Tharanga’s ton guides Sri Lanka to an emphatic win over West Indies
Upul Tharanga’s classy unbeaten hundred helped Sri Lanka to take a 1-0 lead in the ongoing One Day International (ODI) series, as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 convincingly by eight wickets in the second ODI, at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo.
An all-round bowling effort from the Sri Lankan bowlers restricted the visiting batsmen to a modest 203-run score. It was an achievable target, as the home side houses one of the best batting line-ups in the world.
Upul played a measured innings, and his demonstration of leaving the ball was perfect. He timed the ball to perfection and his placement was precise.
In the hunt of an average 204-run target, Sri Lankan openers played watchfully in overcast conditions. The opening pair wanted to negate the new-ball effect. Their sedate approach earned them an opening stand of 32 runs in 9 overs.
However, Tillakaratne Dilshan returned to the pavilion without bothering the score line too much, as he added only 11 runs off 23 balls. Meanwhile, Upul stood firm and anchored the Sri Lankan innings.
A rain delay in the 15th over meant that the target for the home side was revised to 197 in 47 overs. However, Kumar Sangakkara and Tharanga shared a 70-run defiant stand in order to lay a firm base for the middle-order players to chase down the
target. In the process, the Sri Lankan captain, didn’t carry on the same route, as he fell for just 20 runs.
Mahela Jayawardene’s and Tharanga’s unbeaten 97-run stand for the third wicket, steered their team to victory inside 43 overs. Tharanga racked up 101 runs, smashing seven boundaries, while Jayawardene remained unbeaten for his 48-run innings.
The West Indian bowlers had to work hard in order to pick up a bunch of wickets. They only managed two wickets, as the defence of the opposition’s willowers was immaculate.
Nevertheless, Ravi Rampaul and Dwayne Bravo chipped in with a wicket each, but their effort wasn’t enough to take their team to victory, as the support bowlers struggled to make an impression.
Earlier, the touring team piled up an average 203 total. A lot of batsmen got starts, but no one was able to covert those starts into a score of substance. As a result, the team from the Caribbean capitulated for a grim score, which in the end, their opponents
brought down with 21 balls to spare.
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