Brian Lara described them as 'positive and confident' and that certainly seemed to be the case as a fantastic all round display by the West Indies saw them dispose of Sri Lanka in their second group match.

Bad day for Sri Lanka as Badree halts the batters

Sri Lanka never really got going as they posted a modest 122-9 off their 20 overs on what seemed to be a relatively good batting wicket. Samuel Badree was the main man as he tore through the Sri Lanka middle order with figures of 3-12 from his four overs.

Backed up by fellow spinner Sulieman Benn who went for just 13 off his four overs and Dwayne Bravo who took two wickets and forced a run out, Sri Lanka never looked like forging a decent partnership. Some excellent fielding from the West Indies resulted in four catches, two run outs and a stumping, as Thisara Perera was the only player to post a decent score.

The number seven batsman came in with his side languishing on 47-5 and attempted to counter-attack on his way to 40, but none of his teammates could stay with him as wickets continue to fall at the other end. 

Andre Fletcher takes the game to Sri Lanka

The West Indies batters would struggle to make a claim that they played much better than their opposite numbers, apart from one man. With the hero from their previous game against England, Chris Gayle, pushed down the order due to leaving the field with an injury earlier on in the evening, West Indies were looking for another man to step up to the mark.

With Johnson Charles, Marlon Samuels and Dinesh Ramdin failing to get past ten, it was Andre Fletcher, pushed up the order to fill the void left by Gayle, who stood up and delivered. A terrific innings saw him post 84 as he took the game to six out of seven Sri Lankan overs. Other than Jeffrey Vandersay momentarily halting proceedings in the middle overs, the reigning champions could not stop Fletcher who played arguably his best international innings for the West Indies.

Take out Perera's 40 and Fletcher scored more than the entire Sri Lanka team as West Indies cruised to their second win from two matches with ten balls and seven wickets to spare. With South Africa and Afghanistan left to play, it would be hard to make a case against West Indies qualifying for the semi-finals.
 

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