A penetrative spell by ace spinner Muttiah Muralitharan spurred Sri Lanka to a seven-wicket victory Friday over New Zealand in the limited-overs ICC Champions Trophy, reviving the South Asian team's hopes of advancing to the semifinals.
Muralitharan snared four for 23 as Sri Lanka bowled out New Zealand for 165 in 49.2 overs. In reply, composed innings from opener Upul Tharanga (56) and skipper Mahela Jayawardene (48) took Sri Lanka to 166 for three in 36 overs.
Tharanga and Jayawardene put on 84 runs in the second wicket after opener Sanath Jayasuriya's aggressive 15-ball 20 in the opening stand of 50.
Tharanga struck nine boundaries off 77 deliveries and Jayawardene hit six from 73 balls. Both fell in the same over from off-spinner Jeetan Patel (2-32), by which time Sri Lanka was on course for victory.
Pushed into a must-win position after its four-wicket loss Tuesday to Pakistan, Sri Lanka is now back in contention for a place in the semifinals from Group B.
``We're back in the contest for a semifinal spot, but we need to continue playing well,'' said Jayawardene.
``We put pressure on New Zealand by claiming early wickets,'' he said. ``A total around 240 would have been tough to chase on this pitch.''
New Zealand had clinched an 87-run victory in its previous match against South Africa.
Pakistan's victory in its only outing gives it the top spot in the pool standings, followed by Sri Lanka and New Zealand with one victory each from two matches.
South Africa has lost its only match.
Failing to benefit from New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming winning the toss, New Zealand tottered by losing three top-order batsmen cheaply before the spinning duo of Muralitharan and Jayasuriya (2-26) ran through the middle order.
New Zealand's batting failed to recover from the early departure of captain Fleming for a duck in the fifth over. Its batsmen failed to negotiate the low-bounce pitch, where balls skidded through after pitching.
New Zealand slumped to 118 for nine before the last-wicket pair of Daniel Vettori (46 not out) and Jeetan Patel (10) frustrated Sri Lanka's attack through a 47-run partnership.
Vettori led the scoring by hitting five boundaries from 53 deliveries, while the only other substantial contribution came from Nathan Astle, whose 74-ball 42 featured six shots to the fence.
``The luxury about winning the first game of the preliminary round is that we stay alive in the tournament despite this loss,'' Fleming said. ``We batted poorly and lost a bit of momentum today.''
Fleming, who led with 89 against South Africa at this Brabourne Stadium, departed without getting off the mark. No batsman could emulate his patient innings that proved to be the crucial factor against South Africa on the same track which has attracted some criticism.
The track's bounce did not seem to have improved much despite the International Cricket Council's desperate move to fly in its chief grounds consultant, Andy Atkinson from London to help improve the surface that crumbled in the previous match.
Atkinson sprayed an adhesive to try and bind the surface, hoping it would last 100 overs.
Pace ace Chaminda Vaas was wayward as he delivered six no-balls _ three of them in a row _ and four wides, but made the first breakthrough by trapping Fleming lbw.
Lou Vincent (13) and Hamish Marshall (4) fell against pace before the spinners turned on their magic.
Off-spinner Muralitharan removed Jacob Oram (6), Brendon McCullum (9) and Kyle Mills (6), beside claiming the vital wicket Astle, who miscued a sweep shot to be snapped by Lasith Malinga at square-leg.
Left-arm spinner Jayasuriya accounted for Scott Styris (3) and Shane Bond (1), both of whom recovered from their back stress to be included in the lineup for this match.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
