Sri Lanka crush hosts by 57 runs

Tags: WI v SL 16th Match at Bridgetown - May 7, 2010, ICC World T20 - 2010, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Kumar Chokshanada Sangakkara, Denagamage Proboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene

Published on: May 10, 2010

Scorecard | Commentary | Graphs

Sri Lanka defeated hosts West Indies by a thumping margin of 57 runs.

West Indies Innings

Sri Lanka defeated hosts West Indies by a thumping margin of 57 runs. West Indies never got going in their run chase of 195 once they lost the big fish Chris Gayle in the third over. It was an easy job for the Lankan bowlers as they had the cushion of defending a massive total. The catching and ground fielding were sharp enough to sustain the pressure on the West Indian batsmen.

There was a semblance of a fightback put up by Sarwan (28 from 33 balls) and Bravo (23 from 23) but the Lankans always had a check on the run rate. West Indies gave themselves no chance at all to win the match having slipped to 99 for 5 in the 16th over. They finished at a sorry 138 for 8. Ajantha Mendis and Lasith Malinga captured three wickets each through their magical variations.

Sri Lanka Innings

Sri Lanka batting first after winning the toss made a smashing 195 for 3 to put West Indies in an extremely difficult position to win the match. The Lankans got the high total courtesy of a record 167-run partnership for the second wicket between opener Mahela Jayawardene and Skipper Kumar Sangakkara. It was the third consecutive score of 50 plus for Mahela Jayawardene in this tournament. Today he was left stranded at the non striker's end on 98 not out after failing to get the strike for the last three balls of the innings! Like always he timed the ball sweetly and found the gaps with precision. Mahela struck 9 fours and 4 sixes while getting his 98 not out in 56 balls. Kumar Sangakkara gave him the ideal support with his 68 from 49 balls that contained 5 fours and 3 sixes.

West Indies had a shocking day on the field with atleast five catches going down begging! One of them was offered by Sangakkara to Pollard at backward point when the left hander was on just a score of 1! With the exception of Kemar Roach (4-0-27-2), the rest of the bowlers could't sustain any pressure on the Lankan batsmen.

Toss and Teams

Sri Lanka Captain Kumar Sangakkara rightly called Tails to win the toss and elect to bat first against hosts West Indies at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown. Sangakkara reckons that his side is more capable of defending totals rather than chasing targets.

West Indies : Chris Gayle (C), Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Fletcher (WK), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Wavell Hinds, Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy, Jerome Taylor, Sulieman Benn and Kemar Roach

Sri Lanka : Mahela Jayawardene, Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (C&WK), Chamara Kapugedera, Angelo Mathews, Thissara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis and Lasith Malinga

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