Sri Lanka pull off 1-wicket victory over West Indies in 1st ODI

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Feb 22, (AP): Sri Lanka overcame Shai Hope’s century to pull off a onewicket win over West Indies with five balls left in the first one-day international on Saturday.

Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne asked West Indies to bat first after winning the toss at Colombo’s Sinhalese Sports Club. The visitors responded by scoring a competitive 289-7 in 50 overs with Hope hitting 115 – off 140 deliveries – including 10 boundaries.

In reply, Sri Lanka reached 290-9 in 49.1 overs. No. 8 Wanindu Hasaranga pulled Sri Lanka out of a hole with an unbeaten 39-ball 42 including a six and four boundaries.

West Indies lost its first wicket in the fourth over with the total on 10 when Sunil Ambris was bowled by Thisara Perera’s inswinger. With West Indies recovering nicely, Hope made a wrong call for a single which resulted in Darren Bravo (39) being run out to end a promising partnership.

Hope made up for his mistake with a third-wicket partnership with Roston Chase (41 off 45) which took West Indies to 172-3.

Sri Lanka’s left-arm seamer Isuru Udana took three quick wickets, including Hope’s, to reduce the visitors to 230-6 in the 46th over. It was Hope’s ninth ODI century.

Tailenders Keemo Paul (32 not out) and Hayden Walsh (20 not out) scored 49 runs in the last 20 deliveries. Udana took 3-82. Sri Lanka got off to a superb start with Karunaratne and Avishka Fernando, sharing 111 with both scoring half-centuries.

Karunaratne (52 off 57), who successfully reviewed a caught-behind decision against Jason Holder, nicked the next ball to wicketkeeper Hope.

Fernando (50) was caught behind off seamer Alzarri Joseph.

Sri Lanka slumped to 253-7 when Hasaranga came in to bat and guided his team to victory. Joseph took 3-42, Paul got 2-48. The second of three one-day internationals is at Hambantota on Wednesday.

Meanwhile Ashton Agar took a hat-trick and Australia thumped South Africa by 107 runs in the first

Twenty20 ,showing absolutely no signs of hesitancy in their first game back in the country following the embarrassing ball-tampering scandal of 2018.

Agar nearly had a second hat-trick when he took two in two balls later on.

The left-arm spinner finished with brilliant figures of 5-24 as South Africa crumbled to 89 all out – its lowest T20 total – in reply to Australia’s 196-6.