Perfect Sri Lanka bowling sweeps Windies away in World T20 semi

Sri Lanka crushed the West Indies by 57 runs in the ICC World T20 semi-final - and now face Pakistan in the final on Sunday.

The victory came on the back of another mighty innings from Tillekeratne Dilshan - tonight he batted through the 20 overs for 96 off 57 balls – and a sensational first over from the apparently innocuous medium-pacer Angelo Mathews (3/16).

With the Sirils defending a total of just 158/5, skipper Kumar Sangakkara’s throwing the ball to Mathews to kick-off the West Indies innings proved to be an inspired hunch.

Mathews’ first over saw three wickets fall - all bowled, all played on – to leave West Indies 1/3, with Xavier Marshall, Lendl Simmons and Dwayne Bravo all back on the bench without scoring. The dismissals suggested that the pitch, unusually for the Oval, lacked pace and left batsmen confused about the best way to attack the ball, which was not coming onto the bat.

Chris Gayle (63 off 50) batted through to the end, unbeaten, but received no support at all. No-one else hit more than Denesh Ramdin’s nine runs and though Shiv Chanderpaul stuck around for half an hour, his 7 from 15 balls – filled with pre-meditated (and generally failed) trick shots - did little to advance the cause.

With the innings already in disarray, Ajantha Mendis (2/9 off four overs) and Murali (3/29) applied the killer blows, mid-innings. The Sri Lankan attack is the most varied in the tournament, but the West Indies did not help themselves with their shot selection; their inability to get Gayle, their No 1 danger man, on strike was a major failing. Instead, he waited at the non-strikers end while a procession of batsmen came and went, going for glory trying to hit sixes themselves.

Dilshan had also fought a lone battle in the Sirils’ innings, though he had help early on from Sanath Jayasuriya. Jayasuriya’s 24 off 37 balls was, though, a very a typical innings from the Sirils’ veteran, who is 40 next week. Visibly frustrated with his inability to time the ball, he changed his bat several times before holing out in the 11th over and leaving Dilshan to carry the innings.

No-one else scored more than Angelo Mathews’ 12 runs, hit off four balls at the death.

Dilshan’s innings included 12 fours and two sixes and left him just short of completing the second-ever international T20 century. It was another versatile display from the tournament’s leading run-scorer, full of sweet timing, clever placement and ever-adaptable stroke play including his now trademark flip over the keeper’s head, this time off a Jerome Taylor slower ball.

Dilshan’s innings earned him the man of the match award - though the killer blows really came from Sri Lanka’s bowlers, and that remarkable first over from Mathews, in particular.