All-round Sri Lanka sign off on a high

Dasun Shanaka and Dushmantha Chameera celebrate Nicholas Pooran's dismissal 

By Champika Fernando  in Abu Dhabi

Sending defending champions West Indies packing, Sri Lanka ended their World Cup campaign on a high 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 the 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, with just his second ball of the match, had West Indian legend Chris Gayle caught attempting to shove a length delivery over mid-off, and then with the last ball of the over he had Evin Lewis dragging another length ball back on to the stumps – the subtle change of pace undoing the batter, as he tried to guide this with an open face to third man but the cutter ripped in towards off stump and took the inside edge. 

By the end of the second over, the West Indies were reeling at 10 for 2 when Chamika Karunaratne inflicted further damage by removing Roston Chase, brilliantly caught by a diving Bhanuka Rajapaksa at short mid-wicket, as the West Indies ended the powerplay on 53 for 3.

Nicholas Pooran however looked threatening throughout his 34-ball 46 but was caught at long off when he tried to accelerate the scoring with 113 runs needed off nine overs.

Shimron Hetmyer stood firm, scoring an unbeaten 81 off 54, but with the Sri Lankan bowlers tightening the screws and leaving little room for the batters to free their arms, the 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 with 16 scalps.

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 had put them in to bat.

On a placid track, Sri Lanka got off to a flying start, with Kusal Perera and Nissanka putting on a 42-run opening stand, 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 back 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 risks by trying to clear the long boundary but rotated the strike well, placing the ball into the gaps mixed in with 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 of the tournament before a moment of madness cost him his wicket. Having shared a 91-run second wicket stand with Asalanka, he looked to hoick Dwayne Bravo on the leg side in the 15th over, only to find Hetmyer at deep midwicket.

Asalanka though continued to impress, scoring his second half century of the World Cup, a brilliantly made 68 off 41, with eight boundaries and a six, to power his way to top of the tournament run-scoring chart: 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 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 off 19 balls.

It was a tough day in the office for the West Indian bowlers. The Sri Lanka batters had caught them 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, but they more than made up for it with 17 boundaries.

The West Indians on the other hand hit 18 boundaries and six sixes in the innings, but struggled to rotate the strike while also losing wickets at regular intervals.