Bad light denied Sri Lanka A in Colombo as they fell eight runs short of the Duckworth-Lewis revised target of 257, conceding the one-day series 0-3 to West Indies A.
An interruption due to rain in the 12th over had reduced the match to 47 overs a side. West Indies A made 305 for 5 in that time with centuries from captain Jason Mohammed and Andre McCarthy. But Sri Lanka A were taking a right tilt at the target.
They needed 58 runs in 54 balls with three wickets in hand, and they had hard-hitting allrounder Dasun Shanaka at the crease on 32 off 26 with the umpires called the players off the field due to bad light. With no further cricket possible, Sri Lanka A were left agonisingly short.
West Indies A, though, would have been thankful for the runs they had on the board. They had won the toss, opted to bat and found themselves at 59 for 3 in the 15th over before Mohammed and McCarthy joined forces.
Their 163-run partnership not only revived the innings but put their team in a position of dominance. Mohammed finished unbeaten on 105 off 108 deliveries while McCarthy – from being 6 off 13 – racked up 102 off 75 balls, hitting left-arm spinner Sachith Pathirana for four fours in the 31st over.
With a total of 305 on the board, West Indies A strengthened their hold of the game by allowing only one Sri Lanka A batsman – opener Danushka Gunathilaka – to cross fifty. The hosts were 166 for 6 when their lower-middle order started fighting back.
Pathirana and Shanaka hammered 51 runs in 33 balls for the seventh wicket and when West Indies A broke that stand, Nuwan Kulasekara and Shanaka bashed 31 in 13 balls to inspire hopes of a consolation victory. But it was not to be.
Having lost the game by such a narrow margin, they may have wondered how things might turned out if their bowlers had pressed having reduced West Indies A to 59 for 3, or about how Charith Asalanka had eaten up 41 balls to make only 23. (ESPNCricinfo)
Photo caption: Jason Mohammed (left) and Andre McCarthy (File photos)
