Bowlers deliver a clinical performance as West Indies seal the T20I series with a comprehensive six-wicket victory in the series decider at Hambantota.
West Indies led by skipper Hayley Matthews leveled the three-match T20I series with a comprehensive 6-wicket victory in a rain-curtailed encounter.
West Indies skipper Hayley Matthews won the toss and opted to field first. After being inserted to bat first, Sri Lanka got off to a poor start as they lost the wicket of their opening batter Vishmi Gunaratne on the 2nd ball of the innings. Chenille Henry provided the first breakthrough for the West Indies. Harshitha Samarawickrama joined skipper Chamari Athapaththu at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 55-run partnership for the 2nd wicket.
Afy Fletcher picked up the wicket of Harshitha Samarawickrama to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Kavisha Dilhari joined skipper Chamari Athapaththu at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 34-run partnership for the 3rd wicket. Aaliyah Alleyne picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Chamari Athapaththu to provide the 3rd breakthrough for the West Indies.
Sri Lanka eventually ended up with a total of 141/7 in their quota of overs. Skipper Chamari Athapaththu (38 off 38 balls), Harshitha Samarawickrama (28 off 26 balls), and Kavisha Dilhari (26 off 22 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Sri Lanka. Afy Fletcher (4-0-25-2), Aaliyah Alleyne (4-0-25-2), and Chenille Henry (3-0-16-1) were the top performers with the ball for the West Indies.
Chasing a target of 142, the West Indies openers Stafanie Taylor and skipper Hayley Matthews got off to a flying start with a 60-run opening partnership, scoring over seven runs an over. Kavisha Dilhari picked up the wicket of Stafanie Taylor to provide the first breakthrough for the West Indies. Wicket-keeper batter Shemaine Campbelle joined skipper Hayley Matthews at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 51-run partnership for the 2nd wicket, taking their side closer to a series victory.
Kawya Kavindi picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Hayley Matthews to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. West Indies eventually got over the line with six wickets in hand and one ball to spare. Skipper Hayley Matthews (49 off 40 balls), wicket-keeper batter Shemaine Campbelle (41 off 30 balls), and Stafanie Taylor (33 off 30 balls) were the top performers with the bat for the West Indies. Kawya Kavindi (3.5-0-27-2), Sugandika Kumari (4-0-24-1), Ama Kanchana (3-0-17-0), and Kavisha Dilhari (2-0-11-1) were the top performers with the ball for the Sri Lanka.
Wicket-keeper batter Shemaine Campbelle was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant performance (41 off 30 balls) with the bat. Skipper Hayley Matthews was awarded the Player of the Series as she ended as the leading run-scorer of the T20I series with 108 runs at a strike rate of 109.09 and an impressive average of 36 in three innings.
