Okay so that's it. A cold tournament finally reaches biggish matches, and rain allows only 43 overs of cricket over two matches. I have got a bad feeling about this tournament. Hoping for a better day tomorrow, this is Sidharth Monga signing off. Cheers
Presentation "Weather took away a very exciting game," says Darren Sammy. "Everybody was looking forward to it. The batsmen did what was required of them. we knew Australia would come back hard, and we took too long to respond. Just the way he goes about his innings, we just sit in the dressing room, and just enjoy watching him play. Edwards started well, but like I said we took too long to respond."
"There was some good stuff but there was some ordinary stuff as well," says George Bailey. "That's what the challenge is, to lessen the gap between the good and the ordinary stuff. We did do that in patches, but there were certainly patches when they got away from us. Watson and Warner did the job, Huss was good too. Disappointed with the rain, because an exciting finish was set up."
"It was a good day in the end," says Shane Watson. "Obviously disappointing to let them score 190. Dropping Gayle was a pretty bad feeling, especially when the next 10 balls go for 30-40 runs. So good to make up for it with the ball and the bat. It was great to watch Warner from the other end. That's the thing about our partnership. One day is his day, the next one can be mine."
10.55pm I am being told it has been pouring down in Colombo, and they are trying to find a place to hold the match presentation. However, I stay committed to bringing you those quotes, no matter how banal they might be
10.43pm Australia have won by 17 runs on D/L. Shane Watson is Man of the Match. A result reminiscent of West Indies' first match of the first World Twenty20, when they scored 200-plus, and failed to defend. This now turns West Indies-Ireland into a knockout game.
Gayle, Samuels were superb, and so was Watson. For a nine-over innings, as it turned out to be, Warner was useful too. Unfortunate day for the bowlers what with mis-hits flying for sixes. Stay back for quotes from the presentation
10.30pm Still sheeting down and David Hopps has spotted a fan in football jersey body-surfing on the covers. On a more serious note David lets me know the October monsoon is just setting in Sri Lanka, and this is not good news for the tournament. Also don't forget the Champions Cup that was washed out in Sri Lanka ended on September 30, which was roughly the same season. Not the cleverest bit of scheduling then
Meanwhile Rakesh, a West Indies fan if there ever was one, is tearing his hair apart: "In my 35 years of watching cricket, i am unable to recall a single game where i have seen such poor bowling and fielding by any team as the WI today"
"A question about D/L: say we lose 10 overs, turning it into a 10 over match. But say Australia is still ahead of D/L. Do they declare the game over then and there?" No, David, they could still lose wickets in the next five balls, thus changing the par score. Or, wait, I might be wrong. You have got me here
10.20pm Still pouring in Colombo. Australia getting closer to the win every passing minute
10.02pmWe are going off with this massive downpour. The covers are coming on, they will cover the whole ground, but let me tell you that the par score at this moment is 83. Australia are well ahead of it. My amateur calculation says they will start reducing overs if we don't resume play by 10.16pm. One over for every four minutes lost after 10.16pm