M A I N   N E W S

India scalp Lanka to enter semis
Sachin hits 97; Srinath is man of the match

Saurav Ganguly dives to survive a run out attempt as Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara gathers the ball during a Super Six match in Johannesburg on Monday.  India's Javagal Srinath (L) jokes with Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralidharan (R) as he leaves the field at the end of their Super Six match. India's Ashish Nehra celebrates after dismissing Sri Lanka's Prabath Nissanka. Sri Lanka's captain Sanath Jayasuriya takes rest during a refreshment break.  — Reuters photos

Johannesburg, March 10
India sent the alarm bells ringing for front-runners Australia with a crushing 183-run defeat on Sri Lanka in a Super Six match here today to storm into the semifinals of the World Cup cricket tournament.

Riding on an exceptional bowling performance by the three seamers, India skittled out Sri Lanka for just 109 runs in 23 overs to record their second biggest-ever victory margin by runs. Javagal Srinath, playing his last World Cup, and Ashish Nehra claimed four wickets each while Zaheer Khan took two wickets.

Sachin Tendulkar had earlier propelled India to 292 for six, becoming the highest scorer in a single World Cup in the process even though he missed his 35th one-day century by just three runs. Virender Sehwag and captain Saurav Ganguly also came up with handsome scores as India made Sri Lanka pay dearly for their decision to field first on winning the toss.

The victory catapulted India to 16 points on the Super Six table and also enlivened the possibility of a title clash with Australia at this very ground on March 23.

So pathetic was Sri Lanka’s batting performance that the 21 extras were the second highest contributor to their total, behind top-scorer Kumara Sangakkara, who made 30 runs. The other important scorers were the No 10 and 11 batsmen Muttiah Muralitharan (16) and Dilhara Fernando (13), who started hitting out towards the end with the result only a formality.

Srinath, who now has 14 wickets in this tournament and is joint fourth leading wicket-taker with Australian Glenn McGrath, struck twice in his very first over to send back in-form Marvan Atapattu and youngster Jehan Mubarak.

Mahela Jayawardene’s misery in this World Cup continued when he fell leg before wicket to Zaheer Khan in the third over to leave Sri Lanka panting at 3 for 3. Srinath then broke the back of Sri Lanka in the next over, trapping the dangerous Aravinda de Silva leg before wicket. None of the first four batsmen to be out could score any run.

At 15 for 4 in the fourth over, Sri Lanka’s cause was all but over. Their slim hopes of even putting up a respectable total were dashed when their captain Sanath Jayasuriya was sent back by Srinath in the eighth over with the total on 40.

Nehra, who had claimed six wickets in the game against England, then ran through the lower middle order to hasten Sri Lanka’s demise. Both Nehra, who now has 12 wickets in this World Cup, and Srinath finished with figure of four for 35. Zaheer Khan’s two wickets cost him 33 runs.

So effective were the three mediumpacers that the Indians did not even need to call on the services of any other bowler.

However, the result them precariously placed in the race for the semifinals. Their fate hinges not only on their last Super Six game against Zimbabwe but also on the result of games involving other teams like Kenya and New Zealand.

Tendulkar narrowly missed his century but once again guided the team into a position of strength as India reached 292 for six. Tendulkar was out on 97 — the second time in this tournament that he got out in the 90s following his dismissal on 98 against Pakistan — but laid a strong foundation for the team in two good partnerships with Sehwag and captain Ganguly.

Sehwag made a handsome 66 with five fours and three sixes while Ganguly scored a fluent 48 as the Indian batsmen made Sri Lankans pay dearly for their decision to field first on winning the toss. Tendulkar, who put on 153 runs for the first wicket with Sehwag, bettered his own record for maximum runs in a single World Cup when he reached his fifty with a four. The boundary against Dilhara Fernando took Tendulkar’s runs in this World Cup to 524, which bettered the 523 he had scored in the 1996 World Cup.

It was Sehwag who launched the attack on Sri Lankan bowlers, hitting Prabath Nissanka for a six over point and a four in the second over before Tendulkar took over and completely dominated the bowling. 

Bowling: Khan 7-0-33-2, Srinath 9-1-35-4, Nehra 7-1-35-4. PTI