Murali and Mendis spin out NZ !

Dilshan is out caught and Tharanga is run out and now SL are 60/. Sanga is playing well on 22 and Mahela, very cautious, is on 15 !

SL seem to be following the traditional method of keeping wickets in the first 35 overs and then launching a blitzkreig. You need wickets to launch blitzkreigs.

Gone are the days of Kalu and Jaya, who used to put on 100 runs on the board in the first fifteen overs. Now SL are 60/2, off 13 overs !

A great hundred by Sanga and a solid 66 by Mahela powered SL to 265/9.

When NZ batted, Murali struck, taking 4/25. He was ably supported by M, who took two wickets and NZ was all out for 153, a win for SL by 112 runs !

We have said earler in our columns that SL has the most potent spin attack in the world, with Murali, Mendis and Herath. The two Ms are the most deadly spin attack in contemporary cricket. Indian spin bowling has been extolled but somehow Bajji, Chawla and Ashwin have not clicket so far ( except in the warm up matches ). We dont know whether is a strategy, not to expose Indian spinners in the league matches and preserve them as weapons for the knockout games. If Indian spinners do not deliver, India is in for big trouble !

It seems NZ had not mastered the art of spin bowling, particularly on sub continental tracks. There were many cobras - balls which spin viciously and come in or go away - and the NZ batsmen were all at sea against them. NZ will have to sort out this problem, as even SA are playing with two or three spinners !

The Wankhede Stadium at Mumbai looked grand, as it was renovated at a cost of 375 crores. It will host the final, on Apr 2. Overall, all the major stadia of India have been upgraded at a cost of 1500 crores ! The Pune stadium, the official stadium of Pune Warriors, was built at a cost of 300 crores and it will host IPL matches this year. Kochi does not have a stadium as such, but all matches here will be played in the Kochi General Stadium ( which has a seating capacity of 70 K ) this year. Meanwhile the Kochi Cricket Stadium will be ready next year. Another glorious stadium is the stadium at New Bombay which will host the IPL matches. With India taking the lead, cricket as an industry will flourish in the years to come !