Mahela Jayawardene’s classy century and Guyanese rains combined to give Sri Lanka a 14-run win over Zimbabwe on the Duckworth-Lewis method in their World Twenty20 Group B match on Monday.
This was a match Sri Lanka, beaten first up by New Zealand, had to win to stay in the tournament but it was a close thing for last year’s losing finalists with the five overs needed in Zimbabwe’s reply to constitute a match only just completed before rain ended the game.
Jayawardene’s innings of 100 was the cornerstone of Sri Lanka’s 173 for seven, made after captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss.
Zimbabwe, playing their first match of the tournament after encouraging warm-up wins over defending champions Pakistan and Australia, saw their innings halted by rain in the first over.
That left them with a revised target of 104 off 11 overs before rain halted the match at the five-over mark with Zimbabwe on 29 for one, rather than the 43 for one they needed for victory, following the early loss of Hamilton Masakadza to a farcical run-out.
Jayawardene faced 63 balls for his ton, hitting four sixes and 10 fours.
Zimbabwe kept taking wickets at the other end but could do little about Jayawardene.
Tillakaratne Dilshan, player of the tournament at last year’s World Twenty20 in England, has not looked anything like the same player at this edition and made just two before a miscued drive off Elton Chigumbura went straight to mid-off.
Thissara Perera helped Jayawardene add 56 in six overs before he was caught in the deep by Chigumbura.
Several batsmen then failed to get going but Jayawardene carried on serenely before he was finally caught at long-on off Ray Price.
Meanwhile, England captain Paul Collingwood said there was a “major problem” with the rules for rain-affected matches after his side’s eight-wicket loss to the West Indies in their World Twenty20 opener.
England made a challenging total of 191 for five, featuring 55 from former Ireland batsman Eoin Morgan, after being sent in to bat by West Indies captain Chris Gayle.
But, after a couple of downpours, the West Indies were left with a revised target of 60 in six overs under the Duckworth-Lewis method, which they achieved with a ball to spare.
There was a brief moment of worry for the Windies when Graeme Swann took two wickets in two deliveries to leave the home side 42 for two in the fourth over.
Gayle was caught at short mid-wicket before Kieron Pollard was stumped by Craig Kieswetter.
But Shivnarine Chanderpaul (15 not out) and Andre Fletcher (12 not out) saw the West Indies to victory as they scored the eight runs they needed off the last over, from fast bowler Stuart Broad.
“I think 95 percent of the time when you put 191 runs on the board you are going to win the game,” Collingwood said.
“I don’t know what equation you should have but you shouldn’t have that one,” he said. “We’ve played a near perfect game but we’ve lost.”
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