Kusal Perera 99 helps Sri Lanka cruise to easy win over West Indies in 2nd ODI to take series

Kusal Perera scored a fine 99 and deserved every single digit of a hundred but fell agonisingly short of it thanks in large part to cramps which impeded his running between the wickets and he went for a rash shot to avoid having to run in fear of getting run out due to cramps perhaps. Nevertheless, it was a defining knock by him and did not allow West Indies any sort of a ground in the second innings as he and Lahiru Thirimanne batted with impressive focus and maturity. Thirimanne was unbeaten at 81 as Sri Lanka got past the line in the second One-Day International (ODI) thus sealing the three-match series having won the first game. Live Scorecard: Sri Lanka vs West Indies, 2nd ODI at Colombo (RPS)

While there were a lot of positives for the hosts, it was another deflating day for the West Indies as the bowlers floundered and were directionless in the absence of Jason Holder and Andre Russell. Sunil Narine bowled with his usual variety but was just not as effective today although he was responsible for the early dismissal of Tillakaratne Dilshan with a surprise inswinging delivery. Live Blog: Sri Lanka vs West Indies 2015, 2nd ODI at Colombo

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However, after that dismissal Perera and Thirimanne were sedate in their approach not giving West Indies even a sniff. Perera combined natural flair with encouraging signs of timely restraint to compose a fine knock. Thirrimanne was more about watertight technique that he is usually known for and he did his job of supporting Perera very well. After Perera was out, Thirimanne continued to bat sensibly.

What was most encouraging about Sri Lanka was that they refrained from unnecessarily flashy shots even when they came very close of victory which showed they had learnt from their mistakes in the previous encounter.

Earlier, West Indies managed to get to 214 but lost all their wickets three balls short of the stipulated maximum of 38 overs assigned after the rain delay midway through their innings. They had two big knocks from Johnson Charles and Marlon Samuels respectively with the former scoring 83 and the stand-in skipper getting 62 before being run out.

Brief scores:

West Indies 214 in 37.3 overs (Johnson Charles 83, Marlon Samuels 63; Milinda Siriwardana 2 for 27) lost to Sri Lanka (Kusal Perera 99, Lahiru Thirimanne 81*; Sunil Narine 1 for 27) by eight wickets.