Sri Lanka beat West Indies by 15 runs

Put into bat,the Lankans got off to a solid start as openers Jayasuriya and Dilshan (74 off 47 balls) laid the foundation for a huge total before medium-pacer Lendl Simmons (4-19) managed to pull things back a little for the West Indies.

Chasing 193 for victory,West Indies managed 177 for five with Dwayne Bravo (51),Ramnaresh Sarwan (28 not out) and Lendl Simmons (27) shining with the bat even though it was not enough in the end.

West Indies started in a whirlwind fashion as openers Andre Fletcher (13) and Simmons put on 38 runs inside four overs before the former’s leg stump was uprooted by a slower full toss from Lasith Malinga.

Undeterred,Simmons carried on,hitting back-to-back fours off Muttiah Muralitharan but his all-round show was brought to an end by the wily off-spinner as the batsman perished at first slip.

Ajantha Mendis (2/25) then got into the act,removing Xavier Marshall (14) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (1) in the same over and suddenly West Indies were in deep trouble.

Dwayne Bravo (51) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (28 not out) then teamed up,trying to pull West Indies out of the rut but with the Sri Lankan slow bowlers casting a spell,finding boundaries looked to be a tall order.

With the run rate steadily heading north,Bravo made a last ditch attempt,hitting Malinga for a six in the 18th over that also brought up his half-century,but perished the very next ball,holding out to Jehan Mubarak at mid-on.

Bravo,who added 77 runs for the fifth wicket with Sarwan,hit five fours and two sixes in his 38-ball stay.

With Bravo’s dismissal,West Indies just went through the motions and finished at 177 for five.

Earlier,Jayasuriya,whose innings was adorned with 10 fours and three sixes,seemed to be in a murderous mood as he took 17 runs from the second over off pacer Fidel dwards.

West Indies bowlers struggled to get their line and length right on a placid track and Jayasuriya only added to their woes.

The left-hander found an able ally in Dilshan,who struck 11 fours and one six before going down to Simmons in the 18th over.

Ramdin rotated his bowlers to stem the run flow but with little effect as Sri Lanka brought up their century inside 10 overs.

They looked all set to cross the 200-run mark but for Simmons,who waged a solitary battle and kept the marauding Sri Lankans in check.

The medium-pacer first accounted for Dilshan and then trapped Jayasuriya in front of stumps. He next got rid of Kumar Sangakkara (5) and then struck again in the 18th over when he picked up Mahela Jayawardene’s (4) wicket.