Sri Lanka posted 219 for eight against West Indies in the rain-curtailed match of the tri-nation series on Monday.
Persistent rain had washed out the game on Sunday, forcing the officials to push the ODI to the reserve day but drizzle followed by heavy downpour at the Queen’s Park Oval once again delayed the proceedings.
Riding on fast bowler Kemar Roach’s two quick wickets, West Indies had reduced Sri Lanka to 60 for three in 19 overs when heavens opened up and interrupted the play.
With rain refusing to abate, the play was called off for the day and it will now resume on the reserve day on Monday with Sri Lanka at 60 for three in 19 overs.
Earlier, after winning the toss, West Indies stand-in skipper Kieron Pollard elected to bowl first and his bowlers didn’t disappoint as they put Sri Lankan openers Mahela Jayawardene (7) and Upul Tharanga (7) under pressure right from the start.
Both Roach (2/19) and Jason Holder (1/20) extracted good bounce from the pitch at the Queen’s park oval to make life difficult for the batsmen.
Holder was rewarded for his bowling early on as he struck the first blow, removing Tharanga in the last ball of the fourth over with Darren Bravo taking a good catch.
Roach, who almost had Tharanga in his second over, too had his scalp when he deceived Jayawardene with his sharp bouncer which got the thick edge of the bat and then hit the helmet before landing at the safe hands of Devon Smith.
With Sri Lanka slipping to 19-2 in 4.1 overs, Dinesh Chandimal (2) took the crease but his stay was cut short by Roach. Chandimal paid the price for playing away from the body as the ball went through his gate and took his bails off.
Runs dried up after that as the two new batsman – Kumar Sangakkara (11) and Lahiru Thirimanne (13) tried to steady the innings.
However, Darren Sammy (0/4) and Tino Best (0/15) also kept a very tight line and length as Sri Lanka managed to reach 60 for three in 19 overs when heavens opened up, interrupting the match.
West Indies named Lendl Simmons as a replacement for injured captain Dwayne Bravo. Sunil Narine was also ruled out due to injury, while Denesh Ramdin was dropped. Devon Smith and Jason Holder were included in the team.
Sri Lanka too made two changes, bringing in Jeevan Mendis and Shaminda Eranga in place of Kusal Perera and Rangana Herath in the crucial tie.
In their last two matches, Sri Lanka have won one and lost one and have five points. They need to win this match with a bonus point to seal their place at the final.
The West Indies (9), on the other hand, won both their initial matches before losing against India in their last encounter and they have to win this game to enter the finals.
India with two losses and one victory too have five points at their disposal. Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men would hope the West Indies to win as it will mean that the World Champions will need to just beat Sri Lanka to reach the finals without worrying about the bonus point.
