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Change Your Life! |
3rd test ends in a tame draw |
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August 11, 2000
COLOMBO (AP) - The third and final test between Sri Lanka and South Africa ended in a draw Thursday with the two sides sharing the series 1-1. Set to score 263 for victory, the Sri Lankans reached 195 for four wickets and ran out of time. The highlight of the Sri Lanka innings was an unbeaten century by Mahela Jayawardene. But the day belonged to retiring former Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga. He remained 28 not out playing the last knock of his test career. Ranatunga was given a standing ovation as the match ended. Tears rolled down his eyes as he walked back to the pavilion. Ranatunga, 36, went straight to his parents and touched their feet. Ranatunga, who played for Sri Lanka for 19 years, is the only cricketer in the world to have represented his country in both its inaugural and 100th test matches. On Thursday, Jayawardene, who came when Sri Lanka was two down for 20 runs, faced 183 balls, hit 14 boundaries and a six for his unbeaten score of 101. With Ranatunga, he put up 76 runs for the unbroken fifth wicket partnership. Sri Lanka needed to score the runs in 68 overs after South Africa declared its second innings closed at 241 for nine at lunch on Thursday, the fifth and final day of the rain-hit test. Sri Lanka's off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan took five wickets for 68, his 22nd five-wicket haul in test career. Earlier, South Africa, resuming its second innings at 157 for five, added 84 runs off 37 overs, losing four wickets during the morning play. Muralitharan picked up the wickets of Lance Klusener and Mark Boucher Thursday to add to the three wickets he had taken on Wednesday. Nicky Boje was 29 not out and Nantie Hayward 3 not out when South Africa declared its innings at lunch. Ranatunga announced his decision to retire from test cricket after the current series. "I arrived at it after a great deal of consideration and thought," he said after the match. "Amid all trials and tribulations, I enjoyed every minute of playing cricket as long as I could do so with honor and dignity." "Arjuna's immense contribution to the game is inestimable," said Thilanga Sumathipala, president of the Sri Lanka Cricket Control Board. "His test and one day achievements are now a fundamental part of Sri Lanka's proud cricket history." He was an 18-year-old schoolboy when he made his debut in Sri Lanka's first-ever test match against England in Colombo in February 1982. He subsequently represented his country in 93 tests, leading the team in 56 matches. He also played 269 one-day internationals, including 193 as captain. Scoreboard at the end of the fifth and final test between Sri Lanka and South Africa Thursday. South Africa, 1st Innings 279 all out in 108.2 overs. Sri Lanka, 1st Innings 258 all out in 98.2 overs. South Africa, 2nd innings 241 for 9 wickets in 113.5 overs. Sri Lanka, 2nd innings Marvan Atapattu c Kirsten b Pollock 0 Sanath Jayasuriya b Adams 17 Kumara Sangakkara c Rhodes b Hayward 6 Mahela Jayawardene not out 101 Aravinda de Silva lbw b Klusener 41 Arjuna Ranatunga not out 28 Extras: (nb 2) 2 Total; (4 wickets, 67.1 overs, 262 mins) 195 Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-20, 3-37, 4-119. Sri Lanka bowling Pollock 6-3-13-1, Hayward 9-1-21-1 (2nb), Kallis 4-2-4-0, Klusener 12.1-4-20-1, Adams 16-3-72-1 and Boje 20-4-65-0. Umpires: B.C. Cooray (Sri Lanka) and E.A. Nicholls (West Indies) Third Umpire: T.H Wijewardene (Sri Lanka) Match Referee: B.F. Hastings (New Zealand) |