Rain continues to play spoilsport in Colombo, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 245/5, match abandoned
Despite the re-scheduling of the ODI series between http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 and the West Indies the rain gods are in no mood of ending their fury as the first match of the three match series that was re-scheduled last month is abandoned after only one innings.
A maiden century in the format by talented West Indian opener, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Adrian-Barath-c42094, goes in vain as the tourists lose out on the opportunity of gaining confidence ahead of the World Cup by registering a win at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo.
The West Indian captain, Darren Sammy, won the toss and opted to bat first. The tourists were dealt a body blow early on when Chris Gayle was sent packing by Nuwan Kulasekara with Kumar Sangakkara taking a catch behind the stumps. The flamboyant Gayle scored only 4 runs.
The tourists slid further when Darren Bravo was run out after making a mere 8 runs off 22 balls, the Caribbean Kings were 42/2 at this stage.
Barath was joined by comeback man, Ramnaresh Sarwan. The former vice-captain was in full flow after he was included in the World Cup team last week. The pair added 165 runs for the third wicket.
Sarwan scored 75 off 100 balls in his innings that included 4 fours and 1 six and was the cornerstone of the Caribbean performance.
Sarwan regarded as one of the most talented batsmen in the modern game was dismissed by Lasith Malinga with Chamara Kapugedera taking a catch at the mid-on position as the tourists searched for some quick runs at the end of the innings.
Barath reached his ton off 119 balls. He reached the land mark with the assistance of 7 fours and a brace of sixes.
The West Indians ended their quota of overs at 245/5. The last few overs did not yield the desired result as the hosts tightened the screws with some impressive death bowling.
Malinga was the pick of the bowlers claiming 3/51 off his quota of 10 overs.
The Sri Lankan batting reply never started as persistent rains spoiled the show.
Last month the five match series was postponed to the end of January due to rains and once again both teams were denied valuable practice ahead of the biggest tournament in the limited overs variety of the game.
The next two matches are to be played at the same venue. One hopes that the rain will stay away and some meaningful action takes place on the island country.
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