Upul Tharanga scored an unbeaten century as Sri Lanka cruised to an eight-wicket win in the second ODI against West Indies.
Sri Lanka take lead in ODI series after easy win in Colombo
Opener Upul Tharanga scored an unbeaten century as Sri Lanka cruised to an eight-wicket win in the second one-day international against West Indies.
Tharanga racked up 101 not out as the hosts made 199-2 to pass their revised Duckworth-Lewis target of 197 with more than four overs to spare and go 1-0 up in the three-match series.
Lasith Malinga claimed three wickets as West Indies were skittled for a modest 203, with their highest scorers Darren and Dwayne Bravo both making 39.
The tourists were sent in to bat after losing the toss and opening pair Adrian Barath (12) and Chris Gayle (28) put on 45 before both fell in quick succession.
Darren Bravo and Ramnaresh Sarwan batted for the next 16 overs to steady the ship, but their third-wicket stand of 49 was ended when the latter was run out for 21.
Dwayne Bravo then joined him at the crease and the pair added 38 before Malinga grabbed his first wicket by trapping Darren lbw to leave the score on 132-4.
Malinga struck again in his next over as he removed Keiron Pollard (four), but Dwayne Bravo and Carlton Baugh gave the Windies some hope by adding 37 for the sixth wicket.
Target
Bravo eventually fell in the 44th over and the tail folded thereafter to leave Baugh unbeaten on 28 as Sri Lanka were set a very reachable target.
Malinga was the pick of the bowlers with 3-30 from his 10 overs, while Muttiah Muralitharan, and Nuwan Kulasekara chipped in with two wickets each.
Sri Lanka made slow progress at the start of their response, reaching 24 for the loss of Tillakaratne Dilshan (11) when rain intervened in the 15th over.
The target was revised to 197 in 47 overs when play got underway again, with Tharanga and Kumar Sangakkara accelerating the run rate as they moved past the 100 mark in 26 overs.
The duo added 70 runs in 17 overs before Dwayne Bravo picked up the scalp of Sangakkara (20) when Gayle made the catch at short extra-cover.
New man Mahela Jayawardene (48 not out) kept the scoreboard ticking over at a healthy rate, providing the aggression while Tharanga dropped anchor when approaching three figures.
The left-hander eventually brought up his century in the 42nd over, while Jayawardene scored the winning runs with a boundary to send the hosts one-up in the series.
