Sri Lanka stroll to seven-wicket win

Seamers set up comprehensive win for Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka 86 for 3 (Dilshan 33*, Perera 25) beat New Zealand 81 (N McCullum 36*, Vettori 27, Kulasekara 3-4, Malinga 3-12) by seven wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Nuwan Kulasekara found the perfect lines and lengths for the slow and low track that the USA has dished out, and ripped the heart out of New Zealand's batting with three wickets in his first over. Although Daniel Vettori and Nathan McCullum, the only New Zealanders to reach double figures, avoided the ignominy of the lowest total in Twenty20 internationals, 81 was never going to test Sri Lanka even on this pitch.

The win was set up by Kulasekara's first two overs, three wickets in the first and no runs in the second. He made the necessary adjustments from the first match: everything was stump to stump, slightly short of a length, and offcutters were bowled aplenty. That the innings started with Kumar Sangakkara standing up to the stumps, with no slip in sight, said a lot about the pitch. It didn't help New Zealand that their top-order batsmen were looking to play around their front pad, and the bowlers were hardly missing. There was no bounce in the pitch to take anything over the stumps either.

Aaron Redmond and Rob Nicol both fell to ones that Kulasekara got to jag in sharply. Brendon McCullum got a beauty in between those dismissals, this one holding its line. Ross Taylor, in the next over, played across the line to Angelo Mathews and paid the price. Gareth Hopkins, in to replace the injured Martin Guptill, went for an ill-advised single, and many dubious records were in sight.

Crisis man Vettori, though, found support from the older McCullum, and the two batted sensibly to add 45 for the sixth wicket. Neither of them looked to play across the line, both waited for the loose deliveries, which were rare. One of them was a full delivery from Mathews in the seventh over, which N McCullum punched down the ground for the first boundary of the innings. Vettori hit two more boundaries, both cleverly played reverse-sweeps against Sanath Jayasuriya.

The partnership came to an end when Vettori swept at Ajantha Mendis, and the fielding side and the umpire took the noise emanating for an edge. Vettori, though, demonstrated the exact spot on the pitch his bat had hit, which created the incriminating sound.

When N McCullum square-cut Thissara Perera through the fingers of Tillakaratne Dilshan in the 16th over, the only other boundary of the piece, the score moved to 76, two more than the lowest total by a major team. Even though N McCullum kept New Zealand fighting, the lower order found full and straight bowling from Lasith Malinga too much, securing New Zealand's total in the format.

In the chase, Sri Lanka were hardly under any pressure, especially after Mahela Jayawardene got them going with a 12-ball 17. During his stay in the middle, batting looked at its easiest on this pitch not conducive to attractive cricket. Thissara Perera was sent in at the first drop, and he did his job by hitting two fours and a six in his 25 even as Tillakaratne Dilshan struggled for timing. Those two cameos were enough, though, to set the chase up, and Dilshan saw them through.

South Africa continue success with 66-run win

50 overs: South Africa 280 for 7 (Amla 102, de Villiers 102, Bravo 3-40) v West Indies 215 (Gayle 45, McLaren 2-37)

	Dwayne Bravo took the wickets of Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis early on, and returned to shatter Johan Botha's stumps, but West Indies fell well short in the first ODI© AFP

South Africa carried their Twenty20 success into the one-day series with a 66-run win over West Indies in the first game at the Sir Vivian Richards stadium in Antigua. The victory was set up by twin hundreds from Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers - de Villiers reaching his third consecutive ODI hundred and fourth in six innings - as they added 129 together for the third wicket and registered identical scores of 102 to take the visitors to 280 for 7 after being put in by Chris Gayle. It was a familiar story as West Indies set about their chase in fits and starts, dominating for short periods but losing wickets regularly as they were bowled out for 215 in the 45th over. South Africa put in a team effort in the field, with every bowler except Jacques Kallis picking up at least one wicket.

It had been feared that the wicket would once again play inconsistently to favour the bowlers, but Amla, back in the side and opening the batting with his captain, played with the class and wristy flair that has already become his signature to race to a fluent hundred. He got going with a flowing punch-drive through point in the first over, and he and Graeme Smith had taken South Africa smoothly to 43 when the rain that had delayed the start returned in the sixth over.

The break shortened South Africa's innings by two overs, but did Amla's concentration no harm, and he was straight back into the groove with a crisply-driven boundary off Rampaul. Smith had also looked more at ease at the crease than he has been for quite some time, until Dwayne Bravo found the perfect line with his fifth ball to find the edge of his bat. Bravo was at it again in his second over, as Kallis flashed hard at a short ball outside off stump that gripped and bounced more than he had expected, and the uppercut arced straight to third man.

South Africa were 57 for 2 at that stage, and in danger of squandering what had been a flowing start. But Amla and de Villiers weathered the West Indian fightback - with a little luck as the odd ball nipped past the edge or flew wide of a catching fielder - and steadily seized the momentum back for the visitors. West Indies were not helped by the inability of the bowlers to land six balls in a row on the mark, and whenever pressure began to build it was soon released with a loose delivery down the leg side, or width outside off.

Amla went to a composed century with his umpteenth dab to third man in the 33rd over, but soon after had his stumps splayed by a ball from Rampaul that landed on a length and kept a little low. Amla stayed back when he should have been forward, and was dismissed after his first real error of the day.

With his departure, de Villiers stepped up a gear, pulling Narsingh Deonarine to deep midwicket and swiping him high over square leg to take 13 from his solitary over and move into the 80s. After once again being targeted with a barrage of bouncers - including one that struck him on the grille to leave him lying dazed in the crease - JP Duminy was bowled giving himself too much room to Rampaul shortly after the batting Powerplay was called.

De Villiers went to the second century of the innings with a slug to long on and a large total loomed, but West Indies stepped up their game in the closing overs to peg South Africa back with regular wickets. David Miller biffed away merrily amid the wickets to finish unbeaten on 23 and ensure South Africa reached a competitive total.

West Indies came out facing a revised target of 282 in 48 overs, but Andre Fletcher failed once again, helplessly edging a searing Steyn outswinger to Kallis at second slip. Gayle and Bravo immediately launched a counterattack and for a brief time they found the boundary at will with a succession of authoritative strokes, adding 40 in under five overs to fluster the normally slick South African fielders. Gayle was dropped twice before an overly-optimistic swish outside off stump saw Bravo dismissed for 15, and the spell was broken.

Gayle, though, was determined to go down swinging, collecting five more boundaries - including three marvellous strikes in one over from Morne Morkel - before he fell for 45, Morkel getting his revenge as Gayle top-edged a massive swipe to leg to be well caught by Johan Botha at midwicket.

West Indies were 69 for 3 in the 13th over with that wicket, the required run-rate climbing steadily thereafter as Ramnaresh Sarwan and Narsingh Deonarine struggled to impose themselves on South Africa's bowlers. They added 61 - the highest partnership of the innings - at slightly more than four runs to the over, but, after playing themselves in, then fell within three overs of each other to place a great deal of pressure on the hosts' lower middle order.

Kieron Pollard kept hopes of a late fightback with his best international innings for some time as he reached 44 in quick time, his best shot a soaring straight six off Steyn. He also showed he is more than just a slogger with some intelligent batting to pick up boundaries all round the ground, but when he and Denesh Ramdin fell in consecutive overs with the required rate rocketing past 10-an-over, the result was as good as sealed.