Sangakkara's masterclass seals series win for Warne's Warriors
Warne's Warriors took an unassailable lead in the three-match Cricket All-Stars Series against Sachin's Blasters with a comfortable 57-run win in the second All Stars game at the Minute Maid Park, Houston, on Wednesday. Kumar Sangakkara was the star of the show as he smashed 70 runs off just 30 balls, helping Warriors to a mammoth total of 262 in 20 overs, in the first innings.
Sachin Tendulkar, captain of the Blasters, won the toss and asked Warne's Warriors to bat first, but the move back fired soon as Michael Vaughan and Mathew Hayden provided a solid start.
The opening four overs saw an intriguing battle between Australian legend Glenn McGrath and his former teammate Hayden. Eventually, it was 'Pigeon' who came out on top as he dismissed the destructive left-hander with his trademark outside-the-off-stump delivery.
Kumar Sangakara and Ricky Ponting formed a lethal partnership towards the end as the duo scored 69 runs in just 23 balls. The duo guided Warne's Warriors to a massive total of 262 runs in 20 overs.
After his trailblazing knock in the opening game of the series, Sehwag was dismissed early this time around, although not before he had hit Wasim Akram and Ajit Agarkar for a six each. His dismissal brought India's most successful opening pair together for one more time – Sachin and Sourav. But the duo could not rescue this game as Saqlain Mustaq showed his class with the ball.
The wily spinner knocked out Sachin's off-stump and then followed that up with the important wicket of Mahela Jayawardene to incapacitate the Blasters' run chase. In a match where over 450 runs were scored in 40 overs, Saqlain maintained an economy of 4.00.
Shaun Pollock provided some entertainment towards the end as he hit Akram for three consecutive sixes, on his way to a half-century. But it was too littletoo late as Sachin's Blasters fell short by 57 runs in the end.
After promoting the sports in New York and Houston, Sachin and Warne will now move to Los Angeles for the final game of the series on Novemeber 15. The legendary leg spinner was delighted with the response this tour has generated and hoped for a similar reception in the last game.
"Nearly 28,000 people turned up for the match and this is just fantastic. Hopefully it would be a hat-trick of good crowd response when we go to Los Angeles. I am thankful to the people for turning up to support us.
"I am not really surprised by the response because when me and Sachin sat down to conceptualise this league, we had imagined a good response and I am glad that it is turning out to be true,.
"The way we have been treated has been fantastic.
“The fans have created a great atmosphere. Today it was some special batting from some class players. It shows you what a good pitch it was. Sri Lankan people will be asking to see if we could get Sangakkara back. He played beautifully today.
"At the end of the day, it is nice to win but it isn't the case. The cricketing cliche of cricket is the winner stands out today, the outfield and roof was wonderful," Warne said after the game.
