da supremo： Sharjah – Things went from bad to worse for the forlorn West Indieshere yesterday
da fazobetai： 19-Oct-1999Sharjah – Things went from bad to worse for the forlorn West Indieshere yesterday.Subjected to their heaviest run-margin defeat in One-DayInternationals by Pakistan on Friday, they were just ascomprehensively beaten by Sri Lanka by wickets and overs in theirreturn match in the Coca-Cola Champions Trophy.The fragility and self-doubt of their batsmen were again exposed bySri Lanka’s varied and disciplined bowling, confined to 149 all out inthe last of their 50 overs.Their own bowlers were then belted around under the lights by SriLanka’s left-hand captain Sanath Jayasuriya, who hammered three sixesand eight fours in 88 off 80 balls to lead his team to anembarrassingly one-sided victory for his solitary wicket with 22 oversto spare.”The team really bowled and fielded well and I was glad to be backamong the runs again,” said Jayasuriya, who was named Man Of TheMatch.The loss was the West Indies’ seventh in their last 11 One-DayInternationals against India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka intournaments in Toronto, Dhaka and here in the past five weeks.Seven times in those matches they have failed to pass 200 in theirallocated 50 overs, three times they have been dismissed under 150.Their hard-fought firs-round victory over the Sri Lankans still givesthem a chance of reaching Friday’s final but they will have toovercome the powerful Pakistanis in their last preliminary matchtomorrow. That seems unlikely for a team with obviously low morale andwithout the services of the injured Jimmy Adams, their mostexperienced all-rounder.After Brian Lara chose to bat on winning the toss, the West Indiesstruggled from first ball to last.They lost their openers cheaply to the left-arm swing bowlers ChamindaVaas and Niram Zoysa and were never allowed to recover by theoff-spinners Russell Arnold, Muttiah Muralitheran and Aravinda deSilvaand the leg-spinner Upantha Chandana. Their causes was completelyundermined by the runouts of Lara and Ricardo Powell, the batsmenmost likely to take the attack to the Sri Lankans.Ridley Jacobs, reinstated to his opening position filled for theprevious four matches by Lara, fell to a miscued pull in the thirdover, and Sherwin Campbell to a catch at square-leg in the 12th.Wavell Hinds, one of six left-handers in the order, carried out hisrole as sheet anchor at No. 3 with 58 that occupied 117 balls. Helifted Chandana for his two sixes but dealt mainly in singlesotherwise.He found no one to provide the required momentum at the other endafter Lara, backing up too far in his anxiety to get to the strike,was run out by Muralitharan’s direct hit at the bowler’s end after hehad made 29 from 42 balls that included a six over long-on off Arnold.Shivnarine Chanderpaul could not rekindle the form that seemed toreturn in unbeaten innings of 92 and 77 in two One-Day Internationalsagainst Bangladesh earlier in the month, struggling for 63 balls over31, and the tail provided little once the dangerous Powell, sprintingthrough for a sharp single to short fine-leg, was run out by Silva’sreturn to wicket-keeper Romesh Kaluwitharana.Muralitharan’s mastery over the uncertain West Indians was emphasisedby figures of three for 22 from 9.3 overs as the last seven wicketswent for 19. But the problems were started by Vaas and Zoysa, whoconceded 29 from their combined 14 overs at the start.Jayasuriya, so short of runs and confidence in recent Test and One-Dayseries in Sri Lanka that he demoted himself to No.5 in Friday’s tiedmatch against Pakistan, resumed his usual position as opener. Heimmediately opened an assault on the bowling that completely deflatedthe already disspirited West Indies.Merv Dillon went for 40 in six overs, including two leg-side sixes offhis last that cost 15. Curtly Ambrose was taken for 22 off his openingfour and, although Reon King in his first match on tour wasimpressive, the match was long since settled when Jayasuriya wasbowled by Nehemiah Perry after an opening partnership of 128 withKaluwitharana.
