da betway： West Indies finally had cause for some celebration in Sri Lanka with theirfirst win of the tour at Premadasa International Stadium on Tuesday nightwhen they defeated Sri Lanka by 49 runs
Charlie Austin11-Dec-2001West Indies finally had cause for some celebration in Sri Lanka with theirfirst win of the tour at Premadasa International Stadium on Tuesday nightwhen they defeated Sri Lanka by 49 runs.It was a victory greeted with more relief than elation and whilst the champagne corks were not whizzing around the dressing, the win has certainly boosted their flagging morale.Their hard-earned victory was founded upon a solid top order battingperformance that saw them post a competitive 251 target and an especiallyspirited effort in the field, led by man of the match Corey Collymore whopicked up five wickets and career best figures.The slightly built fast bowler, called onto the tour for the one-daymatches, ripped through the Sri Lankan middle and lower order, as the homeside lost their last six wickets for 17 runs and were eventually bowled outfor 201.Sri Lanka had been cruising towards the West Indies total after theircavalier openers, Sanath Jayasuriya and Avishka Gunawardene, had smashed 82runs off the first 15 overs.But West Indies players, so uninspiring in the field against Zimbabwe onSunday when they looked like they had thrown in the white towel, firstfought themselves back into the game thanks to the efforts of their slowbowlers.Carl Hooper came into the attack in the eighth over and gradually pulledback the initiative in a crucial five over spell that yielded just sevenruns.Left-arm spinner Neil McGarrell then replaced his captain and dismissedGunwardene fourth ball. The broad-shouldered left-hander shuffled down thewicket and was stumped for 38 (92 for one).Jayasuriya was still going strong though at the other end, reaching his 46thone-day fifty off 60 balls and then hoisting McGarrel for four boundariesand one six over wide mid-on.But Jayasuriya, playing in his 248th one-day game, made a crucial mistakewhen he tried to scramble a quick single and left Atapattu yards short ofhis crease (119 for two).Thirteen minutes later West Indian’s now burgeoning self-belief wasbolstered further when Mahela Jawardene slashed wildly at a delivery fromPedro Collins to be caught behind for two and Jayasuriya top-edged a sweepto be caught at short fine leg for 83 (138 for four).Kumar Sangakkara and Russel Arnold, needing a further 113 runs in 22.4overs, steadied the innings with a 46 run stand in 52 balls and were oncourse for victory when Sangakkara smeared unnecessarily across the line andwas caught behind to give Colleymore the first of his five wickets (184 forfive).Sri Lanka then crumbled as Colleymore, bowling with an energetic re-modeledopen-chested action, tore into the lower order.Suresh Perera was brilliantly caught behind by Jacobs for four as he aimedan extravagant cover drive and Kumar Dharmasena prodded diffidently to bedismissed in a similar manner two balls later.In the next over Russel Arnold was adjudged lbw, harshly, as he tried tosweep a delivery from Chris Gayle. Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Zoysa werequickly mopped up by Colleymore to give him his first five-wicket haul andJacobs a world record equaling six victims behind the stumps.Earlier in the day West Indies had won the toss and batted on a surface thattraditional favours the side batting first – the highest score successfullychased in 46 one-day matches here is just 243.Nevertheless, the Sri Lanka bowlers helped the West Indian cause evenfurther by starting poorly, even Vaas who uncharacteristically bowled twowides in his opening spell.Gayle made a quickfire 21, his first runs in five innings, but it was BrianLara with a serene 44-ball half century and Daren Ganga with a fluent 58 who laid the foundations for a large score.The pair added 74 in 72 balls for the second wicket before Ganga, who hadbeen dropped earlier in the slips and given not out after walking for acatch behind, was run out.Ramnaresh Sarwan, though, gave Lara solid support and at one stage WestIndies, on 151 for two with 23 overs remaining and then 209 for three withten overs to spare, looked set for a score in excess of 270.But Sri Lanka’s slow bowlers pulled the West Indies back in the final tenovers, taking six wickets and conceding just 41 runs. In the event, itproved immaterial.