Sri Lanka vs West Indies 2nd ODI Review: Sri Lanka overhaul West Indies in a rain-affected encounter

Sri Lanka vs West Indies 2nd ODI Review: Sri Lanka overhaul West Indies in a rain-affected encounter: Another match hampered by rain, but rather than a closely contested game, we witnessed a one-sided overhaul of the West Indies team which ensured that Sri Lankans wrapped up the series with a game to spare. West Indies, batting first after winning the toss, ended up scoring 214, thanks to fifties from Charles and Samuels. Sri Lankans, in response, were never really troubled during their chase of 225 (adjusted target due to rain delay), and thanks to a patient half-century from Thirimanne and a gutsy 99 from Perera, Sri Lanka chased down the target with 9 balls to spare.

Earlier, West Indies won the toss and decided to bat first in what was expected to be another encounter hindered by rainfall. And the decision looked like it immediately backfired, as Malinga struck in the very second ball, removing Fletcher for a golden duck.

But the West Indies batting line-up, with the arrival of Blackwood, started to get aggressive considering the possibility of D/L coming into the equation at the later stage. But Blackwood perished in the 5^th over itself to Senanayake, trying to clear the long on. But West Indies continued its aggressive intent, and the new batsman, Darren Bravo, seemed to bring in some stability at one side of the crease.

On the other side, Johnson Charles went berserk against the Sri Lankan bowlers. He reached his half-century in just 32 balls, and looked really threatening. The Sri Lankans were desperate for a wicket, and they were provided with exactly what they were needed in the 16^th over. Seeing an opportunity to accelerate, Darren Bravo holed out a short ball from Siriwardana straight to short mid-wicket. The scorecard read 99 for the loss of 3 wickets.

Veteran batsman Marlon Samuels joined Johnson at the crease, and it looked like West Indies were in for a huge total. But disaster struck for West Indies, as he completely missed a sweep, rapping him right on the pads. The umpire had no hesitation in lifting his finger, and the scorecard now read 139 for the loss of 4 wickets.

But just like the first ODI, another bout of rains resulted in a delay with the proceedings. The scorecard read 149 for the loss of 4 wickets, in 26.4 overs. But the rain delay costed 12 overs, and the match was reduced to a 38 over affair, much to the despair of West Indians. And to pile on the misery, the lower middle order just crumbled after the rain break.

Carter dragged a length delivery off Lakmal onto the stumps, whereas experienced Malinga out-foxed Jason with a slower one, who ended up scooping the delivery to cover. With the scorecard reading 169 for the loss of 6 wickets, things were looking bleak for the West Indians.

But a gritty and aggressive knock from Marlon Samuels drove West Indies forward. He scored an excellent 63 off just 61 balls to drive West Indies forward to 214, with just modest support from Carlos Braithwaite. Some poor cricket ensured that West Indies lost as many as 3 wickets as run-outs in the final over. West Indies were bowled out for 214, but Sri Lanka were left to chase a stiff revised target of 225.

The Sri Lanka batsmen got off to a flying start, thanks to some fireworks from Dilshan and Perera. But a quick introduction of spin ended Dilshan’s stay at the crease, as Narine bowled Dilshan for 17. But that did not hinder the Sri Lankan chase. Perera was joined by Perera, and were literally cruising towards the target.

None of the batsmen caused any sort of trouble for the Sri Lankan batsmen, and predictably, they were having no issues in chasing down the target. While Perera continued to score at a rate more than run-a-ball, brought up his fifty quick enough, and the Sri Lankans were comfortably placed at 135 for the loss of 1 wicket, after 20 wickets.

Just when it looked like Perera will bring up his third ODI century, he ended up completely mistiming a pull short, which was caught at backward square leg at 99. But nevertheless, he was well acknowledged by the crowd for his terrific knocked.

Despite the loss of Perera, it was just a matter of time before Sri Lanka chased down the target. With Thirimanne, who brought up his own half centuries a few overs ago,  ensured that there were no more hiccups down the road. Even though Chandimal took a few deliveries to settle down; with the run rate well below 6, it was merely a small blimp in the chase. Eventually, the Sri Lankans chased down the target within 37 overs, and gained an unassailable lead in the 3 match series.

Brief Scorecard

West Indies 214 all out (Charles 83, Samuels 63; Siriwardana 2-27)

Sri Lanka 225-2 in 36.3 overs (Perera 99, Thirimanne 81*,  Narine 1-27)

Kusal Perera is the Man of the Match