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Bridgetown (Barbados), May 7 (PTI) Mahela Jayawardene hammered an unbeaten 56-ball 98 and added 166 runs with Kumar Sangakkara to guide Sri Lanka to a competitive 195 for three against West Indies in their Group F Super Eight match in the Twenty20 cricket World Cup here today. Jayawardene, who had scored a hundred against Zimbabwe, slammed nine fours and four sixes in his 56-ball innings and was on his way to a much-deserving century but with his teammates going great guns, he eventually was stranded at the other end in the last over.
Sangakkara also blasted a 49-ball 68 and matched shot by shot with Jayawardene after opener Sanath Jayasuriya (6) was dismissed in the third over by Kemar Roach. Jayawardene and Sangakkara exploited the innumerable chances offered by the butterfingered West Indies fielders, who missed a stumping, and catches galore.
The duo involved in powerful hitting right from the start to set the stands on fire after skipper Sangakkara won the toss and elected to bat first at the Kensington Oval here. Sri Lanka started off on a cautious note as the first two overs yielded just seven runs but once Jayasuriya was out and Sangakkara joined Jayawardene, the pace of the game changed as the two picked up boundaries at will.
In the fourth over, Jayawardene welcomed Jerome Taylor with a six and a four at long on and backward square leg respectively before meting the same treatment to Dwayne Bravo in the second ball of the next over. Sangakkara, who was dropped at first slip by Chris Gayle, then clubbed two more fours off Bravo as the pacer bleded 14 runs off the over.
Jayawardene continued the rampage, sending Sulieman Benn for a four in the next over, while Sangakkara picked up his first six in the seventh over off Bravo when he danced down the pitch and clobbered him over long-off. The left-handed batsman then clubbed Benn over deep midwicket for another six, while Jayawardene picked up two more fours off Darren Sammy in the next over.
The duo continued to treat the bowlers with disdain and raced away to hundred in the 12th over and after a few over, Jayawardene and Sangakkara picked up a six and a four respectively off Benn to cross the 150-mark in the 17th over. Sangakkara eventually holed out to Keiron Pollard at long-off in the 19th over but Jayawardene plundered a six and a four to accumulate 14 runs of the over.
In the final over, Jayawardene was stranded at the non-striker end as Chamara Kapugedera (6) and Thillakaratne Dilshan (4 not out) blasted a four each to take Sri Lanka close to the 200-mark.
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