• Sri Lanka 338-6; West Indies 315-9 (Sri Lanka win by 23 runs)
• Nicholas Pooran’s 118 in vain as West Indies come up just short
Nicholas Pooran waded in at the Riverside where MS Dhoni dared not tread at Edgbaston on Sunday, turning a game on its head with a barnstoming 118 that nearly dragged West Indies from a performance of limping ineptitude to remarkable victory.
Coming in at 71 for three, Pooran had marshalled a cardboard batting display into respectability and then 3D-fantasy, alongside Jason Holder, Carlos Brathwaite and, most thrillingly of all, Fabian Allen. Aged 23, his highest international score was 63 and the run chase of 339 would be a World Cup record – but no matter. West Indies have had a dreadful World Cup but pride and shame are powerful catalysts.
Written by Tanya Aldred at the Riverside
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jul/01/sri-lanka-west-indies-cricket-world-cup-match-report under the title “Avishka Fernando hits high notes and Sri Lanka hold nerve against West Indies”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
