Faisalabad, March 9: A hurricane 82 in 44 balls by opener Sanath Jayasuriya blew England out of the Iqbal Stadium here today as flamboyant Sri Lankans reached their first-ever World Cup semi-finals by winning their quarter-final by five wickets with plenty of balls to spare.
In one of the most ruthless batting displays ever, Jayasuriya blasted 13 magnificent boundaries and three huge sixes as Sri Lanka overhauled England's respectable 235 for eight with 56 balls to spare.
England, the three-time losing finalists, who were tipped to win this time by one time supremo Ian Botham, had no answer to Jayasuriya's onslaught and it seemed that even 22 fielders would be insufficient to stop the elegant left-hander who was clearly in a punishing mood. If the ball came to him like a bullet, it went to the fence in a flash. The swashbuckler did not even allow the spectators to take their seats as his every shot was a treat to watch and his innings was fully enjoyed by the crowd though the number that had present was disappointing as many had apparently decided to stay at home and watch the India - Pakistan crunch match on TV.
Jayasuriya, who batted in a similar fashion against India in which Sri Lanka overtook India's 271 with comfortable ease, in the meantime, equaled the three fastest half centuries hit in a World Cup. He now stands along with Chris Old, Imran Khan and Martin Crowe who reached half centuries from 30 deliveries.
Jayasuriya could have easily become World Cup's quickest century-maker eclipsing Clive Lloyd's 82-ball 100. But a rush of blood finally took its toll as he was smartly stumped round the legs by Jack Russell off Dermott Reeve.
Jayasuriya in his brief but highly impressive and entertaining knock played all the shots one would find in the text books.
Honestly, had it been the best of the bowling attacks against Jayasuriya, it might have faced a similar treatment because it was his day.
Although Jayasuriya was beaten in three successive balls by Peter Martin, the batsman took revenge from Richard Illingworth hitting him for three brilliantly struck fours. And from then on, there was no stopping him. If Philip DeFraitas has made his final appearance for England, it would only be because of Jayasuriya whom he twice hit over the roof of the stadium.
Sri Lanka's intentions were quite clear when Romesh Kaluwitharana hammered Illingworth for back-to-back boundaries only to lose his leg stump on the third ball to make the score 12 for one in 1.4 overs.
Then Jayasuriya, adjudged Man-of-the-Match, added 101 runs for the second wicket with Asanka Gurusinha to take the score to 113 in 15 overs.
With the departure of Jayasuriya, Aravinda de Silva (31 with five fours), Arjuna Ranatunga (25 with three fours) and Asanka Gurusinha (45 with four boundaries) guided Sri Lanka to 198 for four in 27 overs. Then Hashan Tillekeratne (19 not out) and Roshan Mahanama (22 not out) steered the ship without any further damage despite a shaky period between 195 and 210.
Earlier, Mike Atherton, probably for the last time, won the toss and elected to bat on a placid wicket. But his departure at the score of 31 after scoring 22, started the rot and England collapsed to 115 for five. The most unfortunate of the five batsmen was Robin Smith who was declared run out by Indian TV Umpire V.K. Ramaswamy in controversial circumstances.
However, a dogged 67 in 64 balls by Philip DeFraitas, who was promoted in the batting order, held the middle-order. His innings was of immense importance for England. Nevertheless, when DeFraitas became yet another victim of bad decision, he had already hit five fours and two sixes and was looking to cut loose.
Allrounder Dermott Reeves (35 with three fours) and Darren Gough (26 with three fours) further stabilised England's position but at the end of the match it was clearly evident that they fell short by at least 100 runs. And who knows if Sri Lanka would have even overhauled England's 300-odd runs.
Besides victory, it was another win for Muttiah Muralitharan who bowled his quota of 10 overs without being called by either Ian Robinson or Mahboob Shah. The off-spinner had a torried time in Australia where he was restricted from bowling by the home biased umpires. He conceded 37 runs for his two wickets.
Kumar Dharmasena (two for 30) and Sanath Jayasuriya (two for 46) were the other wicket takers.
As a tailpiece it seems that India, Kenya and England have paid the price for the sin committed by Australia and the West Indies who forfeited their games in Sri Lanka because of so-called security reasons. If there is justice on land, well, I am certain Sri Lanka will win the World Cup and their final victim will be the arrogant Australians.
