Captain Hayley Matthews led from the front for the West Indies as she struck with the ball that helped set the tone for the match. Hayley Matthews picked up the first three wickets of the match to put Sri Lanka on the back foot from which the Lankans never recovered as they crawled their way to 98 all out in 19.4 overs. Only Nilakshika de Silva played well and showed resistance for her 30 off 26 balls. But the others faltered.
Chasing 99 for the win, West Indies made heavy weather of the proceedings losing wickets and panicking. But experienced campaigner Stafanie Taylor held her nerve with an unbeaten 27 off 25 balls while the others chipped in as Sri Lanka were guilty of being tardy in the field. They dropped catches and were indisciplined with the ball giving away 23 extras out of which 13 were wides. West Indies made it 3 wins out of 3 games and are 2nd in the points table.
Hayley Matthews’ 3-wicket haul helps West Indies skittle out Sri Lanka for 98 in 19.4 overs
Put into bat first, Vishmi Gunaratne and captain Chamari Athapaththu opened the batting for Sri Lanka while Hayley Matthews the West Indies captain opened the bowling for the West Indies. Sri Lanka got off to a shaky start as the opening duo added 2 runs for the first wicket before Gunaratne fell for 1 off 4 balls to captain Matthews. Imesha Dulani came out to bat next. Dulani and Chamari added 7 more runs to the scoreboard before Chamari fell for 2 off 6 balls clean bowled by Matthews.
Harshitha Samarawickrama came out to bat next. Matthews had two in the over as Harshitha did not last long and fell for a bronze duck to leave the Lankans reeling at 9/3 in 3 overs. Kavisha Dilhari came out to bat next. Dilhari and Dulani then had to do the repair work and tried to forge some sort of a partnership. The duo added 14 runs for the 4th wicket before Dulani fell for 17 off 19 balls with 3 fours to her name to Chinelle Henry. Nilaskhi de Silva came out to bat next inside the power play.
At the end of the power play of 6 overs, Sri Lanka were reeling at 23/4. Dilhari and Nilakshi had to do the repair work from this position. They had to battle their way in the middle overs and put on some sort of a partnership. The duo added 34 runs for the 5th wicket before Dilhari fell for 21 off 20 balls with 3 fours to her name to Aaliyah Alleyne. Kaushani Nuthyangana came out to bat for Sri Lanka next the keeper batter. The keeper batter did not last long as one run was added to the tally before Kaushani fell for a golden duck to Ashmini Munisar.
Kawya Kavindi came out to bat next. Nilakshi and Kavindi tried to forge a partnership to rescue Sri Lanka. The duo added 23 runs for the 7th wicket before Nilakshi fell for a well-made 30 off 26 balls with 3 fours to her name to Afy Fletcher. Sugandika Kumari came out to bat next. Just 6 runs were added to the tally before Sugandika fell for 2 off 6 balls to Karishma Ramharack. Mithali Ayodhya came out to bat next.
The duo tried to form some sort of a partnership to take Sri Lanka past 100 runs. 9 runs were added to the tally before Mithali fell for 3 off 5 balls as he was run out by Ramharack and Campbelle combination. Nimesha Madushani came out to bat next. Just 2 runs were added to the tally before Kavindi was the last man out for 17 off 28 balls with one boundary to her name to Ramharack. Madushani remained unbeaten on 1 off 2 balls as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 98 in 19.4 overs. 4 extras given by the fielding side.
For the West Indies, captain Hayley Matthews was the pick of the bowlers for them with figures of 3/15 in 4 overs. Karishma Ramharack chipped in with 2/15 in 2.4 overs. Chinelle Henry finished with 1/12 in 3 overs. Afy Fletcher finished with 1/24 in 4 overs. Aaliyah Alleyne finished with 1/15 in 2 overs. Ashmini Munisar finished with 1/16 in 4 overs. This meant that the West Indies needed 99 runs to win off 20 overs to win this match and make it 3 wins out of 3 games.
Stafanie Taylor’s steady innings and composure takes West Indies over the line in a tense nervy chaseÂ
Chasing 99 for the win, captain Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin came out to open the batting for the West Indies while Mithali Ayodhya started the proceedings with the ball in hand for Sri Lanka. The West Indies got off to a steady start with Sri Lanka being a bit tardy in the field and giving away loads of extras. The openers got starts and put on 28 runs for the first wicket inside 4 overs. Against the run of play, Matthews the skipper was the first to go as she was run out for 17 off 17 balls with 2 fours to her name. Shemaine Campbelle the keeper batter came out to bat next.
Dottin and Campbelle added 8 runs to the tally for the second wicket before Dottin fell for 12 off 16 balls with 2 fours to her name to Nimasha Madushani. Stafani Taylor came out to bat next as West Indies at the end of the power play were 36/2 in 6 overs. Taylor came out all guns firing and showed her class and fluency while it was a struggle for Campbelle out there. The duo managed to add 18 runs for the third wicket before Campbelle fell for 4 off 12 balls to captain Chamari Athapaththu. Jahzara Claxton came out to bat next.
Taylor and Claxton added 15 runs for the 4th wicket before Claxton fell for 6 off 12 balls with one boundary to her name to Kavisha Dilhari. Chinelle Henry came out to bat next. Just one run was added to the tally before Henry fell for a golden duck to Dilhari again who had two wickets in the over. Jannilea Glasgow came out to bat with the score reading 70/5 in 11.2 overs.
The duo of Taylor and Glasgow ensured there were no further hiccups for the West Indies. Sri Lanka created chances but sloppiness in the form of extras and byes and also dropped catches at crucial times did not help their cause. Taylor did most of the scoring but Glasgow played a good supporting hand as well. The duo took their time as the run rate was not an issue at all. They added 29 unbeaten runs for the 6th wicket as Taylor hit the winning runs via the dropped catch.
Taylor was unbeaten on 27 off 25 balls with one four and one six to her name while Glasgow was unbeaten on 10 off 15 balls with one four to her name. West Indies finished with 99/5 in 16.1 overs with 23 extras given by Sri Lanka which is whopping. 13 wides and 8 byes were conceded as well by the Lankans in those 23 extras.
For Sri Lanka, they tried their best with the ball in hand. But they did not have sufficient runs on the board and were not helped by the fielding and extras conceded. Kavisha Dilhari was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/22 in 4 overs. Nimasha Madushani finished with 1/18 in 3 overs. Chamari Athapaththu finished with 1/13 in 3 overs. Mithali Ayodhya finished with 0/7 in 3 overs. Sugandika Kumari finished with 0/18 in 2 overs. Kawya Kavindi finished with 0/12 in 1.1 overs. So, West Indies beat Sri Lanka by 5 wickets with 3.5 overs to spare to make it 3 wins out of 3 games. Hayley Matthews was adjudged the Player of the Match Award.
What Lies Ahead
So, West Indies are in second place in Group B behind England on Net Run Rate with 3 wins out of 3 games while Sri Lanka now have lost 2 out of their 3 games. Sri Lanka has Ireland and Scotland to come while the West Indies next faces England in their next game. Coming up next is a crucial Group A game at Old Trafford where South Africa lock horns with the Women in Blue India. Let’s see how that game pans out.
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