Reuters /Pallekele
Sri Lanka beat West Indies by 30 runs in the first Twenty20 International yesterday to go 1-0 up in the two-match series and extend the visitors’ losing streak.
Having swept the test and one-day series, Sri Lanka posted a commanding total of 215 for three before bowling out West Indies for 185 to ensure they cannot lose the Twenty20 series.
Put into bat after a rain-delayed start at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Sri Lanka rode a flying start to post their highest score against West Indies in this format of the game.
Tillakaratne Dilshan (56) top-scored, adding 91 runs in an opening stand with Kusal Perera (40) to set the tone for the innings.
Dilshan (1,538) also overtook former captain Mahela Jayawardene (1,493) as Sri Lanka’s highest scorer in Twenty20 Internationals.
After the openers departed, Shehan Jayasuriya chipped in with quick 36 runs to lay the platform for a big total. Dinesh Chandimal (40 not out) and Angelo Mathews (37 not out) milked 84 runs in the last five overs to take their team past the 200-mark.
West Indies lost Johnson Charles to the second delivery of their innings but Andre Fletcher (57) blasted six sixes in his 25-ball blitz to keep them in the hunt.
Dushmantha Chameera bowled Fletcher with a slower delivery to bring relief for the hosts before Dwayne Bravo (24) and Kieron Pollard (26) briefly rekindled the visitors’ hopes of registering their first win of the tour. Off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake (4-46) wrecked their middle order, however, and West Indies were bowled out with two balls to spare.
Sri Lanka captain Malinga credited batsman for the win. “Thanks to all the batsmen. They realised these conditions are hard to bowl in and they put up a good total for us. After that we knew they had good big hitters and everyone was planning to how to handle them.
“It was hard to bowl with a wet ball, but still at the end of the day I am in the winning side. I realised even when the Test matches were going on Siriwardana took crucial wickets. Good all-round cricketer for Sri Lanka in the future,” Malinga said.
His West Indian counterpart Darren Sammy said they could have chased the target but rued the lack of planning in the batting order. “We were right there, but with better planning with the batting order we could have gotten closer,” said Sammy.
“But well played to Sri Lanka. They posted a very big total, they put up more than 200. We always backed ourselves to chase down any total. Andre Fletcher player really well, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo had a good partnership. But we lost wickets in clumps. Looking at the players in the T20 squad, there is a lot of experience and the players have played a lot of cricket in the format. Now we move to Colombo,” he added.
The teams move to Colombo for the final Twenty20 tomorrow.
