The Sri Lanka Women edged past the West Indies Women by 14 runs at the National Cricket Stadium in St George’s, to secure the series win over the hosts for the first time since 2003. Chamari Athapaththu and her women scripted history with a narrow win over the hosts, and this will go down as a huge achievement in the grand scheme of things for the Sri Lanka Women’s side and their management.
1st ODI: Sri Lanka beat West Indies by 10 Runs
In the first ODI of the series, the West Indies skipper, Hayley Matthews, had won the toss and elected to field first. Hasini Perera and Harshitha Samarawickrama had led the side with solid half-centuries, and it was well complemented by the rest of the batting unit, who managed to contribute a decent amount of runs. Sri Lanka put up a total of 240 on the board, and it was a good score on the surface. The bowlers got their side off to a flying start as they picked up 5 wickets for just 80 runs and demolished their top order. However, Stefanie Taylor and Jannillea Glasgow had fought back with fighting half-centuries, but they fell prey to the exceptional bowling of Inoka Ranaweera, who dismissed both the well-set batters and also picked up a crucial 4-wicket haul to secure the game by 10 runs.
2nd ODI: Sri Lanka beat West Indies by 14 Runs
In the second ODI of the series, Hayley Matthews had once again won the toss and sent in the Lankans to bat first. This time the batting unit was led by Vishmi Gunaratne, with her brilliant half-century, and she was well supported by the likes of Athapaththu and Samarawickrama with valuable 30s. Sri Lanka posted a decent total of 208 on board, and this looked relatively easy for the West Indies women to chase down. The Lankan bowling unit once again managed to dismantle the batting unit of the West Indies as they picked up 5 wickets for just 93 runs, and it was once again Glasgow, who put up a fight with a half-century. Inoka Ranaweera and Sugandika Kumari scalped 3 wickets each to put pressure back on the West Indies, and they helped their side win the match by just 10 runs. Despite both matches being won by thin margins, the Sri Lankan Women have managed to hold their nerve in pressure situations, and their bowlers have been clinical with their disciplined bowling in away conditions.
In 2003, a six-match ODI series was played between the Sri Lanka Women’s and the West Indies Women’s teams. The Sri Lanka Women established their dominance in the series and in world cricket with a historic whitewash in away conditions under the captaincy of Suthershini Sivanantham. That series instilled a lot of confidence and hope in the rising generation of women cricketers in Sri Lanka, and now, under the leadership of Chamari Athapaththu, they have managed to win a series once again in the Caribbean, and it would mean the world to the country, players and the support staff.
I’m a Senior Masters student pursuing Journalism and Mass Communication. An all time Cricket enthusiast. I could never play the game but always loved watching it, and now writing about it!