Sri Lanka Secures 2-1 Series Victory over West Indies in Dominant Fashion
Sri Lanka easily chased down 163 runs in a commanding batting performance that earned them a 2-1 series victory over West Indies in the third Twenty20 International.
Sri Lanka defeated the West Indies by nine wickets thanks to the undefeated fifties of Kusal Mendis and Kusal Perera, creating history as the team won its first-ever T20I series.
Key Performances and Match Results
Sri Lanka 166 for 1 (Kusal Mendis 68*, Kusal Perera 55*) beat West Indies 162 for 8 (Powell 37, Motie 32, Theekshana 2-19) by 9 wickets.
Match Analysis
Following a brilliant opening partnership of 106 runs for the second wicket between Kusal Mendis and Kusal Perera, Pathum Nissanka sent Sri Lanka’s pursuit reeling. This chase was almost too easy to be true for a squad that had never defeated the West Indies in a Twenty20 international series. Before a raucous Poya-day crowd in Dambulla, the hosts raced to the mark of 163 with 12 balls remaining thanks to brilliant efforts from each of the top three.
West Indies had earlier done well to reach 162, but they were mostly responsible for reaching what was possibly a higher-than-par score on a spin-friendly track with a late attack from Gudakesh Motie, who blasted 32 off 15.
Despite Dunith Wellalage’s aggressive style, the remaining spinners in Sri Lanka managed to contain the scoring. Another significant distinction between the teams was this.
With 68 not out of 50, Kusal Mendis went on to record the highest score in the game. Perera hit a 55 off a 36. With 39 off 22, Nissanka had played the most aggressive innings.
The 2-1 victory is even more evidence of Sri Lanka’s comeback in the format in which they have presumably suffered the most during the previous two years. In addition to winning five Test matches this year, they also defeated India in a bilateral ODI series in July. The victory also helps to boost the reputation of Sanath Jayasuriya, the new coach.
Although Nissanka made sure Sri Lanka’s batsmen established their dominance early on, the West Indies strengthened their spin attack by inserting Fabian Allen into the lineup for this game. Allen bowled the first over, which saw him hit three fours, and then he launched seamer Alzarri Joseph for two sixes and a four in the next over. The runs came from all over the ground, but he did favor the square area on the offside. Sri Lanka had raced to sixty runs by the time Nissanka was removed by a Motie slider after 5.2 overs.
Compared to the middle overs, the early ones were quieter. However, before the West Indies could put significant pressure on Sri Lanka, Perera started to hit the boundary, especially off his legs. As he marched to his 15th T20I fifty, Kusal Mendis, who had started to score quickly towards the end of the powerplay, kept hitting regular boundaries. In what turned out to be the game’s final over, Perera reached his half century, which was also his fifteenth.
West Indies had opportunities to impede the pursuit. In the opening over, Rovman Powell had a chance to capture the lethal Nissanka, but he misplayed the high ball and palmed it into the rope. Later, on 44, Roston Chase missed an easy return opportunity off Kusal Mendis, but by that point Sri Lanka had already comfortably winning. Had Kusal Mendis hit the stumps with a throw in the ninth over, Shai Hope would have also been able to run him out at 34.
The match’s 15th over, in which the West Indies scored 25 runs, was the pinnacle of their innings. After 14 overs, their innings was struggling at 86 for 5, with plenty of spin still in them from Sri Lanka.
However, Motie would punish left-arm spinner Wellalage to bring the innings back into play. He struck three consecutive sixes, the first down the ground and the other two over deep midwicket, after his maiden boundary, which came off the outside edge. He was removed from office shortly after, although he improved the West Indies.
