India v Sri Lanka
Wisden's review of the second semi-final, India vs Sri Lanka
15-Apr-2014
At Cardiff, June 20. India won by eight wickets. Toss: India.
Sri Lanka never found a way into the second semi-final, and departed with 15 overs to spare after the Indian pace attack responded to a gloomy morning as if their whole lives had been spent exploiting damp conditions. Such was the assistance for seam and swing that even Dhoni unstrapped his pads to bowl four overs of 75mph wobble; he was denied a second-ball wicket only when Jayawardene successfully overturned an lbw decision thanks to an inside edge. Sri Lanka's cause was not helped when Dilshan limped off in the fifth over having torn a calf muscle while running, and a combination of Bhuvneshwar Kumar's accuracy, Umesh Yadav's skiddy pace and Ishant Sharma's height and nip denied them any momentum. Raina held three smart catches at second slip, and Sri Lanka did not reach 50 until the 21st over. Dhoni held back his spinners for longer than usual, and Mathews took 85 balls over his half-century, only to fall soon afterwards in a late attempt to take on Ashwin. Defending a modest target of 182, Sri Lanka could afford no errors, but they dropped Dhawan, India's form batsman, on 18 (twice) and 62. Armed with the luxury of time, Kohli waited 42 balls to hit his first boundary, then accelerated to 50 with a six back over Mendis's head. Protesters waving Tamil flags twice held up play. In the second stoppage, one of them managed to run across the pitch before being apprehended.
Man of the Match: I. Sharma. Attendance: 14,221.
Sri Lanka never found a way into the second semi-final, and departed with 15 overs to spare after the Indian pace attack responded to a gloomy morning as if their whole lives had been spent exploiting damp conditions. Such was the assistance for seam and swing that even Dhoni unstrapped his pads to bowl four overs of 75mph wobble; he was denied a second-ball wicket only when Jayawardene successfully overturned an lbw decision thanks to an inside edge. Sri Lanka's cause was not helped when Dilshan limped off in the fifth over having torn a calf muscle while running, and a combination of Bhuvneshwar Kumar's accuracy, Umesh Yadav's skiddy pace and Ishant Sharma's height and nip denied them any momentum. Raina held three smart catches at second slip, and Sri Lanka did not reach 50 until the 21st over. Dhoni held back his spinners for longer than usual, and Mathews took 85 balls over his half-century, only to fall soon afterwards in a late attempt to take on Ashwin. Defending a modest target of 182, Sri Lanka could afford no errors, but they dropped Dhawan, India's form batsman, on 18 (twice) and 62. Armed with the luxury of time, Kohli waited 42 balls to hit his first boundary, then accelerated to 50 with a six back over Mendis's head. Protesters waving Tamil flags twice held up play. In the second stoppage, one of them managed to run across the pitch before being apprehended.
Man of the Match: I. Sharma. Attendance: 14,221.