KEY POINTS:
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Sanath Jayasuriya recovered from cramps to smash a century and spur Sri Lanka to a 198-run victory over Bangladesh in their cricket World Cup group B match here today.
Sri Lanka amassed 318 for four to underline their form and then skittled Bangladesh for 112 in 37 overs for their second thumping victory. The target was reduced to 311 in 46 overs after rain forced a second 30-minute break in the match.
The result put Sri Lanka in pole position to reach the next round from group B although there could be a three-way tie for points if India and Bangladesh triumph in their final matches.
The islanders meet India in their final group game on Friday which their beleaguered rivals need to win to be in contention for one of the two Super Eights qualification berths.
The 37-year-old Jayasuriya struck 109 off 87 balls, having limped off clutching his left leg on 83 in the 25th over soon after returning from a 30-minute rain break in the morning.
Opening bowler Lasith Malinga grabbed three wickets as Bangladesh never recovered from a top order collapse. Mohammad Ashraful was 45 not out.
Sri Lanka produced sparkling all-round cricket in bleak conditions after play had to be stopped twice due to rain.
Bangladesh shocked India by five wickets on Saturday but showed none of the spirit they displayed against the 1983 champions. They can still advance further in the competition if India lose and they beat Bermuda on Sunday.
Jayasuriya hammered seven fours and seven sixes, including hoisting one against spinner Abdur Razzak over midwicket to reach his second World Cup hundred in his fifth appearance.
His 24th century allowed him to nose ahead of Australian skipper Ricky Ponting to second in the list for most one-day hundreds. Sachin Tendulkar holds the record with 41.
Jayasuriya dominated a 98-run opening partnership with fellow left-hander Upul Tharanga (26) before Kumar Sangakkara (56) and Chamara Silva (52 not out) notched their second successive fifties in the tournament. Skipper Mahela Jayawardene hit a chancy 46.
Bangladesh paid a heavy price for sloppy fielding and catching with skipper Habibul Bashar, who put in the opposition at Queen's Park Oval, dropping two of them.
Syed Rasel and stumper Mushfiqur Rahim missed direct run out attempts against Tharanga and Jayawardene before they had touched double figures.
Jayasuriya was eventually caught reverse-sweeping in the 48th over after hitting Razzak for two consecutive sixes.
If three teams are tied on points then the two with better net run rate would progress in the tournament which concludes with the final in Barbados on April 28.
SCOREBOARD
Sri Lanka
U.Tharanga c Aftab Ahmed b Mohammad Rafique 26
S.Jayasuriya c Habibul Bashar b Abdur Razzak 109
M.Jayawardene c Aftab Ahmed b Saqibul Hasan 46
K.Sangakkara c Tamim Iqbal b Syed Rasel 56
C.Silva not out 52
R.Arnold not out 5
Extras (lb-11 w-10 nb-3) 24
Total (4 wickets, 50 overs) 318
Fall of wickets: 1-98 2-202 3-261 4-300
Bowling: Mashrafe Mortaza 10-0-66-0 (3nb, 2w), Syed Rasel 10-0-58-1 (5w), Abdur Razzak 10-0-86-1 (3w), Mohammad Rafique 10-0-48-1, Saqibul Hasan 10-0-49-1.
Bangladesh
Tamim Iqbal c Sangakkara b Malinga 6
Shahriar Nafees lbw b Vaas 0
Mushfiqur Rahim c Dilshan b Maharoof 6
Aftab Ahmed c Jayasuriya b Malinga 12
Saqibul Hasan b Muralitharan 4
Habibul Bashar run out 18
Mohammad Ashraful not out 45
Mashrafe Mortaza c Tharanga b Arnold 7
Mohammad Rafique c Maharoof b Dilshan 7
Abdur Razzak c Sangakkara b Malinga 0
Syed Rasel run out 0
Extras (lb-2 w-4 nb-1) 7
Total (all out, 37 overs) 112
Fall of wickets 1-1 2-7 3-20 4-26 5-41 6-66 7-80 8-101 9-111 10-112
Bowling: Vaas 7-4-11-1, Malinga 6-0-27-3 (1w), Maharoof 7-1-26-1 (1nb, 1w), Muralitharan 9-0-15-1 (2w), Jayasuriya 1.5-0-2-0, Arnold 3.1-0-17-1, Dilshan 3-0-12-1
Match result: Sri Lanka won by 198 runs (Duckworth-Lewis method)
Man-of-the-match: Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka)
- REUTERS
