Sri Lanka on Friday overcame a spirited late charge from Ramnaresh Sarwan to clinch a thrilling six-run victory against West Indies in a World Cup Group B league match in Cape Town and almost assure themselves of a berth in the Super Six.
Sarwan, retired hurt on ten, came back at the fall of the seventh wicket to play a valiant unbeaten knock of 47 but West
Indies still finished at 222 for nine in reply to Sri Lanka's 228 for six and are now staring at an early exit from the competition.
Still suffering from the shocking defeat to Kenya, Sri Lankan batsmen played with extra caution after that knowing fully well that a defeat in this match would throw them out of the tournament.
West Indies had made a good start to the game when Pedro Collins effected a brilliant run out in his followthrough to send back Atapattu in just the fourth over of the morning.
Jayasuriya, who was remarkably subdued, was guilty of running out Aravinda de Silva when the team was well placed at 103 for two in the 25th over.
The run out proved crucial as Sri Lanka lost two more wickets, including that of Jayasuriya, for the addition of 26
runs to see their innings derail.
Jayasuriya, who added 85 runs for the second wicket with Tillekaratne, faced 99 balls for his 66 and hit just four boundaries.
It was Arnold, Sangakkara and Vaas, unbeaten on 24, who rescued the Sri Lankan innings with their useful knocks down the order.
Arnold and Vaas put on 50 runs off just 42 balls for the unfinished seventh wicket that saw Sri Lanka cross the 200-run
mark.
In reply, the Windies did not have a good start. Their innings suffered mainly due to the cheap dismissals of Brian Lara and Carl Hooper.
Chris Gayle, who made 55, and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who scored 65, had kept West Indies in the hunt after their team had lost opener Wavell Hinds and Lara with just 27 runs on the board.
Gayle's 76-ball knock contained eight hits to the fence while Chanderpaul struck six boundaries in his 90-ball innings.
Lara, who was in terrific form in the team's previous match against Canada, stuttered around for 22 balls before being dismissed for one while Hooper earned a first ball nought.
The flamboyant Ricardo Powell compounded the problem by getting out for one after facing just four balls.
Sarwan, who had to stretchered off the ground after being hit on his temple by a Dilhara Fernando bouncer, revived the team's chances after it was left in a seemingly hopeless position at 169 for seven in the 43rd over.
He played a heroic knock as he battled a rising required run rate of around ten an over.
Sarwan, who hit four fours and two sixes, was dropped on the boundary line by Marvan Atapattu in the 48th over raising West Indies' chances of pulling off a stunning victory, but Muthiah Muralitharan bowled an excellent 49th over conceding just two runs to bring Sri Lanka back into the match.
Chaminda Vaas was once again the pick of the Sri Lankan bowlers, claiming four wickets to take his tally to 16.
The victory took Sri Lanka to the top of the Group B points table with 16 points and a match against hosts South Africa to go.
West Indies have 10 points and a chance to pick up four more against Kenya. But their chances of qualifying for the Super Sixes are slim as New Zealand, South Africa and Kenya all have 12 points with one match to go.
Sri Lanka
M Atapattu run out 3
S Jayasuriya c Chanderpaul b Gayle 66
H Tillakaratne b Hinds 36
A de Silva run out 13
M Jayawardene c Powell b Hooper 9
R Arnold not out 34
K Sangakkara c Lara b Drakes 24
C Vaas not out 28
Extras (lb-5, w-8, nb-2) 15
Total (for 6 wkts, 50 overs) 228
Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-96, 3-113, 4-131, 5-139, 6-178.
Bowling: Dillon 10-0-30-0, Collins 10-0-62-0, Drakes 10-1-32-1, Hooper 6-0-30-1, Hinds 4-0-27-1, Gayle 10-0-42-1.
West Indies
C Gayle lbw b Vaas 55
W Hinds c Jayasuriya b Vaas 2
B Lara c Sangakkara b Vaas 1
R Sarwan not out 47
C Hooper lbw b Fernando 0
S Chanderpaul c Atapattu b de Silva 65
R Jacobs c Sangakkara b Vaas 0
R Powell b Muralitharan 1
V Drakes c Vaas b Jayasuriya 25
M Dillon run out 4
P Collins not out 1
Extras (lb-6, w-12, nb-3) 21
Total (for 9 wkts, 50 overs) 222
Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-27, 3-62, 4-121, 5-121, 6-122, 7-169, 8-186, 9-219.
Bowling: Vaas 10-3-22-4, Gunaratne 6-1-41-0, de Silva 10-0-48-1, Fernando 6-0-33-1, Muralitharan 10-1-26-1, Jayasuriya 8-0-46-1.
