Tri Series 2016, WI v SL, 2nd ODI Review: West Indies cruise to a comfortable win

West Indies registered their first win over Sri Lankan since 1999 and put an end to their merry run in Zimbabwe over the last couple week after they claimed a comfortable 62 runs over the Asian giants in the second ODI of the tri-series at the Harare Sports Club.

After registering bonus points in the opening game, Sri Lanka found themselves at the receiving end this time. Bowling first Sri Lanka restricted West Indies for just 227. West Indies didn’t have the best of the start but some quality performances from Jonathan Carter and Rovman Powell saw their scoreboard reach a commendable level. Sri Lanka, in response, had a worse start than their counterparts and were eventually bowled out for just 165 runs after surrendering to the effective bowling of Shannon Gabriel and left-arm spinner Ashley Nurse.

Chasing a modest target of 228 isn’t something which very threatening. All they required was a combined effort or at least two meaningful stands that could help them rally towards the chase. Unfortunately, it couldn’t be possible.

The greenish wicket certainly helped the fast bowlers. Suranga Lakmal and Nuwan Kulasekara gave a glimpse of it whereas Shannon Gabriel took full advantage of it.

Jason Holder lost his sixth straight toss and was asked to bat in unknown conditions. As expected, the start was sluggish and shortly Sri Lanka quickly gained an upper hand by sending both the openers Johnson Charles and Kraigg Brathwaite before Windies could cross the 10 run mark.

Charles’ wild swing resulted in a leading edge that was taken at third man while Brathwaite was run-out after his bat got stuck in the crease while completing a run. It was a freak run out. What looked like an easy single turned out to be a huge blow for the batting side: The right-hander had almost completed the run when his bat got stuck on the turf. Meanwhile, Kulasekara picked up the ball and hit the stumps bang on to catch hi short of the crease. Later on, barring Evin Lewis’s patient 27 for the third wicket, the West Indies batting revolved around two of their debutants – Shai Hope and Rovman Powell and the experienced Jonathan Carter.

Lewis lost his wicket in the 24^th over and Sri had found an opening. The total read just 76 runs at the time of Lewis’ departure. The onus fell on Hope, Powell and Carter. The duo, whose claim to fame was their performances in the Caribbean Premier league over the past couple of seasons, lived up to their domestic reputation.

Carter (54 from 62 balls) formed crucial stands with both the young guns, first adding 53 for the 4th wicket with Hope (47 from 81 balls) and later knitting an attacking 43 batting with Powell (44 from 29 balls). Riding on the valuable knocks from the trio West Indies eventually reached a functional total.

Sri Lanka’s reply was shabby as fast bowlers Shannon Gabriel and Jason Holder rocked the top order. Dhananjaya de Silva, who hit a century in the previous match, was sent back for just three runs by Holder in the 4th over. In the following over Perera ran himself out while in 6th over, Holder struck again in the form of Kusal Mendis.

Niroshan Dickwella (28) and Upul Tharanga (12) tried fighting it out but could not withstand the Windies bowlers as both departed after getting starts. Gabriel continued to enjoy the conditions and pocketed Dickwell while Left-arm spinner Ashley Nurse then delivered double strikes, snapping Tharanga and Gunaratne to push the batting side to the corner. The match had completely slipped out of Lanka’s hand as they saw themselves sitting at 79/6 at that moment.

But, the lower order showed some fight and kept the interest of the Lankan fans alive. Shehan Jayasuriya (31), Sachith Pathirana (45) and Nuwan Kulasekara (16) fought well but their efforts were eventually only good enough to stretch the match till the 44th over.

Brief Scores:

Sri Lanka: 227 all out in 49.2 overs (Jonathan Carter 54; Nuwan Kulasekara 2/37)

West Indies: 165 all out in 43.1 overs (Sachith Pathirana 45; Shannon Gabriel 3/31)

Man of the Match: Jason Holder