TWENTY20 CRICKET:THERE IS no doubting who the most innovative batsman has been in this tournament, or the most prolific.

Tillekeratne Dilshan has flipped and flicked, ramped and bashed his way to more runs and twice as many boundaries as Jacques Kallis, the closest rival for the latter title.

To this, yesterday, he added the tournament’s highest score, an unbeaten 96 from 57 balls, that helped propel Sri Lanka to Lord’s tomorrow where they will face Pakistan in what may be viewed as a meeting pre-ordained after the tragic events in Lahore.

Powered by Dilshan, Sri Lanka reached 158 for five, the wickets falling in clutches of three for four in eight balls mid-innings, and then two for seven in eight balls in the penultimate over. Around this came an opening partnership of 73 between Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya, another of 50 for the fourth wicket from 35 balls and a brisk 24 at the end from nine balls.

If the target seemed a stiff one, then there is no faster outfield in the world. To challenge, West Indies needed a proper start, wickets in hand and a blinder from Chris Gayle.

Instead they got off to a shocker, with Xavier Marshall, Lendl Simmons and Dwayne Bravo all bowled in varying fashion from the second, fourth and sixth balls of Angelo Mathews’s opening over while Gayle could only look on in bewilderment.

From then on he did a passable impression of Horatio on the bridge, hitting all the West Indies boundaries in the first half of the innings and all but two in total and carrying his bat for 63 from 50 balls with eight fours and two sixes, while no one else could get beyond the seven of Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

Gayle simply ran out of men to support him. All out for 101, West Indies lost by 57 runs.

* Guardian Service