Gunawardene explodes, Sri Lanka wins by a mile

By Vijay Lokapally

NAIROBI, OCT. 4. The acute shortage of talent in the West Indies was demonstrated at the Nairobi Gymkhana on a day when Sri Lanka chose to display its own rich array in a mismatch of the ICC knockout tournament here on Wednesday.

The rival tents were so contrasting - the West Indies, a mighty force once matching swords with the Sri Lankans who are slowly emerging world-beaters. And it was symbolic that a sparse gathering watched the degeneration that has engulfed the ranks of the West Indies which is a pale shadow of the giant it was.

The decay that has set in was proved by the huge margin - 108 runs - that separated the two teams even as Sri Lanka made a characteristic start to a tournament, its triumph bordering on arrogance.

None expected it to be such a lop-sided encounter, not even after Merwyn Dillon dealt two lethal blows to the Sri Lankan campaign by removing Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu. Even at that stage, one would have expected the match to progress on a competitive scale but the graph swung steadily in Sri Lanka's favour, thanks to a majestic innings by Avishka Gunawardene.

The rousing innings by Gunawardene was the platform on which Sri Lanka's domination grew this afternoon. The 23-year-old displayed more maturity today as he tore into the opposition bowling with a range of shots that would have done any coach proud.

The big hundred by Gunawardene ensured that Sri Lanka did not face any further drawbacks. He had a job to do and he did it well in a manner he felt comfortable. The burly left-hander, known to whack the ball hard, accumulated runs at a pace that took the wind out of the West Indies sails.

Golden words

Gunawardene's grooming at the Nondescript Cricket Club in Colombo was perfect. He was taught to be a match- winner and he seemed to remember the golden words when he walked out this morning. He lost skipper Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu quickly, but gained in confidence as Mahela Jayawardene showed the way with a spectacular assault.

In fact the Sri Lankan innings, after the West Indies elected to field, was given shape by the daring strokeplay of Jayawardene. He helped the Sri Lankans play their natural game even as the West Indian attack threatened to wreck the backbone of the opposition. The partnership flourished and West Indies' hopes receded and finally vanished in the wake of some shoddy fielding and wayward bowling.

Gunawardene, who made his maiden century in one-day Internationals, was not averse to pulling and cutting, and played some astounding shots in front and square of the wicket.

Equally adventurous was Jayawardene, a very strong player on the backfoot and one who has an uncanny knack of picking the gaps. He was not rattled by the West Indian bowlers and repeatedly pulled them with audacity. One such pull, which saw the ball sail into the crowd behind square leg, was a classy stroke based on sheer timing.

Jayawardene looked set for a hundred before his aggression cost him dear but Gunawardene carried on in a positive manner. The way he paced the innings spoke for his temperament and the left- hander never let any scoring opportunity go by, primarily because he had strokes to beat the field. The cut was a productive shot Gunawardene employed from which runs poured in a torrent.

The Sri Lankan batsmen prospered because of the erratic bowling in the middle overs and some poor fielding. The deterioration in the West Indian ranks was rapid and Brian Lara watching with disinterest presented a sorry picture indeed. The West Indians had given up the fight too early and their body language suggested it.

Adams unfit

To make matters worse for the Caribbeans, their skipper Jimmy Adams could not take the field as he was suffering from a rib pain. The team was led by Campbell.

It may appear a pity that the West Indies made an early exit from the competition but then, it had treated the ICC Knockout tournament lightly by sending some of its regulars to the Australian Cricket Academy, obviously giving more importance to the tour down under than the Nairobi assignment.

After Gunawardene and Jayawardene piloted Sri Lanka to a massive 286, a target which looked beyond the West Indies, Brian Lara's cheap dismissal settled the issue beyond doubt. Lara offered a casual stroke and the late movement kissed the edge of the bat and nestled nicely in the gloves of the wicketkeeper.

The West Indian slump was triggered by Courtney Browne, who succumbed to a catch behind after a brisk innings that included a flat-batted six off Zoysa. The run out of Sherwin Campbell was a cruel blow as the skipper had shaped well in his brief stay before the death knell was sounded by Lara's dismissal. The joy among the Sri Lankans after Lara's exit said it all.

The `man of the match' honour went to Gunawardene who made his 19th one-day appearance memorable and the overall performance of the team gave it a big boost ahead of the big game against Pakistan on Sunday.

SCOREBOARD

SRI LANKA

S. Jayasuriya c Browne b Dillon     2
(17b)
A. Gunawardene b McLean           132
(146b, 19x4)
M. Atapattu b Dillon                2
(5b)
M. Jayawardene c Browne b Jeremy   72
(71b, 9x4, 1x6)
K. Sangakkara (run out)             2
(6b)
R. Arnold b McLean                 41
(34b, 6x4)
R. Kaluwitharana (not out)         16
(15b, 1x4)
C. Vaas (not out)                   7
(6b)
Extras (lb-4, nb-1, w-8)           13
                                  ---  
Total (for six wkts. in 50 overs) 287
                                  ---  

Fall  of  wickets:  1-8  (Jayasuriya),  2-10  (Atapattu),   3-170 
(Jayawardene),   4-177   (Sangakkara),  5-250   (Arnold),   6-274 
(Gunawardene).

West Indies bowling: Dillon 10-2-46-2, McLean 10-0-56- 2,  Jeremy 
8-0-54-1,  Williams 10-0-59-0, Samuels 6-0-30-0, Nagamootoo  6-0- 
38-0.

WEST INDIES

S. Campbell (run out)              20
(20b, 3x4)
C. Browne c Kaluwitharana b Zoysa  15
(19b, 2x4, 1x6)
B. Lara c Kaluwitharana b Zoysa     5
(8b, 1x4)
W. Hinds c Jayawardene
b Wickremasinghe                   20
(31b, 2x4)
S. Joseph c Kaluwitharana b Zoysa   0
(4b)
M. Samuels c & b Wickremasinghe    19
(32b, 2x4)
L. Williams c Gunawardene
b Jayasuriya                       41
(59b, 2x4)
M. Nagamootoo (run out)            33
(48b, 4x4) 

N. McLean b Arnold                  8
(23b)
M. Dillon c Vaas b Jayasuriya       6
(11b)
K. Jeremy (not out)                 4
(14b)
Extras (lb-4, nb-2, w-2)            8

                                  ---  
Total (all out in 46.4 overs)     179
                                  ---  

Fall of wickets: 1-34 (Browne), 2-37 (Campbell), 3-41 (Lara),  4-
41  (Joseph), 5-76 (Samuels), 6-85 (Hinds), 7-159 (Williams),  8-
160 (McLean), 9-169 (Dillon).

Sri Lanka bowling: Vaas 8-1-36-0, Zoysa 7-0-34-3,  Wickremasinghe 
6-0-37-2,  Muralitharan  10-4-9-0, Jayasuriya  10-1-30-2,  Arnold 
5.4-0-29-1.

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