Sri Lanka cruise into Finals

London, June 20 (IANS) A destructive unbeaten 96 from Tillakaratne Dilshan and a sensational three-wicket first over by Angelo Matthews destroyed the West Indies and carried Sri Lanka to the World Twenty20 final with a 57-run victory at The Oval here Friday. For the second time in the World Twenty20, two sub-continent teams will be playing in the final, as Sri Lanka will clash with Pakistan, who were runners up in 2007.

Put into bat first, a blistering 96 not out from 57 balls by Man of the Match Dilshan helped Sri Lanka post a challenging 158 for five in 20 overs. Medium pacer Angelo Matthews gave Sri Lanka a surprise start by picking up three wickets in the first over while mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis (2/9) and the veteran Muttiah Muralitharan (3/29) wrecked the West Indies and packed them up for 101 runs in 17.4 overs.

Skipper Chris Gayle carried his bat through the innings and scored 63 runs and was the only West Indies batsman to get double digits. Dilshan’s 57-ball innings, which was studded with two sixes and 12 fours, equalled the third-best score in Twenty20 international and was also the highlight of the match on a track where batsmen found it difficult to play their shots.

His fellow opener Sanath Jayasuriya (24) and Angelo Mathews (12 not out) also made it into double figures. Dilshan got Sri Lanka off to a flyer, but Jayasuriya found it difficult to open his arms and took 37 balls for his 24 runs. The duo added 73 runs for the first wicket but Jayasuriya’s dismissal triggered a mini collapse as Sri Lanka lost three quick wickets for four runs in eight balls.

A late burst by Mathews in the last over, bowled by Gayle, saw the West Indies skipper conceding 18 runs as Sri Lanka posted a tough target for them.

Sri Lanka Innings

Tillakaratne Dilshan not out 96 (57 balls)
Sanath Jayasuriya c Taylor b Bravo 24 (37)
Kumar Sangakkara c Pollard b Bravo 0 (2)
Mahela Jayawardene c Chanderpaul b Pollard 2 (3)
Chamara Silva c Ramdin b Benn 11 (12)
Jehan Mubarak c Sammy b Taylor 7 (5)
Agnelo Mathews not out 12 (4)

Extras (lb 3, w 3) 6
Total (for five wickets in 20 overs) 158

Fall of wickets: 1-73 (Jayasuriya, 10.3 overs), 2-73 (Sangakkara, 10.5), 3-77 (Jayawardene, 11.3), 4-127 (Silva, 17.2), 5-134 (Mubarak, 18.3)

Bowling
Darren Sammy 4-0-19-0
Jerome Taylor 4-0-31-1
Dwayne Bravo 3-0-32-2
Suleiman Benn 4-0-24-1
Chris Gayle 3-0-35-0
Kieron Pollard 2-0-14-1

West Indies Innings

Chris Gayle not out 63 (50)
Xavier Marshall b Mathews 0 (1)
Lendl Simmons b Mathews 0 (2)
Dwayne Bravo b Mathews 0 (2)
Shivnarine Chanderpaul lbw b Mendis 7 (15)
Ramnaresh Sarwan c Mathews b Muralitharan 5 (12)
Kieron Pollard st Sangakkara b Muralitharan 3 (10)
Dinesh Ramdin c Jayawardene b Udana 9 (5)
Jerome Taylor c sub (Kulasekara) b Muralitharan 2 (2)
Darren Sammy c Mubarak b Mendis 1 (4)
Suleiman Benn b Malinga 0 (4)

Extras (b 1, lb 2, w 7, nb 1) 11
Total (all out in 17.4 overs) 101

Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Marshall, 0.2 overs), 2-1 (Simmons, 0.4), 3-1 (Bravo, 0.6), 4-43 (Chanderpaul, 8.2), 5-64 (Sarwan, 11.1), 6-75 (Pollard, 13.3), 7-86 (Ramdin, 14.5), 8-95 (Taylor, 15.3), 9-97 (Sammy, 16.2), 10-101 (Benn, 17.4)

Bowling
Angelo Mathews 4-0-16-3
Isuru Udana 3-0-20-1
Lasith Malinga 2.4-0-24-1
Ajantha Mendis 4-0-9-2
Muttiah Muralitharan 4-0-29-3

Toss: West Indies, who chose to field
Man of the Match: Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka)