T20 ICC WORLD TWENTY20 WEST INDIES 2010

T20 ICC WORLD

TWENTY20

WEST INDIES 2010

Sri Lanka Vs New Zealand

Guyana: Mahela Jayawardene (81) notched up his career-best score of the format to steer Sri Lanka to a modest 135 for six against New Zealand in the inaugural match of the Twenty20 cricket World Cup here on Friday.

          While his team mates struggled to score runs in the slow Providence Stadium cricket, experienced Jayawardene's breezy 51-ball innings was a classic example of effortless sensible hitting. He also shared a crucial 59-run fourth wicket stand with debutant Dinesh Chandimal (29 off 23) to lay the foundation for the Sri Lanka score.

          Shane Bond turned out to be the pick of the Kiwi bowlers as he accounted for two Lankan batsmen by giving away 35 runs. Opting to bat in the sluggish pitch, the Lankan openers found runs hard to score initially.

           Out-of-form Tillkaratne Dilshan's (3 of 19) stay at the crease was a struggle which finally ended with Jacob Oram castling the opener's stumps in his first and innings sixth over. Skipper Kumar Sangakkara too round runs hard to come by in the slow wicket as he took 11 deliveries to score his four runs before Scott Styris castled his stumps.

            Jayawardene, however, showed his team-mates how to build an innings on the wicket and in the effort brought up his third Twenty20 half century in just 33 balls.