Chanderpaul blows Gayle away

Shivnarine Chanderpaul clears the rope off the last delivery in Port of Spain © Getty Images

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West Indies captain Chris Gayle hailed the performance of team-mate Shivnarine Chanderpaul after he smashed a six off the last ball to beat Sri Lanka by one wicket in the first one-day international.

In a sensational match in Port of Spain, Sri Lanka fought back from 49 for five to reach a competitive 235 for seven after 50 overs.

Spinner Ajantha Mendis took four wickets, including that of Gayle for 52, but Chanderpaul hit the penultimate ball of the match through mid-off for four, and, with the Windies needing six to win, launched a Chaminda Vaas full toss over wide long-on to spark wild celebrations.

"To be honest, I don't what to say right now," said a stunned Gayle. “It was a terrific game of cricket. Chanderpaul was incredible and none of this would be possible without him. He was unbelievable."

Despite taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, Gayle is not getting carried away.

"We are not going to take anything for granted," he added. "We know what we have to do and we'll keep working before the next game."

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene blamed a poor start for the defeat but admitted it had been a scintillating game.

"I think we didn't do that well in the first half," he said. "After the first hour we knew it was going to be tough.

"It was a really good game and we had the opportunity to win it but we couldn't grab it.”

Jayawardene believes the future is bright for Sri Lanka after the performances of several young players, most noticeably Mendis.

"I'm very proud of the youngsters and if we give them experience they will take Sri Lanka cricket forward," he added.

"Mendis is something special and for a while I've been telling some of the guys to look out for him.

"He started bowling really well over the last year and looked like a seasoned pro the way he handled himself today."

The second match of the series takes place at the same venue on Saturday.