8th ranked Sri Lanka Women took on 5th ranked West Indies in the recently concluded 3-match ODI series. Hosted by West Indies, all the fixtures of this series were played at Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba, Trinidad. What had been their first head-to-head face off against each other after World Cup, the series started from 11th October 2017 and ended on 15th October.
What can be inferred as an overall summary of this series is that the hosts outclassed the Sri Lankan side in every niche of the game. Windies Women comfortably whitewashed the rain interrupted 3-match series.
Let’s know match-by-match summary in the below content:-
Match 1-
Toss: Sri Lanka Women, elected to bat
Result: West Indies won by 6 wickets
Player of the match: Hayley Matthews (10-2-18-3)
Such had been the magic of spin attack of windies that the entire Sri Lankan team was bowled out for 136 after being 63 for 1 at one stage. The trio of Hayley Matthews, Afy Fletcher and Stafanie Taylor picked up 3 wickets each to keep the Lankans total a low score.
In reply, despite suffering a shaky start, the west Indians were able to reach the target in just 39 overs.
Milestone acheived: Sri Lanka’s Inoka Ranaweera took her 50th ODI wicket in the match
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Match 2-
Toss: West Indies Women, elected to ball first
Result: West Indies won by 7 wickets
Player of the match: Stafanie Taylor (all round performance)
Invited to bat first, the Sri Lankan side faced a similar date as that in the series opener. Infact this match seemed to be a near replica of the last game as windies spinners shared 7 sri lankan wickets among themselves.
From 104 for 2, Lankan side collapsed to wrap up at 162 in 46.3 overs. Just like the previous game, the windies batters were able to reach the target in 39.4 overs and take an unbeatable lead of 2-0 in the 3-match series.
Match 3-
Toss: Sri Lanka Women, elected to ball first
Result: West Indies won by 40 runs
Player of the match: Stafanie Taylor (all round performance
The match was reduced to 45 overs per side due to the rain interuption. For the first time in the series, Sri Lanka Women bowled first and got the chance to restrict the west Indians innings to a low score. Also, the lankan bowlers were able to do so to some extent but not that enough which could help them being saved from a whitewashed.
Although West Indian batters could make only182 on the loss of 8 wickets in the allotted 45 overs, the visitors didn’t seemed to be in the race at any point of time during the chase. It seemed they had already succumbed to the spinners of the opponents.
Consequently, the entire team was bowled out for 142 in 40.4 overs.
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This entire series being part of ICC’s Women Championship, West Indies gained 6 points from 3 matches while Sri Lanka Women had to swallow a bitter pill in this overseas series.
As a result, it can be rightly said that Sri Lankan side has to learn a lot to better their position in international cricket.
‘Gully’ cricket player and close observer of Indian Cricket team and it’s matches. Straight forward and still socially admirable personality. Strong belief in teamwork and possess high leadership skills.