India warmed up for the second round Super Eights by crushing hapless Ireland by eight wickets on Wednesday, while veteran opener Sanath Jayasuriya smashed 81 as Sri Lanka defeated the West Indies by 15 runs.
Left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan claimed 4-19, including three wickets in seven balls, to restrict Ireland to 8-112 in a match reduced to 18 overs a side due to rain.
Opener Rohit Sharma then hit an unbeaten 52 off 45 balls as India romped home with 15 balls to spare to end the preliminary league with two successive wins. Gautam Gamhir chipped in with 37 in a first-wicket stand of 77 with Sharma in front of a sellout crowd.
India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said there was still room for improvement. "The bowlers did very well … (But) we can do better in the field. It wasn't our best day."
The Irish, surprise qualifiers for the Super Eights after beating Bangladesh, never recovered from Zaheer's triple strike, which reduced them to 4-28 by the seventh over. Andrew White top-scored with 29 as four of the top six batsmen failed to reach double figures.
Jayasuriya and Tillekeratne Dilshan hammered an opening stand of 124 as Sri Lanka eased past the West Indies. The duo lifted Sri Lanka to 5-192, a total the West Indies chased bravely despite the absence of explosive opener and captain Chris Gayle, who missed the match due to a knee injury.
The West Indians ended at 5-177, fired by a spectacular counter-attack by Dwayne Bravo and Ramnaresh Sarwan, who put on 77 off 59 balls for the fifth wicket.
Bravo hit a 38-ball 51 that included five fours and two sixes, while Sarwan remained unbeaten on 28.
"I'm happy with the way the guys played," said Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara.
"Sanath is a genius and he was ably supported by Dilshan. They proved that with a good start you can put up a very defendable total."
Left-handed Jayasuriya, at 39 the oldest player in the 12-nation tournament, smashed 81 off 47 balls, studded with 10 boundaries and three sixes.
THE SUPER EIGHTS
GROUP ESouth Africa
India
England
West Indies
GROUP FSri Lanka
Pakistan
New Zealand
Ireland
Source:www.theage.com.au
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