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West Indies 129 for 5 (Samuels 50, Bravo 40, A Mendis 2-12) v Sri Lanka
Chris Gayle fell cheaply, sparking wild celebrations © Getty Images
With their unorthodox attack in familiar conditions, Sri Lanka kept West Indies down to the lowest Twenty20 total in Pallekele. It was the variety of the attack that tied West Indies down: between Ajantha Mendis' different bamboozlements, Nuwan Kulasekara's mix of inswingers and huge slower balls and Jeevan Mendis' skiddy legrollers, Sri Lanka could even afford an off half-day for Lasith Malinga, who was hit for two fours in his first over.
Kulasekara got big man Chris Gayle out with a slower delivery about 25kmph slower than his usual delivery. Ajantha began with a wicket-maiden, toying around with Johnson Charles, and ended with one run and Kieron Pollard's wicket in the 16th over. Jeevan played his part in slowing down and eventually getting rid of Dwayne Bravo, who seemed to be playing a different game, scoring 40 off 34. He even followed that up with a jig to match Gayle's wicket celebrations.
Sri Lanka were on for this game from the moment Tillakaratne Dilshan dived at short point to keep the first ball of the match down to a dot; their fielding hardly ever let up throughout the rest of the innings, except for a half-chance missed by Kumar Sangakkara. There was tension and anticipation around with the way West Indies had played out four quiet overs without the loss of a wicket.
Mahela Jayawardene then brought Ajantha on well in earnestness. Charles had no clue which way Mendis turned it, and he finally jumped out of the crease more in hope than anything. He was beaten by the googly, and stumped easily. Mendis conceded only leg-byes in that over: take out his middle match and his figures in the tournament now read 5-3-8-7. In the next over Kulasekara produced the massive slower ball. Gayle waited and waited, but all he could manage was an edge, which Sangakkara accepted with a forward dive. With Gayle's first failure of the tournament, the celebrations suggested the match had been won.
Bravo and Marlon Samuels, though, were not to oblige that soon. Samuels, with his deft touches, and Bravo, with his power, rebuilt the innings with a partnership of 65 in 9.2 overs. The strike-rate may not have been great, but the approach made for good viewing, Bravo's extra-cover drives matching Samuels' late-cuts for aesthetics. They preferred the pace that Angelo Mathews and Malinga provided, but Jeevan put the brakes on, conceding just two in his first over, and getting Bravo to pull to long-on in the second.
Mendis came back to finish off Pollard, but Andre Russell, the new man in, broke the maiden. He and Samuels were to play a key role in the last four overs, with 90 for 4 promising a total well below par. Kulasekara's comeback was not as great as his first spell: Russell welcomed him back with a straight six before Samuels reached 49 with a six and two fours in that 18th over. He reached the fifty in 19th over, bowled by Malinga, but the mix of yorkers and slower balls pulled West Indies back again. Only 10 runs came off the last two, as Mathews got Samuels out thanks to another brilliant piece of fielding from Dilshan.
Chris Gayle fell cheaply, sparking wild celebrations © Getty Images
With their unorthodox attack in familiar conditions, Sri Lanka kept West Indies down to the lowest Twenty20 total in Pallekele. It was the variety of the attack that tied West Indies down: between Ajantha Mendis' different bamboozlements, Nuwan Kulasekara's mix of inswingers and huge slower balls and Jeevan Mendis' skiddy legrollers, Sri Lanka could even afford an off half-day for Lasith Malinga, who was hit for two fours in his first over.
Kulasekara got big man Chris Gayle out with a slower delivery about 25kmph slower than his usual delivery. Ajantha began with a wicket-maiden, toying around with Johnson Charles, and ended with one run and Kieron Pollard's wicket in the 16th over. Jeevan played his part in slowing down and eventually getting rid of Dwayne Bravo, who seemed to be playing a different game, scoring 40 off 34. He even followed that up with a jig to match Gayle's wicket celebrations.
Sri Lanka were on for this game from the moment Tillakaratne Dilshan dived at short point to keep the first ball of the match down to a dot; their fielding hardly ever let up throughout the rest of the innings, except for a half-chance missed by Kumar Sangakkara. There was tension and anticipation around with the way West Indies had played out four quiet overs without the loss of a wicket.
Mahela Jayawardene then brought Ajantha on well in earnestness. Charles had no clue which way Mendis turned it, and he finally jumped out of the crease more in hope than anything. He was beaten by the googly, and stumped easily. Mendis conceded only leg-byes in that over: take out his middle match and his figures in the tournament now read 5-3-8-7. In the next over Kulasekara produced the massive slower ball. Gayle waited and waited, but all he could manage was an edge, which Sangakkara accepted with a forward dive. With Gayle's first failure of the tournament, the celebrations suggested the match had been won.
Bravo and Marlon Samuels, though, were not to oblige that soon. Samuels, with his deft touches, and Bravo, with his power, rebuilt the innings with a partnership of 65 in 9.2 overs. The strike-rate may not have been great, but the approach made for good viewing, Bravo's extra-cover drives matching Samuels' late-cuts for aesthetics. They preferred the pace that Angelo Mathews and Malinga provided, but Jeevan put the brakes on, conceding just two in his first over, and getting Bravo to pull to long-on in the second.
Mendis came back to finish off Pollard, but Andre Russell, the new man in, broke the maiden. He and Samuels were to play a key role in the last four overs, with 90 for 4 promising a total well below par. Kulasekara's comeback was not as great as his first spell: Russell welcomed him back with a straight six before Samuels reached 49 with a six and two fours in that 18th over. He reached the fifty in 19th over, bowled by Malinga, but the mix of yorkers and slower balls pulled West Indies back again. Only 10 runs came off the last two, as Mathews got Samuels out thanks to another brilliant piece of fielding from Dilshan.