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Paceman Farveez Maharoof’s maiden five-wicket haul paved the way for Sri Lanka’s nine-wicket victory over the defending champions West Indies to top the qualifying phase of the Champions Trophy here on Saturday.

The 22-year-old all rounder claimed a career-best six for 14 off nine overs to skittle West Indies for 80 in 30.4 overs in the final qualifying day-night match. Opener Sanath Jayasuriya cracked a 47-ball 45 not out as Sri Lanka sped to the paltry target in 13.2 overs.

Sri Lanka join former champions New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa in one half of the main rounds, while West Indies will be bunched with world champions Australia, hosts India and England.

Man-of-the-match Maharoof dismissed Brian Lara, Dwayne Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Smith, Carlton Baugh and Wavell Hinds in the space of 38 deliveries to rip open West Indies’ brittle middle-order.

Opting to bat, West Indies were stunned as Chaminda Vaas struck twice early on. The left-arm paceman, who was rested in the previous match against Zimbabwe, dismissed opener Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan for ducks in the first and third overs respectively.

Aggressive paceman Lasith Malinga squared up opener Shivnarine Chanderpaul and forced him to edge behind to Kumar Sangakkara for eight as West Indies crumbled to 13 for three.

West Indies looked uncomfortable on a low-playing Brabourne Stadium pitch, despite posting convincing victories over Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in their previous qualifiers.

Maharoof began his onslaught by trapping Lara leg before for 13 with a delivery that cut back sharply. He then had Bravo leg before without scoring and clean bowled Samuels as West Indies were sent reeling.

In-form Sri Lanka opener Upul Tharanga was dismissed by paceman Fidel Edwards playing on off the first ball of the innings but that was Sri Lanka’s only scare.

Jayasuriya hit nine fours as he and skipper Mahela Jayawardene (34 not out) guided their side past the winning mark with a series of aggressive shots. The main rounds of the tournament begin on Sunday (today).

Scoreboard

West Indies won toss

West Indies

C H Gayle c Sangakkara b Vaas 0

S Chanderpaul c S’kkara b Malinga 8

R R Sarwan lbw b Vaas 0

*B C Lara lbw b Maharoof 13

W W Hinds c J’suriya b Maharoof 28

D J Bravo lbw b Maharoof 0

M N Samuels b Maharoof 1

D R Smith c M’tharan b Maharoof 0

†C S Baugh lbw b Maharoof 1

F H Edwards b Malinga 4

C D Collymore not out 8

Extras (lb5, w2, nb10) 17

Total (all out, 30.4 overs) 80

Fall: 1-1, 2-12, 3-13, 4-51, 5-55, 6-58, 7-58, 8-64, 9-67

Bowling: Vaas 6-2-6-2 (4nb, 1w); Malinga 5.4-0-26-2 (2nb, 1w); Fernando 5-0-15-0 (1nb); Maharoof 9-2-14-6 (3nb); Muralitharan 5-0-14-0

Sri Lanka

W U Tharanga b Edwards 0

S T Jayasuriya not out 45

*D P M D Jayawardene not out 34

Extras (w1, nb3) 4

Total (one wkt, 13.2 overs) 83

Did not bat: †K C Sangakkara, M S Atapattu, T M Dilshan, M F Maharoof, W P U J C Vaas, M Muralitharan, S L Malinga, C R D Fernando

Fall: 1-0

Bowling: Edwards 4-0-17-1 (2nb); Collymore 5-0-21-0; Smith 3-0-29-0 (1nb, 1w); Samuels 1.2-0-16-0

Result: Sri Lanka won by 9 wickets

Points: Sri Lanka 2, West Indies 0

Man of the Match: Farveez Maharoof

Umpires: Asad Rauf (Pakistan) and R E Koertzen (South Africa). TV umpire: M R Benson (England). Match referee: M J Procter (South Africa)

ICC Champions

Trophy Points Table

Teams P W L Pts NRR

Sri Lanka 3 3 - 6 +2.672

West Indies 3 2 1 4 +0.404

Bangladesh 3 1 2 2 +0.019

Zimbabwe 3 - 3 0 -2.927

Sri Lanka and West Indies have now qualified for the tournament’s main round
Source:The News

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