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DARREN Bravo struck form and a century on Sunday as West Indies completed a 3-0 sweep of Sri Lanka in the one-day international (ODI) series at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.
Bravo’s 102, his fourth ODI century, set up a five-wicket victory with an over to spare. The century was the third for West Indies in the series, after Shai Hope’s knock of 110 in the first match and Evin Lewis’s 103 in the second.
After Sri Lanka posted 274/6 in 50 overs, West Indies wrapped up the win by scoring 276/5 in 48.3 overs.
After losing Lewis for 13 and Jason Mohammed for eight, West Indies were 39/2 in the tenth over. Bravo and Hope then led the fightback for West Indies with a partnership of 109 for the third wicket.
Bravo struggled to rotate the strike, but Hope was more fluent which kept the required run rate manageable.
Hope then fell for 64 off 72 balls to leave the score 148/3 in the 32nd over. Nicholas Pooran made a quick 15, before an 80-run partnership between Bravo and captain Kieron Pollard pushed West Indies close to victory. Bravo looked much more comfortable alongside an aggressive Pollard and brought up his century with a sweep shot.
But with less than 30 runs needed for victory, Bravo fell for 102 off 132 balls with five fours and four sixes.
Pollard and Jason Holder completed the job with the former ending on 53 not out off 42 balls. Suranga Lakmal was the top bowler with 2/56 in 9.3 overs.
Hope won the player of the series award after scoring 258 runs with one century and two half centuries. After hitting 64 on Sunday, Hope joined an elite group of players to score at least six half centuries in a row. Former Pakistan cricketer Javed Miandad leads the chart with nine scores in a row of at least 50. The other West Indians on the list are Gordon Greenidge and Chris Gayle.
Openers Danushka Gunathilaka (36) and Dimuth Karunaratne (31) got Sri Lanka off to a solid start with a 68-run partnership inside 14 overs.
Sri Lanka then lost their way in the middle overs as West Indies, led by the spinners, stifled the flow of runs.
Left-arm orthodox Akeal Hosein grabbed three wickets to help reduce Sri Lanka to 151/6 in the 32nd over.
Wanindu Hasaranga, known for his leg-spin, joined forces with Ashen Bandara in an unbroken stand of 123.
Hasaranga cracked seven fours and three sixes in his knock of 80 not out off 60 deliveries to propel Sri Lanka to 274/6 – their highest score of the series.
Bandara also played positively with a knock of 55 not out off 74 balls. His innings included three fours and one six.
Hosein was the pick of the bowlers for West Indies with 3/33 in ten overs. Fast bowler Alzarri Joseph and off spinner Jason Mohammed grabbed 1/51 and 1/49 respectively in their ten-over spells.
SUMMARISED SCORES: SRI LANKA 274/6 (50 overs) (Wanindu Hasaranga 80 not out, Ashen Bandara 55 not out; Danushka Gunathilaka 36; Akeal Hosein 3/33) vs WEST INDIES 276/5 (48.3 overs) (Darren Bravo 102, Shai Hope 64, Kieron Pollard 53 not out; Suranga Lakmal 2/56). WEST INDIES won by five wickets.
The post Darren Bravo (102) lifts West Indies to 3-0 ODI sweep appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.