Jayawardene steers Sri Lanka towards Super Eight
Not even a Caribbean downpour could thwart Mahela Jayawardene’s one-man mission to ensure Sri Lanka remains in the World Twenty20 beyond the group stage this year.
The opener (pictured) picked off 10 fours and three sixes on his way to an even 100 in Sri Lanka’s second group match against Zimbabwe, the milestone reached in 63 balls before he miscued a shot into the hands of Ray Price at long-on.
It was another high-class performance from the 32-year-old, following on from his 81 from 51 deliveries in Sri Lanka’s narrow loss to New Zealand in the opening match of the Caribbean competition.
But while Jayawardene is in near unstoppable form, Tillakaratne Dilshan (two) is playing the part of last year’s hero. They may have named the ‘Dilscoop’ in honour of its creator, but that selfsame man is so out of sorts right now that it was no great surprise when on the fourth delivery he faced, Dilshan mistimed the lofted drive into Elton Chigumbura’s hands at mid-off.
Jayawardene’s fine knock was the cornerstone around which Sri Lanka built an imposing 174-run target for a Zimbabwean team that surely entered the match brimming with confidence after warm-up wins over Australia and Pakistan.
Just an over into Zimbabwe’s reply, the heavens opened at Providence and as the rain clouds settled in, Sri Lanka’s grip on a Super Eight place looked to be slipping away as they faced the prospect of a winless group stage, having lost their opening match to New Zealand on Friday.
Fortunately for Kumar Sangakkara’s side, the skies eventually cleared and the Duckworth/Lewis system came into play, leaving Zimbabwe with 104 runs to chase in 11 overs. The respite, however, was to be brief and five overs into Zimbabwe’s innings, with the African side having made 23-1, rain again stopped play.
They were five all important overs for Sri Lanka, enough to force a result in the match, with the revised Duckworth/Lewis total leaving Sri Lanka the 14-run victors in the match.
It’s a result that should ensure last year’s runners-up progress to the Super Eight stage, with Zimbabwe due to play New Zealand at Providence Stadium today in a match that, weather permitting, the Blackcaps should win.
Sri Lanka can thank one man, Jayawardene, for the fact they still remain in the World Twenty20 hunt at this stage, but there are 10 other men who will need to lift their games if their side is to even come close to equalling last year’s achievements in the Caribbean this year.
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