There was some hope in the first 10 overs as they restricted Sri Lanka to 37/2 but Mahela Jayawardene and Sanath Jayasuriya saw to it that Sri Lanka did not suffer. The two put on a massive partnership of 183 with Jayawardene scoring 82 and Jayasuriya notching up his 25th ODI hundred finishing with 115 in just 101 balls. Tillekaratne Dilshan provided the final thrust scoring a brisk 39 not out in 22 balls to propel the score beyond 300 that was made possible by a six off the last ball.
With this win, Sri Lanka has moved to second spot in the points table and has a better net run-rate than even Australia. But it’s unlikely that it would come to that! Sri Lanka are now one of the form teams in the tournament and even Australia will need to plan well to win against them. They are fielding almost as good as any other top team and the bowling has enough variety and depth to bowl out anyone. Barring the batting hiccup like they had against South Africa, the Sri Lankans have been a well-oiled machine and all they need to ensure is they guard against complacency and over-confidence. If they can, the Cup is really theirs for the taking.
As for the West Indies, the daggers will soon be out for senior players and we may well see the end of Brian Lara on the international one-day stage. After being the only batsman to play consistently through the tournament for the hosts, he failed against Sri Lanka despite promoting himself to number three in the batting order. The signs are ominous for West Indies cricket as they battle the lucrative lure of other sports. On current evidence, there is little reason for young players to take to cricket. And if stars like Brian Lara also quit after what is turning into a debacle at home, it will only deepen the issues.
Sri Lanka captain,Mahela Jayawardene
On Sanath's blistering innings
"I've seen quite a lot of him to be honest and I would probably rank this (innings) as one of his top ones." - "He's a big game player, he's done it not just against small teams in low-key tournaments, but he has done it in big tournaments under pressure. That's why he is something different."
West Indies captain, Brian Lara
On West Indian top order failing to deliver in the Super 8 games so far
"They are capable. If you look at their stats they have played match-winning innings. It is just that it is a barren time for them at the moment."
On Jayasuriya's century
"He was exceptional." "All credit must be given to him. He's in his 38th year and still looks capable of doing the job." "We did not see it coming as after 15 overs there were 50 runs on the board and two wickets."
On their prospects of qualifying for the semi-finals after losing three games in a row
"There is an equation that allows us to get there but we have to depend on a lot of teams to get certain victories. We are in a crisis situation, pertaining to cricket, we have got to dig ourselves out of that hole and we have been trying," "I am an eternal optimist and I am going to focus on what is ahead. It takes a lot of good cricket from us and a lot of luck to get there,"
On their strategy for the remaining games
"We have got to regroup, we have one game in the next 18 days and we have a lot of time to regroup for the last three matches and we have got to remain upbeat and represent the Caribbean., It still boils down to us beating South Africa, Bangladesh and England to give ourselves any glimmer of hope and that is a job only we can do."
