Sri Lanka vs West Indies, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Twitterati hails Windies' spirit, Rihanna's presence as Lankans win tight contest at Durham

It was a day late and counted for little in the context of the Cricket World Cup, but there was no lack of tension as Sri Lanka fended off the West Indies by 23 runs . Avishka Fernando scored 104 from 103 balls to guide Sri Lanka to 338-6, its highest total of the tournament, and Lasith Malinga took two early wickets to stymie the start of the run chase before adding another one late to all but finish it off. West Indies, with some star power support from Rihanna on a blustery, slightly overcast day — no need for shade, or shelter from the rain — made a chase of it but ran out of time and finished 315-9. Let us take a look at how folks on the social media reacted to the encounter: Unlike a certain team chasing a similar target in a big-ticket clash on Sunday

ludicrous that west Indies are trying to chase down ten an over in the last ten... bizarre tactics #SLvWI #CWC19

— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) July 1, 2019

  Rihanna’s presence at Durham was perhaps the biggest talking point after Fernando and Pooran’s centuries

Look who's at #SLvWI to Rally 'round the West Indies!

Watch out for @rihanna's new single, Shut Up And Cover Drive 😉🎶 #CWC19 | #MenInMaroon pic.twitter.com/cou1V0P7Zj

— ICC (@ICC) July 1, 2019

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Such commitment!

  Kudos to Pooran for making a match out of what seemed a dead contest

Loved this fight of the West Indies , they fell short but was a tremendous spirited chase. Chasing 140 with 4 wickets in hand in 15 overs is never easy but Nicholas Pooran gave SL a run for their money. Congratulations to SL on the win #SLvWI

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) July 1, 2019

  What a turnaround by Angelo Mathews

Mathews' most recent bowling figures

2017
1 4 . 2 4 1
4 1 . 1 . 1
. 1 4 1 4 1

Today
W . . 1 2 .
. . 1 1 1 .

🤯👏 pic.twitter.com/r90WUkppAT

— ICC Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) July 1, 2019

  Bowling his first delivery since December 2017, and getting the big wicket!

ANGELOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
WHO WRITES YOUR BLOODY SCRIPTS?#SLvWI #WIvSL #CWC19

— Abhishek Mukherjee (@ovshake42) July 1, 2019

  The drought continues!

When West Indies last won a match:
-It was still spring and the rainy season hadn’t started yet
-The football season had not yet finished
-India were five days away from starting their World Cup.#CWC19

— Patrick Noone (@patnoonecricket) July 1, 2019

  Perhaps the last time the two veterans meet in international cricket

A batsman whose sixes still goes out of the park and a bowler whose yorkers are still unplayable. You are witnessing this for one last time in the biggest stage. Chris Gayle and Lasith Malinga, two names the cricket world will never forget. Iconic.#WIvSL pic.twitter.com/vamWNBTUEC

— فق اوُُف 🕊 (@oihamzaa) July 1, 2019

  With inputs from AP