Mahela steers SL to 189

Experienced Sri Lanka batsman Mahela Jayawardene chanced his arm to score a fine 89 against England at Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday. Photo: Internet

Mahela Jayawardene took full advantage of some sloppy fielding from England to go on to post his first big score of the tournament. Jayawardene scored a 51-ball 89 to take Sri Lanka to a formidable 189. He, however, might have felt a touch lucky having been dropped twice and with a close catch appeal going for him.
It started right from his first ball, when Jayawardene edged one towards point with Michael Lumb diving and claiming the catch. Replays proved inconclusive and the third umpire ruled against Lumb.
That was enough for Jayawardene to get going as he began playing a wide array of shots. He started with a chip over midwicket, which was followed by the slightest of ramps over slips for four in the fourth over.
He then pulled Tim Bresnan for a huge six over square-leg in the sixth fifth over. He reached his 50 off 32 balls in inventive fashion, by reverse-sweeping James Tredwell for a four off the first ball of the 13th over and then followed that with what was perhaps the shot of the day -- he came down the track to a length delivery and lofted that over wide long on for a huge six. He did the same to Bresnan in the 14th over and picked him up for a six over midwicket.

To add to England's woes, Jaywardene was dropped yet again, this time by Bresnan in the 15th over. He hit a full toss wide of long off and Bresnan failed to hold on to a running catch.
Jaywardene's innings finally came to an end in the 17th over when he was bowled while attempting to hit another one out of the ground. He finished with three sixes and 11 fours. The innings took his tally to a total of 967 runs in T20 World Cups. It also helped him cross the 100-mark barrier in terms of the number of fours hit.
He shared a 145-run stand with Tillakaratne Dilshan for the second wicket, which is Sri Lanka's second highest overall in T20 Internationals.
Dilshan, who played his part with a responsible 55, too was lucky as he was dropped at square leg by Bresnan in the eighth over. True to his name, Dilshan attempted a number of 'Dil-scoops' in the game. His first, a six, was a scoop off Bresnan in the third over, which went all the way over the fine-leg fence.
Towards the end of the innings he seemed tired and was not timing the ball as well. He was eventually caught at deep-midwicket in the 18th over.
By then Sri Lanka were already on their way to a good score. They promoted the aggressive Thisara Perera at number four, who smacked an unbeaten 23 off 12 balls to finish on a high. Angelo Mathews too joined the fun towards the end, smacking a six in his five-ball 11.