It's been a tournament of what might have been so far as Sri Lanka are concerned. With the league phase of the triangular series two-thirds of the way through, Mahela Jayawardene’s side has just one win to show from five outings, and that too in a rain-hit game in Canberra against India, where the Duckworth-Lewis method made their task easier. Now, a berth in the finals looks a distant prospect.
The two best balls of the tournament have come from the side languishing at the bottom of the standings; both came on Tuesday, from Lasith 'Slinga' Malinga and then courtesy that wily old fox, Chaminda Vaas.
There are few more exciting bowling sights in world cricket than Malinga kissing the ball at the start of his mark, thundering in and gathering steam along the way, whipping his right hand around his back and letting go, the ball-bearing hand almost parallel to the ground at the time of delivery. It is an unusual action that takes some getting used to. If at all.
After 18 years of international cricket, there are few things Sachin Tendulkar hasn’t seen. Even the little man had no clue to a Malinga screamer that pitched middle, swung late and crashed into off as the batsman, playing the wrong line, was completely squared up.
It was a brute of a delivery to face at any stage, and most certainly first up, with the feet not moving, and mind and body a little tentative. Not too much should be read into Tendulkar's Indian record 20th duck; the ball was a beauty, leaving Malinga’s hand at 144.3 kmph, hitting the pitch at 132 and decelerating to 117.2 when it rattled timber. The combination of searing pace, late late swing — however gentle — and great accuracy was a heady concoction, even for one-day cricket’s highest run-getter. Tendulkar hates being embarrassed thus. Malinga might still have a price to pay.
The other peach came from Vaas, nowhere near as quick as his new-ball partner but a cunning, crafty operator with many tricks in his bag. Never the fastest, Vaas’ left-arm bowling has not suffered even though his pace has dropped even more in recent times. A combination of cutters and slower ones have been mastered to keep batsmen honest. Oh, and don’t forget the curling yorker!
Single-handedly, Yuvraj Singh was taking the Lankans to the cleaners with a regal 76 when, out of the blue, Vaas conjured a piece of magic. Rolling his fingers across the seam to take pace off the ball, Vaas managed at the same time to somehow produce the perfect yorker that zeroed in on Yuvraj, went under his bat and pushed middle and leg back. It was a stunning delivery. The more times you saw it, the more you felt there was nothing Yuvraj — or any batsman — could have done to keep it out.
On such stirring deeds does the destination of a one-day game change. India should be thankful it didn’t on Tuesday!