Sri Lanka Captain Kumar Sangakkara called Tillekaratne Dilshan as a “pioneer” after the opener hit an unbeaten 96 to lead his side past West Indies and into the World Twenty20 final.

Sri Lanka cruised to a comfortable 57-run win at the Oval and will now take on Pakistan in the final at Lord’s on Sunday.

Dilshan’s knock was the centrepiece of Sri Lanka’s 158 for five with his 57-ball innings, which featured two sixes and 12 fours, the equal third-best in Twenty20 international history.

Fellow opener Sanath Jayasuriya (24) and Angelo Mathews (12 not out) were the only other Sri Lankan batsmen to reach double figures.

Mathews took three wickets in the first over of the West Indies reply and the Caribbean side finished on 101 all out with Captain Chris Gayle walking with 63 not out.

“It’s Mathews’s first major international tour and you can’t ask for much more than three wickets in the first over,” added Sangakkara.

“To get three top order batsmen out is a great start. We have a great bowling attack, they are all thinking cricketers.

“Now we will take this confidence into the final against Pakistan. We’ll concentrate on getting our basics right, we’ll be responsible and execute our game plan.”

Dilshan said he was learning all the time in the international arena and was awarded Man of the Match.

Gayle said the defeat was a bitter pill to swallow after his bowlers had limited the flamboyant Sri Lankans to 158-5.

“Dilshan took the game away from us. But we have struggled to get a start and get runs on the board. We’ll come back as a better unit and learn things from this” said Gayle.

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Before the World T20 started, the West Indies were enduring a miserable tour of England. They lost the Test series and the One-dayers.

Gayle batted for the cause of Twenty20, emphasising how it was the face of the game’s future. Now, the big-hitting Jamaican has an opportunity to show how strong his romance with T20 exactly is, when his side takes on an in-form Sri Lanka in the second semifinal at the Oval on Friday.

West Indies have emerged as the party-poopers of the tournament. Everyone was talking about India, South Africa and Sri Lanka being title favourites.

But Gayle’s men played their own brand of attacking and attractive cricket. They have devoured Australia, India and England on their way to the semifinals.

The Oval, in fact, is working out to be a lucky ground for the West Indies. They beat Australia and England at this venue. Gayle will also be looking to avenge the loss the Windies suffered at the hands of the Lankans in the group stage at Nottingham.

For that their batting needs to fire. How their batsmen negotiate Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis will have a huge bearing on the result.

Teams:

Sri Lanka: KC Sangakkara, M Muralitharan, SI de Saram, TM Dilshan, ST Jayasuriya, DPMD Jayawardene, KMDN Kulasekara, MF Maharoof, SL Malinga, AD Mathews, BAW Mendis, J Mubarak, LPC Silva, T Thushara, I Udana

West Indies: CH Gayle, D Ramdin, LS Baker, SJ Benn, DE Bernard, DJ Bravo, S Chanderpaul, FH Edwards, ADS Fletcher, XM Marshall, KA Pollard, DJG Sammy, RR Sarwan, LMP Simmons, JE Taylor

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Sanath Jayasuriya and Tillekeratne Dilshan hammered an opening stand of 124 as Sri Lanka beat the West Indies by 15 runs in the World Twenty20 on Wednesday.

The duo lifted Sri Lanka to 192-5, a total the West Indies chased bravely despite the absence of explosive opener and Captain Chris Gayle, who missed the Group C match due to a knee injury.

The West Indians ended at 177-5, fired by a spectacular counter-attack by Dwayne Bravo and Ramnaresh Sarwan, who put on 77 off 59 balls for the fifth wicket.

Bravo hit a 38-ball 51 that included five fours and two sixes, while Sarwan remained unbeaten on 28.

Sri Lanka, who thumped Australia by six wickets in their first match, are hot favourites to make the semi-finals from Super Eights Group F which includes Pakistan, Ireland and New Zealand.

The West Indies are drawn in the tougher Group E which also has defending champions India, South Africa and hosts England.

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The West Indies captain Chris Gayle is carrying an injury after being struck near the knee by Mitchell Johnson and is an uncertain starter for their final group game against Sri Lanka at Trent Bridge on Wednesday. Gayle said he would bat during the team’s practice session and decide on his participation afterwards.

Gayle almost single-handedly led West Indies to victory against Australia at The Oval on June 6.

Gayle had not batted during West Indies’ training session yesterday and today he did not bowl or field. However, he batted for a short while and, although he wasn’t able to move his feet smoothly, he still managed to hit the ball powerfully. If the injury improves by tomorrow afternoon it is likely that Gayle will take the field because he emphasised the importance of beating Sri Lanka to keep the momentum going.

If Gayle is forced to rest, though, it won’t upset West Indies too much because both they and Sri Lanka have qualified for the Super Eights from group C by beating Australia. West Indies will be pooled with India, England and South Africa in the next round.

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