SRI LANKA v WEST INDIES

At Sharjah, October 20. Sri Lanka won by 50 runs. Toss: West Indies.

Richardson repeated his gamble of the opening game when he asked Sri Lanka to bat. It failed then, and this time, with the Sri Lankans in prime form, it proved fatal. The top three made half-centuries, De Silva's coming from just 35 balls. By the 34th over they were 157 for one. Wickets began to fall after that, but the batsmen remained aggressive, and successive short blasts raised Sri Lanka to 273. They had taken lunch at 262 from 48 overs, because of the West Indian bowlers' slow rate, but, after the interval, referee Raman Subba Row decided the innings should be completed after all. It made little difference to West Indies, who were a sorry 88 for five at the halfway mark; Upashantha, in his second international, removed Williams and Lara by the 11th over. The match was settled at 177 for nine, though the last pair, Gibson and Anthony, put on 46 in 32 balls to delay Sri Lanka's celebrations.

Man of the Match: A. Ranatunga. Man of the Series: R. S. Mahanama.