The win propelled the Lankans to the top of Group B with a maximum of four points from two games after having beaten New Zealand on Thursday. The other teams in the group West Indies and England have two points each from two games whilst New Zealand who lost both their games have no points.
After dismissing West Indies for a below par 129, Sri Lanka’s most experienced campaigners skipper MahelaJayawardena (65 not out) and Kumar Sangakkara (39 not out) figured in a scintillating unbroken second wicket stand of 108 to ease their side to an emphatic victory.
The win has all but ensured the hosts of a semi-final berth as their margin of victory has improved their net run rate too should they slip up in their final game against England on Monday.
Statistics indicated that 80% of the teams batting first at the Pallekele Stadium had gone on to win the game and so when West Indies won the crucial toss it appeared that the Lankans were in for a tough game.
However as England proved earlier in the day, statistics are just that and nothing can replace form and commitment – two attributes that the Lankans displayed in abundance on Saturday.
The tone for the game was set in the very first ball of the match. In a departure from the usual form Angelo Mathews was entrusted with the first over and his first delivery was cracked to thecover region by Johnson Charles and all eyes immediately went to the cover boundary only to slowly return to the spread-eagled figure of TillekeratneDilshan at cover point who pulled off an amazing stop to prevent a certain boundary.
There was an extra spring in the step of all the fielders from thereon and they saved a good 20-30 runs in the field continually exerting pressure on the batsmen with their speed and agility.
West Indies were shackled from the start of their innings as skipper Jayawardena used four different bowlers in the first five overs of the innings. It was AjanthaMendis – the fourth bowler who claimed the first wicket in his very first over when he beat Charles (12) in three consecutive deliveries before having him stumped by Sangakkara.
Two balls later came the biggest moment in the game. Kulasekera returning for a second spell claimed the hugely prized wicket of Chris Gayle – the most feared batsmen in T20s. The master batsman was deceived by the change of pace of a wide delivery and could only edge it to wicketkeeper Sangakara.
The game was as good as over from that point although Marlon Samuels (50) and Dwayne Bravo (40)
fought valiantly to bring some respectability to their total.
Dilshan got Sri Lanka’s run chase to a quick start with consecutive fours off the first two balls he faced but on 13 he edged Ravi Rampaul to Ramdin behind the stumps to leave Sri Lanka on 22 for 1 in 2.5 overs.
If the West Indies had any hopes of an upset victory they were soon snuffed out by Jayawardena and Sangakkara who quickly settled into their usual groove and they began to entertain the packed house with some great batting. As the hosts neared their victory target the duo increased the tempo to ensure they had a good net run rate too.
The game had a special significance for two Sri Lankans who achieved personal milestones. AjanthaMendis recorded his 100th wicket in T20s and Kumar Sangakkara reached 1000 runs in T20s during his innings of 39 not out.
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