Jayawardene Helps Sri Lanka to Victory

Pretoria: A brace of three-wicket hauls from Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis, along with a half-century from Mahela Jayawardene led Sri Lanka to a comfortable five-wicket victory in their warm-up match against West Indies in Pretoria.

After conceding 306 runs against Pakistan on Friday, Sri Lanka's bowlers were more effective against a weak West Indies. Dale Richards and Devon Smith scored half-centuries but, apart from Darren Sammy, no one else got to double figures.

They had reached a respectable 121 for 2 before Murali and Mendis went about dismantling the middle and lower order. Murali took 3 for 17 and Mendis claimed 3 for 31 as West Indies were bowled out for 201 in the 46th over.

Sri Lanka began the chase shakily, with Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya falling within the first ten overs, but Jayawardene steadied the innings by scoring 67 before he was out hit wicket to Gavin Tonge.

There were also useful contributions from Kumar Sangakkara (35) and Thilina Kandamby (44) not out and Sri Lanka reached the target in the 48th over.

Brief score:
West Indies: 201 (DS Smith 67, DM Richards 59, M Muralitharan 3-18)
Sri Lanka: 202 for 5 (DPMD Jayawardene 67)
Result: Sri Lanka won by 5-wickets

Scores	Upcoming	Results
Pakistan vs New Zealand - 5th T20I Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings - 42nd Match Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians - 43rd Match Lucknow Super Giants vs Rajasthan Royals - 44th Match 45th Match - Gujarat Titans v Royal Challengers Bangalore - April 28, 10:00 GMT 46th Match - Chennai Super Kings v Sunrisers Hyderabad - April 28, 14:00 GMT 4th T20I - Pakistan v New Zealand at Lahore New Zealand won by 4 runs 41st Match - Sunrisers Hyderabad v Royal Challengers Bangalore at Hyderabad Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 35 runs

Related links

ICC Champions Trophy 2009 News

BCCI Sacks Team India Coaches [+]

Both Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh were under the scanner after India's dismal show in the Twenty20 World Cup and last month's Champions Trophy.

Younis Quits Captaincy After Grilling [+]

An annoyed Younis Khan on Tuesday quit captaincy of the Pakistan team after being grilled on the team's performance in the Champions Trophy.

ODIs Get More Viewers Than CL T20 [+]

TV ratings show and CricketWorld4u.com visitors more people watched the Champions Trophy held in South Africa than those currently following the T20 Champions League in India.

ICC Declares CT a Huge Success [+]

ICC President David Morgan termed the Champions Trophy "a huge success" and said the event has proved to be a great advertisement for One-dayers.

Ponting Happy to See Youngsters Making a Mark [+]

Australia may have lost the aura of invincibility after the likes of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne made their exit but captain Ricky Ponting is happy that the youngsters have made a mark in the ICC Champions Trophy.

ICC Studying Pakistan's Defeat in CT Semi-final [+]

The ICC anti-corruption unit is studying New Zealand's victory over Pakistan in Champions Trophy semi-final, raising doubts of corrupt play, after Pakistani skipper Younus Khan dropped a catch at a crucial juncture of the match.

Watson Ton Powers Australia to Defend Champions Trophy [+]

Shane Watson hit an unbeaten 105 as Australia beat New Zealand by 6 wickets to win the Champions Trophy for the second consecutive time at Centurion.

New Zealand Bat After Losing Vettori [+]

As if the task at hand - facing Australia in a final - was not gargantuan enough, New Zealand lost their captain and most valuable player, Daniel Vettori, to a hamstring strain.

Simon Taufel Apologizes to Umar Akmal [+]

Simon Taufel has apologised to Umar Akmal after footage replays confirmed that the Australian erred in ruling him out at the CT semi-final against NZ.

Aus vs NZ CT Final - Kiwis Can Upset Aussies [+]

New Zealand campaign in this edition of the Champions Trophy in South Africa. Or, for that matter, on any tour the Kiwis undertake.