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  • Jayasuriya, Dilshan set up Lankan win

    Sparkling strokeplay from openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Tillakeratne Dilshan and some canny bowling of changes in pace, and controlling the extent of spin provided Sri Lanka a 15-run win over the West Indies in the last Group ‘C’ match of the ICC World Twenty20 at Trent Bridge on Wednesday.

    Sri Lanka raced to 192 for five after being inserted by stand-in captain Denesh Ramdin. The West Indies, without injured skipper Chris Gayle, fought hard but did not threaten to win the game at any point.

    Kumar Sangakkara had a striking pair of contrasts sharing the new ball — Sanath Jayasuriya’s left-arm spin and slinger Lasith Malinga’s serious pace and swing was the unlikely combination.

    Jayasuriya was restrictive till Lendl Simmons found boundaries in the mid-wicket and mid-off regions.

    Outfoxed

    Andre Fletcher picked Malinga from leg-stump to clout the paceman over the mid-wicket ropes. But a switch in Malinga’s pace and length — a slow full toss — left the batsman baffled and bowled off the next delivery.

    Left-arm paceman Isuru Udana’s wayward fifth over — four wides and five overthrows were gifted away — and Simmons’ two boundaries off Ajantha Mendis — one of them a reverse sweep — took some pressure off the West Indians before Muttiah Muralitharan struck.

    Muralitharan operated around the wicket to the right-hander; if he pitched in line and got the ball to straighten he could win a leg-before verdict. And if he spun the ball across, Sangakkara backed him with a slip.

    The plan worked. Simmons (29 off 19 balls) shaped to cut and only succeeded in edging into the hands of the slip fielder. Soon Xavier Marshall was prised out by Mendis when he attempted to clear the field on the off-side. Mendis scalped again in the over — the eighth — when the left-handed Shivnarine Chanderpaul inside-edged an intended cover-drive on to his stumps.

    Dwayne Bravo (51, 38b, 5x4, 2x6) batted with a blend of pluck and flair drilling the ball through gaps and lofting it judiciously before being prised out by a slower delivery from Malinga.

    Earlier, the duo of Jayasuriya and Dilshan was helped by some ordinary bowling and some shocking lapses on the field.

    Jayasuriya, with his strong wrists, quick eye and terrific bat-speed, waded into Fidel Edwards in the second over with two bludgeoned boundaries through cover and point and a half-flick half-swing over the square-leg ropes.

    Dilshan got into the act big time in the sixth over as Kieron Pollard suffered. Dilshan got under a length ball and directed it over the ’keeper’s head. There was a six — the ball was slashed over the point fence — and two more boundaries of innovation from Dilshan’s flashing blade in the over.

    Sri Lanka was 66 for no loss after the six Power Play overs.

    Jayasuriya (81, 47b, 10x4, 3x6), who had raced past his fifty in just 29 balls, was adjudged leg-before while attempting a reverse-sweep off medium-pacer Simmons.

    The Lankans lost batsmen in pursuit of quick runs even as the wicket-to-wicket Simmons ended with four wickets.

    SCOREBOARD

    Sri Lanka: T. Dilshan c Benn b Simmons 74 (47b, 11x4, 1x6), S. Jayasuriya lbw b Simmons 81 (47b, 10x4, 3x6), K. Sangakkara c Fletcher b Simmons 5 (6b), M. Jayawardene c Ramdin b Simmons 4 (7b), J. Mubarak (not out) 8 (5b, 1x4), C. Silva c Ramdin b Taylor 7 (7b, 1x4), A. Mathew (not out) 3 (2b); Extras: (lb-5, w-4, nb-1): 10. Total (for five wkts. in 20 overs): 192.

    Fall of wickets: 1-124, 2-147, 3-168, 4-172, 5-189.

    West Indies bowling: Taylor 4-0-32-1, Edwards 2-0-37-0, Bravo 4-0-29-0, Benn 4-0-25-0, Pollard 3-0-45-0, Simmons 3-0-19-4.

    West Indies: L. Simmons c Jayawardene b Muralitharan 29 (19b, 5x4), A. Fletcher b Malinga 13 (11b, 1x4, 1x6), X. Marshal c Silva b Mendis 14 (11b, 1x4), S. Chanderpaul b Mendis 1 (5b), R. Sarwan (not out) 28 (26b), D. Bravo c Mubarak b Malinga 51 (38b, 5x4, 2x6), K. Pollard (not out) 19 (11b, 3x4);

    Extras (lb-4, w-17, nb-1): 22. Total (for five wkts. in 20 overs): 177.

    Fall of wickets: 1-38, 2-70, 3-71, 4-73, 5-150.

    Sri Lanka bowling: Jayasuriya 3-0-34-0, Malinga 4-0-45-2, Udana 4-0-36-0, Mendis 4-0-25-2, Muralitharan 4-0-21-1, Mathews 1-0-12-0.


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