Imran Tahir took a good return catch vs Sri Lanka to dismiss Thirimanne
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South Africa crushed Sri Lanka at the SCG in the first quarter-finals of the ICC World Cup. The Lankans were shot out for just 133 runs which the Proteas chased down with nine wickets to spare. (Match Report )
Angelo Mathews, the Sri Lankan captain, dubbed it as their worst performance and ex-West Indies great Brian Lara was exasperated at the woeful Sri Lankan display in the lop-sided quarter-final.
"It was a mismatch", Lara said speaking exclusively to NDTV. The former West Indian was extremely disappointed with the Lankan batting and said that Sri Lanka couldn't even manage to put forward a contest in a high profile knockout game. ('Choke' is on You, Says de Villiers )
South Africa, though, impressed Lara with their all-round performance.
"South Africa were very good", said the Trinidadian, "they are a strong unit and any team that would face them next would have a tough job on their hand." (Time to Pay Back My Country, Says Emotional Tahir )
Lara pointed out that the spinners may have got the wickets but the Proteas pace-attack comprising of Morne Morkel, Kyle Abbott and Dale Steyn looked menacing.
When asked about the departing duo of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, Lara was all praise about two of Sri Lanka's favourite sons.
"Both are amazing players and team men", said the left-handed legend, "(Kumar) Sangakkara was in terrific touch during the World Cup and Mahela (Jayawardene) has been fantastic over the years. Both these players have been great servants for Sri Lankan cricket and will be missed badly in the future."
Before concluding, Lara expressed his concern that the second quarter-final between India and Bangladesh could again be a one-sided affair. He sounded a warning to the Bangladesh team and said, "India are much stronger than Bangladesh. I am not underrating Bangladesh but India are way too strong and it won't be an easy task for Bangladesh."
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