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West Indies beat Sri Lanka with 7 wickets
Chanderpaul and Samuels hit unbeaten half centuries to pilot West Indies to a series-clinching, seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the second ODI.
- Agence France-Presse
- Updated: April 13, 2008 12:19 PM IST
Read Time:3 min
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Chanderpaul smote three fours and two sixes in an unbeaten 52 from 42 balls, and Samuels struck three fours and three sixes in 54 not out from 49 balls, as West Indies, chasing 125 for victory from 25 overs, hit the jackpot with 27 balls to spare.
The result was formalised, when Chanderpaul, who named Man-of-the-Match, tucked a delivery from Tillakeratne Dilshan into mid-wicket for a single to spark tumultuous celebrations.
The victory gave West Indies an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, after they won the opening ODI by one wicket on Thursday at the same venue.
The third and final ODI in the series will be contested on Tuesday at the Beausejour Stadium in St. Lucia.
Sri Lanka had earlier reached 112 for five from 30.3 overs, but persistent unseasonal rain disrupted their innings twice - the last of which cut short their innings - and caused a 3-1/4 hour long delay which condemned West Indies to their final target.
Upul Tharanga's 40 from 82 balls was the best effort from the Sri Lankans with the bat, and Kumar Sangakkara made 28.
West Indies captain Chris Gayle was his side's most successful bowler with two wickets for six runs from 1.3 overs.
Sri Lanka then enhanced their chances of winning the match, when Nuwan Kulasekera put the skids on the West Indies batting with three cheap, early wickets.
Kulasekera removed makeshift opener Dwayne Bravo, West Indies captain Chris Gayle, and his deputy Ramnaresh Sarwan in a purposeful opening spell of three overs.
Kulasekera bowled Bravo for 11 in the fourth over, and struck twice in his third over - the sixth of the innings - to have Gayle caught at mid-on for 11, and Sarwan lbw for one.
But Kulasekera lacked for support, and the match was transformed, when Chanderpaul struck 4, 6, 4 off the last three balls of Kaushalya Weeraratne's second over to put West Indies marginally ahead of the scoring rate, and they never eased their foot off he accelerator.
Chanderpaul reached his 50, when he punched a rising ball from Kulasekera into the covers for a single, but the biggest cheers were reserved a few balls later for Samuels, a struggler throughout Sri Lanka's visit, when he drove the same bowler for four to cross the threshold to his half-century just before the end.
Kulasekera was the pick of the Sri Lanka bowlers with three wickets for 28 runs from five overs.
Earlier, Sri Lanka had a measured start from their openers, but Mahela Udawatte was caught at backward point off Jerome Taylor in the ninth over, when he skied a back-foot drive.
Sangakkara joined Tharanga and they built on the work of the openers, but the West Indies' bowlers kept a tight rein on the scoring.
Tharanga was dropped on 32, when he mistimed a drive at a delivery from Bravo, and Fidel Edwards running to his right at mid-off, dived full stretch, but failed to hold a low chance in the 21st over.
But Tharanga failed to make use of his reprieve and was caught at deep fine leg for 40 essaying a hook at a short, rising delivery from Bravo to leave Sri Lanka 78 for two in the 23rd over,
Rain soon stopped play with Sri Lanka on 83 for two, and resumed an hour later with a reduction in the number of overs to 47.
This turned into a horrific period for Sri Lanka. They plunged to their final total, losing Sangakkara, Kaushalya Weeraratne, and Chamara Silva for seven runs in the space of 13 balls before rain came down a second time.
Sangakkara was caught at backward square leg for 28 off Gayle, Weeraratne was caught at square cover for 15, and Silva was beaten and bowled for two by a full-length delivery from Gayle.
But the players and the sell-out crowd had a long wait before they were able to get back onto the field, and for West Indies, their patience was rewarded.
Sri Lanka ran into the rampant pair of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Marlon Samuels, and lost the rain-marred second one-day International against West Indies by seven wickets under the Duckworth-Lewis Method on Saturday. Chanderpaul smote three fours and two sixes in an unbeaten 52 from 42 balls, and Samuels struck three fours and three sixes in 54 not out from 49 balls, as West Indies, chasing 125 for victory from 25 overs, hit the jackpot with 27 balls to spare.
The result was formalised, when Chanderpaul, who named Man-of-the-Match, tucked a delivery from Tillakeratne Dilshan into mid-wicket for a single to spark tumultuous celebrations.
The victory gave West Indies an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, after they won the opening ODI by one wicket on Thursday at the same venue.
The third and final ODI in the series will be contested on Tuesday at the Beausejour Stadium in St. Lucia.
Sri Lanka had earlier reached 112 for five from 30.3 overs, but persistent unseasonal rain disrupted their innings twice - the last of which cut short their innings - and caused a 3-1/4 hour long delay which condemned West Indies to their final target.
Upul Tharanga's 40 from 82 balls was the best effort from the Sri Lankans with the bat, and Kumar Sangakkara made 28.
West Indies captain Chris Gayle was his side's most successful bowler with two wickets for six runs from 1.3 overs.
Sri Lanka then enhanced their chances of winning the match, when Nuwan Kulasekera put the skids on the West Indies batting with three cheap, early wickets.
Kulasekera removed makeshift opener Dwayne Bravo, West Indies captain Chris Gayle, and his deputy Ramnaresh Sarwan in a purposeful opening spell of three overs.
Kulasekera bowled Bravo for 11 in the fourth over, and struck twice in his third over - the sixth of the innings - to have Gayle caught at mid-on for 11, and Sarwan lbw for one.
But Kulasekera lacked for support, and the match was transformed, when Chanderpaul struck 4, 6, 4 off the last three balls of Kaushalya Weeraratne's second over to put West Indies marginally ahead of the scoring rate, and they never eased their foot off he accelerator.
Chanderpaul reached his 50, when he punched a rising ball from Kulasekera into the covers for a single, but the biggest cheers were reserved a few balls later for Samuels, a struggler throughout Sri Lanka's visit, when he drove the same bowler for four to cross the threshold to his half-century just before the end.
Kulasekera was the pick of the Sri Lanka bowlers with three wickets for 28 runs from five overs.
Earlier, Sri Lanka had a measured start from their openers, but Mahela Udawatte was caught at backward point off Jerome Taylor in the ninth over, when he skied a back-foot drive.
Sangakkara joined Tharanga and they built on the work of the openers, but the West Indies' bowlers kept a tight rein on the scoring.
Tharanga was dropped on 32, when he mistimed a drive at a delivery from Bravo, and Fidel Edwards running to his right at mid-off, dived full stretch, but failed to hold a low chance in the 21st over.
But Tharanga failed to make use of his reprieve and was caught at deep fine leg for 40 essaying a hook at a short, rising delivery from Bravo to leave Sri Lanka 78 for two in the 23rd over,
Rain soon stopped play with Sri Lanka on 83 for two, and resumed an hour later with a reduction in the number of overs to 47.
This turned into a horrific period for Sri Lanka. They plunged to their final total, losing Sangakkara, Kaushalya Weeraratne, and Chamara Silva for seven runs in the space of 13 balls before rain came down a second time.
Sangakkara was caught at backward square leg for 28 off Gayle, Weeraratne was caught at square cover for 15, and Silva was beaten and bowled for two by a full-length delivery from Gayle.
But the players and the sell-out crowd had a long wait before they were able to get back onto the field, and for West Indies, their patience was rewarded.
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