Sanga shines against Tendulkar’s Blasters ..

Houston, Wednesday: Shane Warne’s Warriors walloped Sachin Tendulkar’s Blasters by 57 runs to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match Cricket All Stars Series.

Tendulkar’s decision to put the opposition in to bat backfired as game’s heavyweights Kumar Sangakkara (70 off 30), Jacques Kallis (45 off 23) and Ricky Ponting (41 off 16) tore apart the equally celebrated Warriors’ bowling attack to smash 262 for five in 20 overs.

The likes of Tendulkar (33 off 20), Virender Sehwag (16 off 8), Shaun Pollock (55 off 22) Brian Lara (19 off 21) and Sourav Ganguly (12 off 12) enthralled a sizable crowd with their brief knocks at Minute Maid Park.

The ‘legends’ now travel to Los Angeles for the final game of the series on Saturday. The opening match, won by Warne’s men convincingly, was played in New York on November 7.

Though the match’s outcome was not that significant considering the games are a mere exhibition, the famed former cricketers from both teams displayed fierce competitive spirit.

The competitive zeal was evident when the dream opening pair of Tendulkar and Sehwag walked into the middle. What made the contest more mouthwatering was Wasim Akram opening the bowling for Warriors and swinging the ball in from the word go.

It was now Tendulkar’s turn to use the long handle. The master blaster hammered three fours and couple of sixes before his old foe Saqlain Mushtaq found his stumps with a fast off spinner.

Ganguly, playing his first game of the series, was expectedly rusty to start with but managed a four and a big hit in his run a ball innings.

Warne too appreciated the crowd response.

“The way we have been treated has been fantastic.

Sangakkara, who was the Man of the Match for his blazing knock, said: “It was a lot of fun, thank you Houston for the hospitality. Lot of credit to Sachin and Warney, they are pioneers on the field and they are breaking new round off the field. All outstanding players, legends of the game, the crowd participation has been unbelievable. Players have given their all on the field. “Participation of kids is vital for the growth of the game but for us, it has been humbling. Hopefully the game catches on in the US,” Sangakkara said. PTI

Warne’s Warriors: 262 for 5 (MP Vaughan 30, ML Hayden 32, JH Kallis 45, KC Sangakkara 70, RT Ponting 41, A Symonds 19 n.o., JN Rhodes 18 n.o., L Klusener 2 for 45)

Sachin’s Blasters: 205 for 8 (SR Tendulkar 33, L Klusener 21, SM Pollock 55, GP Swann 22 n.o., A Symonds 4 for 70)