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| Jayasuriya powers Lankans to thumping victory | | |
GEORGETOWN (GUYANA), APR 2)
Hosts West Indies are virtually out of contention for a semi-final berth in the World Cup after suffering a comprehensive 113-run defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka, powered by old war horse Sanath Jayasuriya who hit a century and took three wickets.
The veteran Jayasuriya, slammed a rollicking 115 off just 101 balls and then claimed 3 for 38 in 8.3 overs to steal the spotlight at the Sir Vivian Richards stadium here.
West Indies captain Brian Lara blamed the gruelling schedule for the team's poor shows in the Super Eight stage but promised to put up a better display in the remaining three matches.
"We have to pick ourselves up and try and win the next three matches. You never know what can happen in this World Cup," he said.
West Indies play their next Super Eights match against South Africa in Grenada after a nine-day gap and Lara said his side badly needed the break.
"Now we have nine days break and we will take couple of days off before we assess the situation. We have to be sure we are fresh for the last three matches," he said.
With three defeats in a row - against Australia, New Zealand and now Sri Lanka, Lara's men are virtually out of the contention and even successive wins in their remaining matches may not be enough for them to reach the semis.
Jayasuriya helped Sri Lanka overcome early jitters to post 303 for five with handsome contributions from captain Mahela Jayawardene (82) and Tillakratne Dilshan (39 not out), who provided the late charge.
In reply, West Indies simply wilted under the pressure and were all out for 190 in 44.3 overs.
Things went horribly wrong for West Indies and the move to send Dwayne Bravo (21) to open with Chris Gayle (10) fell flat on its face.
They lost both the openers inside nine overs but catastrophe struck the hosts when Kumar Sangakkara, who had failed with the bat, proved why he is hailed as one of the most intelligent cricketers around.
Lara had walked out with a Herculean job ahead of him and Sangakkara was standing up to Chaminda Vaas. Lara went for a drive, missed the line and before he could plant his rear foot, Sangakkara whipped the bails off to send groans across the stadium. Lara's stay in the middle was cut short to just four balls which yielded just two runs.
The Guyanese pair of Shivnarine Chanderpaul (76 off 110 balls) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (44 off 68 balls) did put up some resistance but they proceeded at a snail's pace before realising it was not going to serve them. Chanderpaul went on to hit five sixes but even that proved too little, too late.
Jayasuriya removed Sarwan and Lasith Malinga castled Chanderpaul to put paid to West Indies' hopes for a miracle and the rest was just a formality which the Sri Lankans completed with clinical precision.
Earlier, Jayasuriya rolled back the years and slammed a well-paced century to power his side to an imposing total.
After losing Upul Tharanga (8) and Sangakkara (7) inside nine overs, Sri Lanka looked in a morass with the score reading 35 for two.
Jayasuriya joined hands with Jayawardene and forged a 183-run partnership in 30 overs to
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