Warner’s 55 not out saw Australia home with almost 25 overs to spare after the West Indies earlier collapsed from 50 for one to 116 all out from 32.3 overs.

Australia then wasted little time in getting to the modest target, Warner anchoring the effort to ensure a victory that was never in doubt despite the loss of three wickets for seven runs with the end in sight.

Spinners Sunil Narine, with two wickets in one over, and Sulieman Benn caused the discomfort but it was not enough to save the hosts.

The emphatic victory earned Australia a bonus point to move ahead of the West Indies in the three-team standings before Tuesday’s final game at Providence against South Africa.

“Our batting is a real concern,” said West Indies coach Phil Simmons.

“The bowlers and fielding side are doing a great job but we need to get it together with the bat for the next two matches in St Kitts.”

Boosted by a four-wicket win in the tournament-opener against the South Africans at the same venue two days earlier, the West Indies plummeted back down to earth at the feet of the World Cup-holders, whose frontline spinners Nathan Lyon and Adam Zampa did the bulk of the damage with three wickets apiece after the usual effective opening burst from Mitchell Starc. “I really enjoyed it out there on that pitch,” Zampa enthused after his performance.

“South Africa will be a big challenge though on Tuesday with so many quality batsmen.”

Playing his first international match for more than six months after being sidelined by injury, the left-arm fast bowler breached the defences of openers Andre Fletcher and Johnson Charles to finish with figures of two for 37 from nine overs.

He showed signs of rustiness in delivering five wides and a no-ball, however his lethal pace proved more than a handful for the West Indies top order.

Starc’s tally of ODI wickets is now at 92 in his 47th match and should he take eight more before the end of this competition he will eclipse Pakistan’s Saqlain Mustaq for the record as the fastest to 100 wickets in terms of matches played in this format of the international game.

Charles topscored with a chancy 22 while all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite was last out for 21, Aaron Finch taking the catch at long-on to give Zampa his third wicket.

Notwithstanding the turgid surface, the home batsmen contributed to their swift demise with a succession of poor shots, exemplified by Darren Bravo’s loose cover-drive at seamer Mitchell Marsh which offered a straightforward catch to Zampa at cover.

Lyon, the experienced off-spinner, had an almost instant impact in disposing of Marlon Samuels and Kieron Pollard off successive deliveries.

It’s crunch time for Indian Premier League finals hopefuls on Sunday with just two games left and five teams still in the running for the playoffs.

The IPL’s playoffs format will see the top two teams face off in a qualifier for a spot in the final on Tuesday night (May 24). The teams that finished third and fourth meet in an elimination final the next night.

Gujarat Lions sealed their spot in the qualifier with their win over Mumbai on Saturday night, while David Warner’s Sunrisers are in the box seat to join them, needing to defeat Kolkata on Sunday.

The season is over for whichever team loses Wednesday night’s eliminator, while the winner will meet the loser of Tuesday’s qualifier in Delhi on May 27 to vie for the second spot in the final in Bangalore next Sunday night.

A number of Australia’s one-day squad members are likely to feature in the IPL finals – including Hyderabad captain David Warner, Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Travis Head and Gujarat Lions’ Aaron Finch and James Faulkner – with all to remain (barring injury) with their respective clubs until their campaigns are completed, before linking up with the ODI squad in Guyana ahead of their clash with the West Indies on June 5.

Here’s how the table shapes up for regular season conclusion:

1. Gujarat Lions (18 points)

A batting blitz from Brendon McCullum and Suresh Raina saw Gurajat seal a double chance on Saturday night. It’s an impressive result for Brad Hodge’s men in their debut season.

Carlos Brathwaite, who till yesterday had played only seven T20 internationals for West Indies and never hit a single boundary in any of them suddenly became his team’s savior and hero as he sent the first six balls of that final over sailing into the stands for consecutive sixes that saw West Indies overhaul England’s total of 155-9 and win by four wickets with two balls to spare.

Stokes was left speechless and dejected as the fourth ball sailed over the stands at deep midwicket.

Brathwaite’s cameo knock of 34 off 10 balls overshadowed the batting of the real hero of the West Indies victory Marlon Samuels who held up one end to remain unbeaten on 85 scored off 66 balls with nine fours and two sixes.

Samuels kept a cool head when wickets were falling around him to play a match-winning knock as he had done in 2012 in the final against Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa Stadium when he scored 78 off 56 balls to give West Indies their last win in the World T20 tournament. No team has won the World T20 title twice and West Indies have become the first to do so.

Samuels and Brathwaite added 54 runs off 25 balls in an unbroken stand that brought the crowd back to life after England had controlled the West Indies power hitting by capturing the first six wickets for 107 runs in 16 overs.

West Indies lost their first three wickets for 11 runs by the third over and were never really able to dominate the batting the way they had done against other teams in the tournament, until the final over. England bowled some excellent deliveries and their fielding was outstanding.

A disconsolate Joe Root and Ben Stokes after England had been robbed off a win in the final over of the World T20 final on Sunday.

West Indies and Samuels had Sri Lanka umpire Kumar Dharmasena to thank for their historic victory. When he had scored 27 Samuels was given out caught behind by Jos Buttler off Liam Plunkett by umpire Rod Tucker. Samuels was almost half way to the dugout when Dharmasena spoke to Tucker and the umpires called for a review of the catch. To the disappointment of England and the joy of the West Indies TV replays showed the ball hitting the ground before Buttler caught it. The incident took place in the seventh over with West Indies reeling at 37-3. If Samuels had gone at that point, it was very unlikely that that West Indies would have been celebrating 13 overs later. Samuels went onto use the reprieve to guide West Indies to their memorable win and with it pick up the Man of the Match award.

England did extremely well until the final over to defend their total of 155-9 largely based on Joe Root’s knock of 54 off 36 balls (7 fours). Buttler scored 36 off 22 balls and helped England recover to 84-4 after Samuel Badree had reduced them to 23-3 by dismissing Jason Roy for a second ball duck and Eoin Morgan for five and Andre Russell sent back Alex Hales for one.

India’s Virat Kohli was named Man of the Tournament.

West Indies had reason to have a double celebration in one day when earlier their Women’s team beat Australia to emerge champions for the first time.

West Indies were 20-1 when rain stopped play on Saturday, and the covers remained on the field throughout the following day at the P. Sara Oval. The umpires finally cancelled play at 2:45pm local time (0915 GMT) following an inspection of the rain-soaked pitch.

Shai Hope was on 17 when rain stopped played on Saturday, leaving the visitors a target of 244 to win the second Test and level the two-match series. Sri Lanka won the first Test in Galle by an innings.

The West Indies have not won any of their 10 previous Tests played in Sri Lanka since their first in 1993.

Rangana Herath who took seven wickets against India two months ago and bowled his side to victory in this same venue gave an ominous warning taking the wickets of both openers Braithwaite and Hope. The experience duo Darren Bravo and Marlon Samuels are at the wicket.

The hosts would have been in a stronger position if not for losing their last seven wickets for 59 runs after Dimuth Karunaratne (186) and Dinesh Chandimal (151) contributed 337 runs out of the 484 scored.

They were also involved in a record 238 third wicket stand against the visitors.z_p12-sri.jpg

On The morning of the second day Dimuth Karunaratne (135 n.0) and Dinesh Chandimal ( 72 n.o) went on relentlessly as they did on the first day, until they made their record breaking partnership which eclipsed the previous 162 set in 2001 by Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene against the West Indies. The third wicket pair of Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal added 238 runs. West Indian captain Jason Holder seemed to be running short of ideas with Karunaratne and Chandimal assuming command. He started the day on a somewhat defensive note with only one slip most of the time when his fast bowlers were operating.

Karunaratne and Chandimal showed tremendous concentration and admirable skill while cutting and driving. Every now and again Chandimal produced a cover drive that sizzled to the boundary. Despite Chandimal’s couple of blemishes the pair went on like a machine in perfect running order. They seemed determined to settle for the rest of the day as the West Indians were made to toil in the sweltering heat which Galle was experiencing in the last couple of days.

The fast bowlers did not get much purchase from the pitch although they were switched from one end to the other to err the batsmen. But the pitch was increasingly playing easier. In addition the Windies fielding looked lackadaisical . Chandimal who was batting exquisitely was reprieved for the second time when Blackwood failed to hold on to a catch at cover point when Chandimal (82) went for an ambitious cut off a short pitched ball from hard working Shanon Gabriel. Overall, both Karunaratne and Chandimal kept the score mounting with their audacious stroke play as the crestfallen West Indians desperately trying to get the break through.

Dimuth Karunaratne who was unbeaten on 135 overnight then proceeded to his 150 without any great hurry. Both Chandimal and Karunaratne defied the rather moderate looking West Indian attack due to a placid surface. Chandimal reached his hundred by hoisting spinner Marlon Samuels over mid wicket for a six while Karunaratne was working his way towards his double hundred. Chandimal should consider himself third time lucky amidst the flurry of runs , he drove Devendran Bihoo uppishly towards deep mid off but Jerome Taylor could not fathom the distance of the catch which should have taken and relieved a lot pressure out of the bowlers. About fifteen minutes prior to lunch , the Windies were successful in getting their long awaited breakthrough . After Karunaratne and Chandimal had added 238 runs Marlon Samuels deceived Karunaratne who pushed forward for the bowler himself to take the catch. Karunaratne’s final tally of 186 had sixteen fours and a six facing 354 deliveries and spending 489 minutes at the crease. By that time the pair had brought the score from 101 for 2 to 339 for 3 after a record breaking stand

After the crucial breakthrough the rest of the session was frustrating for the Windies as Mathews joined by Chandimal was in control with a touch of caution and aggression. After adding a further 86 runs for the fourth wicket Chandimal’s innings finally was terminated when he drove one on the off side without getting into position and was caught by Blackwood in the covers for 151 His innings was studded with sixteen fours and two sixes facing 393 deliveries.

However, the Windies fought back even late in the match to deprive the Lankans gaining the psychological advantage by reaching the 500 run mark. Besides skipper Angelo Mathews who played a subdued innings of 48 facing 65 deliveries with five fours and a six and Kusal Janith Perera 23 the Lankans lost their last seven wickets in a heap for 59 runs. Windies skipper the six foot seven inch Jason Holder had his opposite number Mathews caught off his own bowling first ball after tea ,there after Herath, Prasad and Nuwan Pradeep fell to Devendra Bishoo the right arm leg spinner to give him the figures of 4 for 143 in 40.3 overs.

Sri Lanka are rebuilding following the retirement of their batting greats, Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara, within the space of a year.

The West Indies, already hit by the reluctance of senior pros like Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo to play Test cricket, faced further turmoil when coach Phil Simmons was stood down for the tour for speaking out against his board’s selection policies.

Former fast bowler and selector Eldine Baptiste, who will serve as interim coach for the tour, will try to ease newly-appointed Test captain Jason Holder into the role.

Holder, a 23-year-old all-rounder who has played just eight Tests, was a surprise choice to replace the seasoned Denesh Ramdin as captain.

“We have a very young team and a young captain,” Baptiste said. “My job is to keep the team focused for the Test matches.”

The West Indies are searching for their maiden Test win on Sri Lankan soil, where they have played nine matches since 1993 — losing five and drawing the other four.

Both teams will look to bounce back after a lacklustre year.

The West Indians lost to South Africa and Australia, while the home series against England was drawn 1-1.

Angelo Mathews’ Sri Lanka crashed to a 2-0 series defeat in New Zealand and lost home series to Pakistan and India by identical 2-1 margins.

Like their rivals, Sri Lanka too have an interim coach in Jerome Jayaratne, who was given charge of the team after Marvan Atapattu resigned in the wake of the defeat against India.

Jayaratne, who did not play international cricket but made his mark as head of the Sri Lankan board’s coaching department, has already described Mathews’ boys as the “worst fielding side in Asia”.

He refused to take victory for granted against the young touring side.

“I would like to believe that we have a better chance of getting back to winning ways, but I definitely won’t underestimate them,” he said.

Only two players from either side have played more than 50 Tests — Mathews and Rangana Herath for Sri Lanka and batsman Marlon Samuels and Ramdin for the West Indies.

Herath, the 37-year-old left-arm spinner, could prove to be the difference when the first Test starts at the picturesque Galle International Stadium, a venue that traditionally favours spin.

Herath took seven for 48 against India in August, helping Sri Lanka bounce back to win that Test by 63 runs.

In June Pakistani spin twins Yasir Shar and Zulfiqar Babar combined to grab 13 wickets between them as Sri Lanka suffered a 10-wicket defeat at the same venue.

In the absence of star spinner Sunil Narine, who was not picked for the Tests, the West Indies will rely on leg-break bowler Devendra Bishoo, who has claimed 50 wickets in 13 Tests so far.

Sri Lanka’s batting in the absence of Jayawardene and Sangakkara will revolve around skipper Mathews, who hit three centuries in the home Tests against Pakistan and India.

Sri Lanka (from) – Angelo Mathews (capt), Lahiru Thirmanne, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Dinesh Chandimal, Rangana Herath, Dhammika Prasad, Kusal Perera, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Pradeep, Tharindu Kaushal, Suranga Lakmal, Dilruwan Perera, Milinda Siriwardena, Kusal Mendis.

West Indies (from) – Jason Holder (capt), Kraig Brathwaite, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Rajendra Chandrika, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Denesh Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor, Jomel Warric

(AFP)  Steve Smith’sninth Test century in 28 matches anchored Australia’s 258 for four at stumps on the opening day of the second and final Test against the West Indies at Sabina Park on Thursday.

Needing victory to square the series after a comprehensive nine-wicket loss inside three days in the first Test in Dominica, the Caribbean side did not help their cause after early strikes by Jerome Taylor with the new ball.
They wasted at least two clear-cut opportunities to limit the tourists’ progress and give their depleted side a better chance of upsetting Test cricket’s second-ranked team.
Smith, who will resume on the second morning on 135 after 357 minutes at the crease during which he struck 16 fours and two sixes off 278 deliveries, was missed by Darren Bravo at first slip off the part-time bowling of Kraigg Brathwaite an hour into the day’s final session.
Australia’s vice-captain was also reprieved via the television technology at the same score, 109, as replays resulted in the reversal of an lbw verdict awarded by umpire Richard Kettleborough to a vehement appeal by Taylor, the outstanding West Indies fast bowler.
“It was quite difficult initially but it got easier as the day went on,” said Smith.
“I’m working really hard in the nets. That and patience out in the middle seem to be working well for me.”
Taylor, who finished with three for 18 off 15 overs, was a model of accuracy and efficiency from the start of the day, removing David Warner for a duck in the first over, caught by Shai Hope at third slip, and fellow opener Shaun Marsh leg-before for 11 shortly after to be 16 for two.
It should have been 22 for three when Michael Clarke, on three, popped up a catch back to Kemar Roach off his own bowling.
But the captain was granted a reprieve when the request by Kettleborough for a television replay confirmed that the fast bowler, not for the first time in his international career, had no-balled.
Australia’s captain made the West Indies pay, contributing a fluent 47 in a 118-run third-wicket partnership that was ended when Clarke edged an attempted off-drive at fast-medium bowler Jason Holder to wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin.
“We started well but it got tougher as the day went on,” said Holder about the day in the field for the home side.
“We need to capitalise with some early wickets in the first hour tomorrow to get back in contention.”
Clarke was the only wicket to fall in the afternoon session as Adam Voges, fresh from a debut unbeaten 130 at Windsor Park a week earlier, played assuredly for 37 in helping Smith put on 76.
With Roach and frontline spinner Veerasammy Permaul, both playing in place of unfit colleagues Shannon Gabriel and Devendra Bishoo, unable to stem the flow of runs, it was left to Taylor to engineer another breakthrough, Voges departing in the manner of his captain.
Shane Watson (20 not out) faced few challenges in putting on 48 for the fifth wicket with Smith by the close as the West Indies, in what seemed an unusual defensive posture, declined to take the second new ball when it became due during the final hour. The home side suffered setbacks before the start of play with their most experienced batsman, Marlon Samuels, ruled out because of illness while leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo’s badly-bruised finger on his bowling hand did not heal sufficiently for him to be considered.