues: tion in England.-RC Thursday for the the new $6 million inter- in the lineup. from Sri Lanka. Bangalore, New Delhi and Hyderabad. Friday 31st July, 2009.