Murali, Jayasuriya restrict Kiwis to 165

Mumbai, Oct 20 (UNI) Sri Lankan spinners had the Kiwi bastmen caught in a web as Muttiah Muralitharan (4-23) and Sanath Jayasuriya restrict the New Zealanders to just 165 in their 50 overs in a Group 'B' match of the ICC Champions Trophy here today.

The New Zealnders would have been in further trouble had it not been for a courageous 47-run last wicket partnership which saw them swell their total from 118 for nine to some sort of respectable 165 all out in 49.2 overs. Daniel Vettori remained unbeaten just four short of a well deserved 50 making a 53 ball unbeaten 46 which was laced with five fours.

With left arm spinner Daniel Vettori and off spinner Jeetan Patel in their ranks on a slow turner, the New Zealanders have been given a life line to post their second win on the trot and with it book a semis berth.

Electing to bat first, no New Zealand batsmn with the exception of Nathan Astle was able to settle on an intriguing pitch as they struggled to score runs or keep wickets.

Though no one was quite sure how the pitch would play after the use of adhesives on it to hold it together - sniffing glue, is said to leave uncertain side effects - clearly it loomed large on the minds of both teams initially.

Sri Lanka's bowlers made the more disoriented start with a bowler no less of the class of Chaminda Vaas bowling three wides in the first over itself.

This lasted till the fifth over when Vaas found his bearings trapping a scoreless Stephen Fleming with one that swooned in instead of darting out. Gradually, Sri Lanka's bowlers, worked out the pitch, keeping everything almost painfully straight. The bowling though was never more than honest - not much movement, not much pace but no width and decent lengths - but never more as New Zealand started timidly.

Their first boundary didn't arrive until the eighth over and not surprisingly, Nathan Astle was the source, a rudimentary clip off the pads through square leg. Lou Vincent, beginning to fidget with every passing dot ball, stood up and smacked Maharoof over cover a couple of overs later and when Astle merely pushed a graceful drive straight down the ground, New Zealand hinted that they were waking up from their slumber.

Yet, an over later Vincent was gone, grotesquely hoicking across the line and after 12 overs, New Zealand were neither here nor there at 37 for two. Astle held out patiently as did his luck.

His colleagues struggled though the pitch was hardly to blame in the dismissals of Hamish Marshall and Scott Styris. Marshall cut a ball short and wide from Malinga straight to point and when Styris was presented a similar offering, albeit slower from Sanath Jayasuriya, he edged straight to the keeper.

Astle battled on, cutting and dabbing a couple of boundaries but as Muttiah Muralitharan made a grand entrance, flummoxing Jacob Oram with a doosra, his appeared a lone fight till Vettori and Jeetan Patel showed their batsmen how to bat on this wicket.

UNI