World Cup 2019: Most Runs, Most Wickets (Updated) after West Indies Vs Sri Lanka match
Sri Lanka won their third match in this 2019 Cricket World Cup after defeating West Indies by a margin of 23 runs at Chester-le-Street. Despite the fact that Sri Lanka set up a huge total, the Island nation had to always be on the toes as a sensational hundred from Nicholas Pooran threatened to take the game away until the last 3 overs of the game.
Sri Lanka rode on the back of a sizzling hundred from Avishka Fernando and several other impressive knocks to post a superb 338 on the board after 50 overs. In the second inning, Sri Lanka bowled superbly to reduce West Indies to 145 for the loss of five wickets but Nicholas Pooran and Fabian Allen fought back in an outstanding manner as the game got ever so close before Angelo Mathews' put an end to what would have been a fairytale comeback.
A chase of 339 was always going to be difficult and West Indies had an early setback with Lasith Malinga removing Sunil Ambris very early on with a bouncer. Shai Hope's disappointing tournament also continued as he played on to his stumps and Malinga was again the man with the wicket. After that, Gayle and Shimron Hetmyer battled on for a while but the duo got out soon within the space of a few deliveries. This was followed by another hopeful partnership between Nicholas Pooran and Jason Holder but the latter fell in a very soft manner off Jeffrey Vandersay's bowling. Carlos Brathwaite couldn't replicate his Old Trafford heroics as he became the second run-out victim after Hetmyer. At this point, no one would have been mistaken for thinking that the match was over but Pooran and Fabian Allen came up with a remarkable rearguard effort.
The duo brought down the equation to 57 runs off 6 overs but yet another run-out meant the end for Allen. Even after this, Pooran fought on and gave hopes of pulling off a miracle but Sri Lankan skipper Dimuth Karunaratne executed a masterstroke by bringing on Angelo Mathews to bowl when 30 was needed off the last 3 overs. Remarkably, Mathews who hadn't bowled a single ball for two and a half years struck off his very first ball to end West Indian dreams with Pooran nicking off a wide delivery to the keeper, Kusal Perera.
Earlier in the day, West Indies won the toss and chose to field first on a wicket that looked good for batting. Sri Lanka's openers, Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Perera, like they have done previously in the World Cup gave an excellent start for the team. When their 91-run stand came to an end, the promising Avishka Fernando started to play some glorious shots right from the word go. With handy partnerships with Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews and Lahiru Thirmimanne, Fernando played responsibly to finally convert his potential into a big performance. Fernando went onto score his maiden international hundred as Sri Lanka notched up a massive 338-6 after 50 overs.
Most Runs
Even though the match saw plenty of brilliant batting performances, poor displays in the previous matches have ensured that there is no change in the 'Most Runs' list.
Most Wickets
Unlike the 'Most Runs' list, the 'Most Wickets' has at least one change as the champion Lasith Malinga continued his good form by picking up 3 wickets against West Indies. With that performance, Malinga entered the Top 10 list at the 10th spot with 12 wickets from 6 innings.
Also read - World cup all time records
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