WEST INDIES WIN THE SERIES 2-0 AMID HEAVY RAINWest Indies vs Sri Lanka, 3rd One Day International, Beausejour Cricket Ground, Gros Islet, St Lucia (D/N)
The only scheduled ODI match at St. Lucia this year yielded no result. The game was hit by rain many a time and was finally called off as it got heavier and heavier. The hard work done by the Lankans in batting went in vain and the hosts captured the 3-match ODI series 2-0.
The pitch looked quite lifeless from the bowlers perspective and the outfield was a bit damp because of early showers which would make the things more challenging for both the teams. Chris Gayle won the toss again and repeated his decision of fielding first. Mahela Udawatte opened the batting with Kumara Sangakkara as Upul Tharanga was dropped but even this change didnt make Sangakkara perform. He was caught by the local-lad, Darren Sammy off Darren Powel in the 2nd over only. Sri Lankan skipper, Mahela Jayawardene, looked to be in an aggressive mood as he played a couple of attacking shots, but a fabulous catch by Powell at short fine leg sent him back. Jayawardene scored 17 runs.
In the very next over, Darren Powell succeeded again and got rid of another danger-man, Chamara Silva, who was caught nicely by the West Indian wicket-keeper, Dinesh Ramdin. Pressure escalated on the visitors as they were 44/3 in 12 overs, but the tale took another twist as the young 21-year Mahela Udawatte had something to offer. He batted slowly but provided the necessary strength to the innings, and the scoring part was taken care by the lower-middle order of Lanka.
Chamara Kapugedera, who had a decent partnership off 84 runs with Udawatte, missed his half-century by 10 runs but he kept the scorer busy. Kapugedera was out caught and bowled by Chris Gayle. On the other end, Udawatte attained his fifty in the 28th over and was Gayles second victim, but before getting out, he had another valuable partnership with Tilakratne Dilshan. Dilshan played a superb knock and made a 54-ball 64 run. He was excellently supported by the all-rounder Kaushalya Weeraratne. These two fired all cylinders in the slog overs and Sri Lankan managed to put on a challenging total of 257, on board. Weeraratne made 41 runs with a strike of 124 and was the only one to be dismissed by Jerome Taylor.
Taylors partners, Bravo, Gayle and Powell shared two wickets each but the skipper was the most successful bowler with 2/41 in 10 overs. Darren Sammy, who was the first St. Lucian to play a match at his home-soil, remained wicket-less but bowled economically.
In reply, West Indies tried a new opening-combo with Sewnarine Chattergoon and Runako Morton and they gave their team a blazing start. This partnership, which was mostly dominated by Chattergoon, contributed 54 runs and was broken by Thilan Tushara Mirando in the 9th over. Off his first delivery in his first ODI match, Mirando opened his account as Morton gave catching-practice to Sangakkara.
Sangakkara got another catch, which was a pretty sharp one, in the 16th over off Chaminda Vaas, who dismissed the dangerous-looking Chattergoon. He made 46 runs with the help of 6 boundaries and a six. Ramnaresh Sarwan and Marlom Samuels had just begun the scoring, when rain spoiled the party second time. It was quite heavy this time and took a lot of time to subside and when it did, the wet outfield became a concern. When the outfield was being dried, again it started raining. Umpires took their time and when the conditions looked hopeless, they called it off.
The 3rd ODI was abandoned and Sri Lankas Caribbean tour ended on a sad-note. Still, this tour brought their first test-success in West-Indies and a close 1st ODI would give them something to cherish. Also, its going to be a 45-day long party in India as the Indian Premier League is just to begin. So, cheer up guys!
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