da winzada777： With three `papara’ bands in full swing under the corrugated tin roofs atthe Sinhalese Sports Club, Sri Lanka celebrated the return of Aravinda deSilva and Muttiah Muralitharan to their one-day side, cruising to acomfortable five-wicket win
Charlie Austin04-Aug-2002With three `papara’ bands in full swing under the corrugated tin roofs atthe Sinhalese Sports Club, Sri Lanka celebrated the return of Aravinda deSilva and Muttiah Muralitharan to their one-day side, cruising to acomfortable five-wicket win against Bangladesh in the opening game of athree-match series.The carnival atmosphere off the field – a stark change to the Test series,which was played out in front of empty stands – produced some entertainingafternoon batting by Sri Lanka’s batsmen.With Bangladesh scoring a respectable, if not competitive, 226, MarvanAtapattu guided the host team home after blazing cameos from SanathJayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara.Jayasuriya launched a withering assault in the early overs, thrashing 40from 32 balls, including six fours and a massive short arm jab for six thatsailed onto the grassed bank in front of the scoreboard.When he departed, caught at short mid-wicket off a miscued pull, Sangakkaracarried on the attack, scorching to 29 from 23 balls with six fours.Sri Lanka rattled up their 100 in 14.2 overs, allowing them to amble towardsvictory after Sangakkara was caught at mid-wicket, slog-sweeping mediumpacer Khaled Mahmud.The right-hander Atapattu, now playing as an opener after the axing ofRomesh Kaluwitharana, eased himself past fifty for the 41st time in hiscareer.He looked set for a century but was run out for 83 after a direct hit fromManjural Islam, the wicket bringing veteran Aravinda de Silva (1) to thecrease for the first time in one and a half years in a One-DayInternational.De Silva’s arrival was greeted with a cheering ovation from the crowd, butthey were only able to savour one sweep shot before the 36-year-old beforehe was dubiously adjudged to have feathered a catch behind.Arnold guided Sri Lanka past the winning post, finishing with 29 from 56balls.Earlier in the day, Bangladesh, looking for only their fourth victory inone-day cricket, had boldly elected to bat first in the morning on a pitchthat traditionally offers the fast bowlers encouragement during the firsthour.But the decision appeared justified as the openers, Al Sahariar and MohammadAshraful, comfortably negotiated the early overs, adding 38 for the firstwicket, as left-armer Chaminda Vaas failed to swing the ball.However, in the tenth over, Al Sahariar chased a wide swinging delivery fromDilhara Fernando to be caught behind for 25, precipitating a top ordercollapse that saw four wickets fall for 38 runs.Habibul Bashar (2) dragged a short ball from Chamila Gamage on to his stumpsand Alok Kapali gifted Mahela Jayawardene a simple catch at first slip togive debutante all-rounder Hasantha Fernando his first wicket ininternational cricket.With Ashraful caught at mid-off for 36, attempting an over-ambitious loftedstraight drive against Muttiah Muralitharan, Bangladesh were precariouslyplaced on 86 for four.But gutsy, workman-like half centuries from Tushar Imran (61) and skipperKhaled Mahmud (54) ensured the visitors their highest score against SriLanka.The pair added 90 for the fifth wicket, forcing Jayasuriya to chop andchange his bowlers, seven of whom were used during the innings.In the end it was Muralitharan, playing his first one-day match sincedislocating his shoulder at Sharjah last April, who broke through as Imrantop edged an attempted sweep.The wicket drew Muralitharan level with Australian spinner Shane Warne on278 wickets, fourth equal highest wicket-taker in ODI history.Sri Lanka re-grouped after the fall of Imran, restricting Bangladesh to 55runs in the final 10 overs, as wickets fell too frequently for an all-outassault.In the morning, Sri Lanka had awarded two new caps to fast bowler ChamilaGamage and medium pace all-rounder Hasantha Fernando.Bangladesh, meanwhile, drafted in all three of their one-day specialists -former captain Naimur Rahman, left arm spinner Mohammad Raffique andall-rounder Khaled Mahmud – as they packed their side with all-rounders.