press trust of india
Pallekele, Nov 10: Tillakaratne Dilshan(56, 37b) hit a half-century and off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake(4/46) took a career-best four wickets to lead Sri Lanka to a comfortable 30-run win over the West Indies in the first Twenty20 match here Monday.
Sri Lanka made 215-3 in 20 overs with Dilshan smashing a stroke full knock. West Indies was bowled out for 185 with a ball to spare. Andre Fletcher (57, 25b, 6×6, 3×4) hit a blistering half century, but the Sri Lankan bowlers took timely wickets to prevent an upset.
Lasith Malinga broke through for Sri Lanka in the second ball of the innings, bowling out Johnson Charles without a run on the board. Senanayake bowled brilliantly, surpassing his previous best of 3-14 against South Africa in 2013. Marlon Samuels became Senanayake’s first victim when he was caught by Milinda Siriwardana for 10 runs.
An aggressive 48-run stand off 19 deliveries followed between Fletcher and Andre Russell but left-arm spinner Siriwardana bowled out Russell for 16. Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard shared 51 runs for the fifth wicket. But after Bravo’s dismissal for 24, West Indies lost a flurry of wickets.
Earlier Sri Lanka’s top order rallied around Dilshan after being asked to bat first by West Indies captain Darren Sammy.
Sri Lankan openers Dilshan and Kusal Perera got off to an aggressive start and scored 91 runs for the first wicket. Shehan Jayasuriya (36, 20b) at No. 3 batted well. Dinesh Chandimal (40, 19b, 4×4, 2×6) and Angelo Mathews (37, 13b, 2×4, 4×6) used their long handles well during the slog overs. Pollard (2/42) was the best bowler for the West Indies.
Brief scores
Sri Lanka 215 for three (Dilshan 56) beat West Indies 185 (Fletcher 57, Senanayake 4/46) by 30 runs.
