ICC World Twenty20 Semi Final 2: Dilshan Steers SL From Danger, M’s Destroy WI

It was an ironic semi final, the second in the ICC World Twenty20 in England. Sri Lanka appeared to have stuttered and stalled only to then accelerate and vanquish the stunned West Indies on the way.
Sanath Jaysuriya had inadvertently ruined the mood in the Sri Lankan dug out. Unable to connect with the ball and unable to find the sweet spot of the ball, Jayasuriya frequented disrupted the proceedings in a bid to find the elusive bat in the dressing room that would change his and the team’s fortunes. Clearly the tight bowling from the West Indies in the first overs had upset the explosive opener.
However, when Jayasuriya finally fell, Tillkeratne Dilshan had gained the reins of the match. And it was a good thing he did because all around him, Sri Lankans were tumbling, spirally really as if the Jayasuriya distractions had upset their mental rhythm, at least the Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara appeared so in the dug out. With Mahela Jayawardene gone as well, Sri Lankan hopes of a final appeared to dwindle.
Dilshan then played the most outstanding innings, perhaps of all his Twenty20 internationals thus far, as he made ninety-five runs solo from just fifty-seven balls as he steered Sri Lanka from near mishap to a reasonably strong 158.
If West Indies harboured notions of an easier chase, they were horribly shattered by Angelo Matthews who snagged three wickets in the first over of the match to virtually end West Indies march to the final. Matthews picked up Xavier Marshall, Lendl Simmons and Dwayne Bravo off alternative balls in his first over to leave West Indies tottering with just one run on board and three wickets down.
Chris Gayle cut a lone figure and one has only to scroll down the scorecard to see that the only other double digit figure besides Gayle’s sixty-three was the extras column. Astonishing! But for Gayle’s single handed efforts for the West Indies, Matthews gave way to Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan and they ravished on the kill, to put it bluntly. West Indies wrapped up for 101.
It is now Sri Lanka’s clinical line up versus Pakistan’s mercurial madness in the final of the ICC World Twenty20 at Lord’s.