Pallekele: Mahela Jayawardene struck a record-equalling sixth half century on Saturday in the ICC World Twenty20 as Sri Lanka brightened their semifinal prospects with a crushing nine-wicket win over West Indies in their Super Eights match.
Chasing a modest target of 130, Jayawardene struck 65 off 49 balls to guide the the hosts to victory with 28 deliveries to spare, after the bowlers set it up with a disciplined effort.
Aiding skipper Jayawardene in the chase was Kumar Sangakkara (39 off 34), and the two were involved in an unbeaten 108-run partnership for the second wicket.
In the process, Jayawardene equalled Chris Gayle’s record of six fifties.
The small target gave both the Lankan veterans a perfect opportunity to play their natural game and they took centrestage after Dilshan got the hosts off to a rollicking start, smacking three consecutive fours off Fidel Edwards.
The West Indies’ decision to bat first backfired as the Sri Lankans kept them on leash throughout their 20 overs.
Mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis led the way with measly figures of two for 12, in the process reaching the 100-wicket mark in T20s.
Marlon Samuels was the West Indies’ top scorer with a 35-ball 50, while Dwayne Bravo contributed 40 off 34 deliveries.
“The boys bowled in good areas, asked questions of West Indies and took their opportunities… You can’t take any chances as it’s a tough group we’re in, but once we got through the first 12 overs, Kumar and I just decided to go for it and we hope we have a good net run rate,” Jayawardene, who was also Man-of-the-Match, said later.
“We bowled too short and too wide… they [Sri Lanka] bowled a touch fuller and varied their pace,” said West Indies skipper Darren Sammy.
The Lankans are the first team to win two Super Eights games, but are still not guaranteed a place in the semis. Their final group match will be against England on Monday, when the Windies also face New Zealand. (PTI)
