Sri Lanka close in on a spot in the semi-finals with a resounding win against Windies

The wickets in Sri Lanka have suddenly started to change. In the group stages, the surface had a bit of extra pace and bounce, which South Africa and Australia classically exploited. However, in the Super eights, the wicket has changed into the typical Sri Lankan wicket. The ball has started to turn square, which indeed makes life difficult for stroke makers. That’s exactly what happened in the Group 1 contest between Sri Lanka and West Indies as Mendis grabbed three wickets which helped Sri Lanka post a sensational nine-wicket victory.

West Indies won the toss and elected to bat first on a slow and turning track. They didn’t get off to a brisk start as Sri Lanka’s bowlers hit the deck and got the ball to swing. Surprisingly, Sri Lanka opened their bowling with all-rounder Mathews, and he in turn responded to his captain as he gave just 4 runs in his first over. With Lasith Malinga and Kulasekara tightening the screws in their initial spell, Charles and Gayle found it very difficult against new-ball and the pressure started to mount on both of them. Ajantha Mendis struck in his very first over to get rid of Charles as the latter tried to dance down the track and clobber it over mid-wicket, but in the end was deceived by the turn and was stumped by Kumar Sangakkara for 12 (21). Kulasekara got rid of the dangerous Chris Gayle in the very next over as Gayle without any footwork chased a wide delivery and was caught behind for 2 (9). Subsequently, Dwayne Bravo propelled the West Indies innings as he drove his first ball off Kulasekara for a glorious boundary through mid-on. That boundary gave him confidence and he carried on his rhythm alongside Marlon Samuels. Bravo and Samuels shared a very handy partnership of 65 runs before Bravo was dismissed by Mendis for a well-made 40.

After the fall of Bravo’s wicket, West Indies were not able to make much progress as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. The final push came from Samuels and Russell as they made the last three overs count with the 19th over costing 21 runs off Kulasekara. At last West Indies managed 129 runs for the loss of five wickets.

For Sri Lanka pick of the bowlers was Ajantha Mendis who grabbed two wickets, while the rest of the bowlers – Mathews, Kulasekara, and BMJA Mendis – settled for one apiece.

Despite losing Dilshan early, Sri Lanka did not make a mess of a small target as their two world class batsmen Jayewardene and Sangakkara combined to produce a master-class on how to construct an innings. They finished the job for Sri Lanka with five overs to spare.

With this emphatic win Sri Lanka virtually qualify for semi-final of the ICC World Twenty20 2012. This comfortable victory also boosts their net run-rate, which could be the deciding factor. If Sri Lanka manage to win their next game against England or make sure that margin of defeat is not too high, they will seal a spot in the semi-finals.