Cricket: Sri Lanka weather the storm to beat WIndies

PORT OF SPAIN, July 8, 2013 (AFP) - Sri Lanka weathered a middle-order revival by the West Indies and held on for a 39-run victory on the Duckworth/Lewis Scoring Method in a rain-affected fifth match of the Tri-Nation Series at Queen's Park Oval on Monday.



Sangakkara's 95-ball knock, his 76th half-century in one-day international cricket, included one six and six fours but was defined more by trademark timing, placement and a sensible appreciation of the circumstances than the hell-for-leather hitting usually associated with the final stages of a limited-over match.

"If you hang in there, it becomes much easier to score runs on a pitch like," he observed after receiving the Man of the Match award.

"When batting first, it's better to absorb the pressure and then look to accelerate later. The support from the other batsmen was really important."

Unfortunately for the West Indies, Bravo and Simmons, as well as they played, failed to follow suit. Kumar Sangakkara crafted a superb, unbeaten 90 to lift the visitors to a competitive 219 for eight in a match forced into the reserve day because of the elements and reduced to 41 overs-per-side.

Half-centuries by Darren Bravo (70) and Lendl Simmons (67) then threatened to take the home team to a r