Sri Lanka dump defending champions West Indies out of T20 World Cup

Charith Asalanka top scored with 68

By Champika Fernando in Abu Dhabi  

Sending defending champions West Indies packing, Sri Lanka ended their World Cup campaign on a high note in their final Super 12 match played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi last night.  

West Indies posted 169 for 8 in response to Sri Lanka’s 189 for 3 – their highest score in the tournament – to lose by 20 runs. The defeat put West Indies out of contention for a semi-final spot with one game to go, having lost three of their Super 12 matches.  

For the Lankans, the victory was a great send-off given how admirably they had performed in the tournament. Building from three straight wins in the qualifying rounds against Namibia, Ireland and Netherlands, they pushed even the tournament’s hot favourite England to the brink of defeat, although they failed to go over the line.   
Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh convincingly before going down against the mighty Australians. They came close to beating both South Africa and England before going down with a fight. The win here yesterday exceeded the expectations of a young team led by Dasun Shanaka.  

It was built on a good batting performance led by Charith Asalanka and Pathum Nissanka before the bowlers joined the party denting West Indian run chase.  

Left arm seamer Binura Fernando, who came in for Lahiru Kumara, put the West Indians under pressure early, removing the openers in his first over. The tall seamer had West Indian legend Chris Gayle caught at mid-off by Hasaranga when he attempted to shove Fernando over mid-off with his second ball and then castled Evin Lewis with his last ball of the first ball.  

The subtle change of pace undid the batter when he tried to guide this with an open face to third man but the cutter ripped in towards off stump and an inside edge resulted onto the stumps. By the end of the second over, West Indies were reeling at 10 for 2 and Chamika Karunaratne inflicted further damage by removing Roston Chase, brilliantly caught by a diving Bhanuka Rajapaksa at short mid-wicket as West Indies ended the powerplay on 53 for 3.  

Nicholas Pooran looked threatening scoring 46 off 34 but was caught at long off when he tried to accelerate the scoring with 113 runs needed off 9 overs.  

Shimron Hetmyer stood firm, scoring an unbeaten 81 off 54, but with Sri Lankan bowlers tightening the screws, leaving little room to free arms, West Indies succumbed.  

Karunaratne picked up two wickets but was expensive, leaking 43 runs, while Wanindu Hasaranga added two wickets to his rich haul to end the tournament on 16 wickets.  

Earlier, a brilliant effort with the bat by two youngsters, Nissanka and Asalanka, powered Sri Lanka to their best score of the tournament, after West Indian skipper Kieran Pollard put them to bat first.  

On a placid batting track, Sri Lanka had a flying start with Kusal Perera and Nissanka putting on 42 but it was Nissanka and Asalanka who batted with responsibility to lead Sri Lanka to a formidable total of 189 for 3.  
Perera was looking in good touch during his brief stay, scoring 29 off 21 balls but was dismissed in the last over of the powerplay when Andre Russell deceived him with a slower ball that he tried to flick too early, chipping it to the bowler.  

What was interesting about the partnership between Nissanka and Asalanka was the manner in which they consolidated their innings. They weren’t taking any risk by trying to clear the long boundary but rotated the strikes, placing the ball to the gaps and hitting the odd boundary. They often converted ones into twos and twos into threes by putting pressure on the West Indian fielders who showed a lack of intensity in the field.  

Nissanka scored his third half century in the World Cup before a moment of madness cost him his wicket. Having shared 91 runs for the second wicket with Asalanka, he made a big swing of his bat off Dwayne Bravo in the fifteenth over of the innings, only to be caught at deep midwicket by Hetmyer.  

Asalanka continued to impress, scoring his second half century, a brilliantly made 68 off 41, with eight boundaries and a six, to power his way to the position of the tournament’s highest scorer: 231 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 147.  

Nissanka is in second place with 221 runs, just ahead of Jos Buttler of England with 214 runs. Skipper Dasun Shanaka promoted himself in the batting order at the fall of Nissanka’s wicket on 133, hitting a quick-fire 25 off 14 balls to lift Sri Lanka to a challenging total. Shanaka and Asalanka had a brisk third wicket stand of 46 of 19 balls.  
Yes, it was a tough day in the office for the West Indian bowlers. Sri Lanka batters had them caught off guard, playing to their strengths rather than trying to clear the ropes. Their innings had only three sixes, one each by Perera, Asalanka and Shanaka, while they hit 17 boundaries.  

West Indians on the other hand hit 18 boundaries and six sixes in the innings.