Malinga makes immediate impact
Plays of the Day from the Asia Cup match between Sri Lanka and UAE in Mirpur
Alagappan Muthu in Mirpur
25-Feb-2016
Tillakaratne Dilshan wore one on the helmet while trying the dilscoop • AFP
The clean-up act
Sri Lanka's batsmen swept, reverse swept, switch-hit and scooped out a giant hole to jump into. They had been 49 for 0 after six overs but finished on 129 for 8. What a mess. So out came their captain Lasith Malinga in the defence like a man possessed. Rohan Mustafa was lbw the very first ball of the chase, Mohammad Shahzad was bowled off the last ball of the first over, and Sri Lanka's dismal first innings was all but wiped from memory.
Sri Lanka's batsmen swept, reverse swept, switch-hit and scooped out a giant hole to jump into. They had been 49 for 0 after six overs but finished on 129 for 8. What a mess. So out came their captain Lasith Malinga in the defence like a man possessed. Rohan Mustafa was lbw the very first ball of the chase, Mohammad Shahzad was bowled off the last ball of the first over, and Sri Lanka's dismal first innings was all but wiped from memory.
The lesson unlearned
Tillakaratne Dilshan plays his dilscoop like he doesn't worry about the ball hitting his face. Today, it did, when Shahzad got the ball to kick a little more than expected. After shrugging off the blow to his grille, Dilshan took strike again and pasted the next ball wide of long-on, his straight bat on parade. The very next over, though, Dilshan seemed to get sick of conventional stroke play and dabbled in the switch-hit, twice. No connection on either occasion.
Tillakaratne Dilshan plays his dilscoop like he doesn't worry about the ball hitting his face. Today, it did, when Shahzad got the ball to kick a little more than expected. After shrugging off the blow to his grille, Dilshan took strike again and pasted the next ball wide of long-on, his straight bat on parade. The very next over, though, Dilshan seemed to get sick of conventional stroke play and dabbled in the switch-hit, twice. No connection on either occasion.
The inside edge's betrayal
Dinesh Chandimal must have known the boundary to his leg side was short. The crudest slog, to the last ball of the fourth over, was powered only by the inside edge off the bottom of the bat but went to the long-on boundary. He played several other sparkling strokes to reach his second T20I fifty, but fell when that inside edge betrayed him. A juicy length ball, affording him the width to free his arms, came in the 14th over and this time Chandimal picked out midwicket with laser-guided precision.
Dinesh Chandimal must have known the boundary to his leg side was short. The crudest slog, to the last ball of the fourth over, was powered only by the inside edge off the bottom of the bat but went to the long-on boundary. He played several other sparkling strokes to reach his second T20I fifty, but fell when that inside edge betrayed him. A juicy length ball, affording him the width to free his arms, came in the 14th over and this time Chandimal picked out midwicket with laser-guided precision.
The dressing up
Angelo Mathews is a world-class batsman, and UAE perked themselves up to make the best impression they could. The field came in, Amjad Javed ran in a little harder and the very first ball rapped the Sri Lankan Test and one-day captain on the pads and led to a vociferous lbw shout. The next one pitched on a good length and zipped through the gap between bat and pad before Mathews could decide what shot he wanted to play. UAE managed to dismiss him for 8 off nine balls.
Angelo Mathews is a world-class batsman, and UAE perked themselves up to make the best impression they could. The field came in, Amjad Javed ran in a little harder and the very first ball rapped the Sri Lankan Test and one-day captain on the pads and led to a vociferous lbw shout. The next one pitched on a good length and zipped through the gap between bat and pad before Mathews could decide what shot he wanted to play. UAE managed to dismiss him for 8 off nine balls.
Alagappan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo