KINGSTON – Hometown boy Sheldon Cottrell followed up a half-century from Montcin Hodge with a destructive spell of left-arm fast bowling, but Sri Lanka “A” defied Windies “A” to clinch a two-wicket victory in the first One-Day match on Wednesday.
Cottrell grabbed four for 44 from his allotted ten overs to lead the Windies “A” bowling, but the Sri Lankans successfully chased 177 for victory under the lights at Sabina Park to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Amila Aponsu formalised the result for Sri Lanka “A”, when he hit the only six of the visitors’ innings with 12 balls remaining.
Batting collapse
Leeward Islands Hurricanes opener Hodge anchored the West Indies “A” batting with 54 from 69 balls and Rahkeem Cornwall made 37 to get them to a respectable total off 176 in 48.4 overs following a batting collapse.
Aponsu was the most successful Sri Lankan bowlers with three for 34 from ten overs, fellow left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara took two for 34 from ten overs and Chamika Karunaratne bagged two for 36 from seven overs.
Ronsford Beaton grabbed an early scalp for Windies “A”, when he removed Sandun Weerakkody in the second over of the chase, but Cottrell put the Sri Lankans under further pressure, removing Roshen Silva and Dhananjaya De Silva cheaply before the end of the first powerplay.
Cottrell and off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall continued to make inroads into the Sri Lanka “A” batting, leaving them 126 for seven in the 38th over.
Stiff resistance
But the Windies “A” met stiff resistance from the visitors’ lower order with Shehan Jayasuriya, not out on 31, rallying with Pushpakumara and Aponsu to add 55 and take them over the finish line.
Earlier, Windies “A” failed to build on an opening stand of 67 between Hodge and left-handed hometown boy John Campbell.
After Campbell gave Pushpakumara a return catch in the 19th over, there was little substance from the rest of the batting, with Cornwall being the only other batsman to pass 20.
The series continues today with the second match again under the lights at Sabina Park before it returns to the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Complex on Sunday for the series finale. (CMC)
