BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – West Indies tumbled to their first loss of the CLOBI Cup Masters Twenty20 Championship when they went under to Sri Lanka by two runs in their final preliminary game here Sunday night.
Playing at Kensington Oval, West Indies finished on 155 for six in pursuit of 158 for victory, after Sri Lanka had been sent in.
Despite the loss, West Indies will still contest the final against the Sri Lankans at the same venue on tonight.
Sherwin Campbell top-scored with 59 off 45 balls while Floyd Reifer stroked 54 from 45 balls, as they took the hosts to the brink of victory after a poor start to their run chase. Openers Junior Murray (5) and Rawl Lewis (8) fell cheaply but Campbell and Reifer added 108 from 79 balls for the third wicket to rebuild the innings.
While the right-handed Campbell counted six fours, the left-handed Reifer carved out three fours and two sixes.
Once both fell in the space of three balls to leave West Indies on 134 for four in the 19th, Sri Lanka turned the screws to ensure the hosts stumbled when it counted most.
Earlier, left-hander Russel Arnold top-scored with an unbeaten 57 off 50 balls with four fours and a six, to lead Sri Lanka’s batting. He added an unbroken 96 for the sixth wicket with Chandika Hathurusingha whose unbeaten 49 off 37 balls was decorated with three fours and one six. In the opening game, England secured a 23-run win over India, with former Test seamer Dominic Cork hammering 69.
Batting first, England chalked up 170 for seven with Cork smashing two fours and four sixes off a mere 43 balls at the top of the order.
In reply, India scored 147 for eight from their allotted overs with Satagopan Ramesh getting 49.
England, the defending champions, and India will now face each other in the third place playoff also today.
