Reigning champions West Indies have been eliminated from the Twenty20 World Cup following a 20-run defeat to Sri Lanka here Thursday.
Asked to chase 190 at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, the Caribbean side came up well short to suffer their third defeat in four matches, and remain rooted in fifth spot in Group 1 and out of contention for the semi-finals.
Left-hander Shimron Hetmyer top-scored with a career-best 81 not out off 54 deliveries and got support from vice-captain Nicholas Pooran with 46 off 34 balls but the run chase lacked enterprise from the start, as openers Chris Gayle (1) and Evin Lewis (8) fell cheaply.
In fact, such was the West Indies effort that only Hetmyer and Pooran reached double figures.
Sent in earlier, Sri Lanka stormed to an impressive 189 for three off their 20 overs, with Charith Asalanka top-scoring with 68 off 41 balls opener Pathum Nissanka gathering 51 off 41 deliveries.
West Indies’ final fixture against Australia on Saturday is now of academic interest only.
Source-CMC
