Sagittarius return to winning ways

The retired Sri Lankan trio of Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Mutthiah Muralitharan have taken us back in time after setting alight the inaugural edition of the Masters Champions League. At the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Thursday (February 4), Jayawardene powered the Sagittarius Strikers to their second win one by 63 runs en route the first century of the tournament.

Libra Legends were restricted to 164 for 7 following a clinical outing from Sagittarius' bowlers, with their campaign all but finished with two games left.

Jayawardene anchored Sagittarius' innings right from the start, looking at making the most of the track that didn't have too much for the bowlers. But that doesn't take away the sheer class and intent from Jayawardene's innings that had the perfect blend of execution with caution.

Arguably one of the most destructive opening pairs of the competition, Jayawardene and Adam Gilchrist raced away to 58 in the Powerplay, as they were a reflection of batsmen of their younger days. Nothing had, however, changed since then as, together, they stitched a 102-run opening stand before Gilchrist was caught by Nicky Boje, who dived to his right to take a brilliant one-handed return catch.

Jayawardene's concentration couldn't be broken, but there was a period of lull in between. That, however, turned out to be the calm before the storm. Jayawardene was dropped on 91, after which he scored 34 runs off the next nine balls he faced, racing to 124 off just 60. As many as 75 runs were scored in the final five overs of the innings as Jayawardene made merry, despite struggling with a hamstring injury.

Graeme Swann, who joined the Libra squad only after their first game, was pasted in both the following games, being taken for 64 runs in six overs. Ryan ten Doeschate leaked runs on the day, going for 49 off three today.

Although the Sagittarius batsmen were in ace form, Libra Legends' sloppiness in the field let them down. There were as many as three dropped catches and those made the difference between the 227 for 3 that Sagittarius got and a lower total. Gilchrist was dropped in the second over, when on 5 he went on to score 38. Apart from the drop catch, when on 98, Jayawardene snuck in a cheeky single which could've had him short if the wicketkeeper would've hit, but despite having the time to aim and hit the wickets, he missed. A subdued celebration followed his century, which he scaled with a boundary.

Libra needed to start well in order to stand a chance to chase the set target, but Bond, who was rested for the previous match, induced an outside edge off Michael Lumb (13) in the third over. Bond then accounted for Phil Mustard in his next.

Jacques Kallis (25) and ten Doeschate (8), who have been consistently getting runs for Libra failed on the day as the Legends were in trouble for 98 for 4. However, Sean Ervine kept them in the chase after being handed a life. He, too, fell soon after his half-century, ending Libra's hopes of even coming close to a win. The highlight of the Libra innings was the 21-run over off Yasir Arafat when Ervine went after him, but there was nothing noteworthy after.

Brief scores: Sagittarius Strikers 227/3 in 20 overs (Mahela Jayawardene 124, Adam Gilchrist 38; Brad Hogg 1-33) beat Libra Legends 164/7 in 20 overs (Sean Ervine 55, Jacques Kallis 25; Shane Bond 2-11, Daniel Vettori 2-32) by 63 runs.