Despite their crushing 73-run loss to Sri Lanka in the second T20I, West Indies vice-captain Roston Chase dismissed the notion that his team struggles to handle spin, as he insisted that they were undone by the sharply turning pitch.
Chase was among a number of West Indies batters that fell cheaply, as they bowled out for a meager 89 in 16.1 overs, chasing 163 for victory in Dambullah on Tuesday.
The Caribbean faltered on the turning wicket as Sri Lanka's spinners wreaked havoc. Only captain Rovman Powell (20), Alzarri Joseph (16), and Sherfane Rutherford (14) managed to break into double figures, a stark contrast to what transpired in the opening game on Sunday, which West Indies won by five wickets.
However, Chase pointed out that the Caribbean side’s batting woes were more about adjusting to extreme conditions than a general inability to play spin.
“Obviously, the first game, the wicket was a true wicket, and obviously, this game, the wicket was spinning a lot more. So I guess the (Sri Lankan) guys were scared to put us back on a good wicket after losing the first game. So they think they prepared wicket in their favour given their home advantage, and obviously we didn't come out on top,” a seemingly annoyed Chase said in a post-game press conference.
“We're not accustomed to the wicket spinning like that. We are comfortable playing spin, but I guess when the wicket is spinning at that pace it's a bit different from what we are accustomed to,” he noted.
Sri Lanka's spin-heavy attack, led by debutant Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, and captain Charith Asalanka, tied the West Indians in knots to level the three-match series at one game apiece.
Wellalage proved especially destructive with 3-9 from his four overs, while Asalanka (2-6), Theekshana (2-7), and Hasaranga (2-32) shared six wickets between them. Seamer Matheesha Pathirana accounted for the other wicket.
Chase, who himself thrives as an all-rounder, emphasized the importance of quick adaptation, especially in the conditions they are likely to encounter again in the decisive contest on Thursday.
“Obviously, we have to probably bring out the sweep a bit more, probably reverse sweep and conventional sweep a bit more, and just try to work the ball a bit more for longer and then try to power the ball in the backend,” Chase reasoned.
“So, we have to go in our team meeting and come up with the plans. Sit down, have a team talk, and obviously put ideas out there and see what's the best ideas we can come up with to counter the spinning ball,” he added.
The turning wicket at Dambullah caught the West Indies off guard, and it wasn’t just the batsmen who struggled. Despite a few tight bowling spells from Alzarri Joseph and Romario Shepherd, the team was also untidy in the field, allowing Sri Lanka to post 162-5.
Pathum Nissanka, who topscored with 54 off 49 balls, and Kusal Mendis (26), went on the charge in a 77-run opening stand, while Kusal Perera chipped in with 24, and Kamindu Mendis contributed 19.
A few dropped catches and misfields also aided Sri Lanka along the way, leaving the West Indies under added pressure when they took to the crease.
“I thought myself and [Gudakesh] Moti bowled well, but obviously Moti bowled to two right-handers, and I thought they didn't really take much risk to him. And then obviously, they knew that we only had two spinners, so they mainly took the chances against the pace,” Chase shared.
“I think if we had a next spinner, yeah, I think it would have been better for us. But we can't dwell on that after the team is selected. So it's just for us to go back to the drawing board now and obviously think about playing spinning ball a bit more,” he ended.
West Indies batting frailty against spin bowling was once again at the forefront of a humbling 73-run defeat to Sri Lanka in the second T20 encounter on Tuesday, leaving the three-match series finely poised at one win apiece.
Chasing 163 for victory, the Caribbean side collapsed to a paltry 89 all out in 16.1 overs — their fourth-lowest total in T20I cricket. It was a dismal batting display, marked by their inability to handle Sri Lanka's spin-heavy attack, which ruthlessly exposed the West Indies' vulnerabilities.
Only captain Rovman Powell (20), Alzarri Joseph (16), and Sherfane Rutherford (14) managed to break into double figures in Dambullah. The rest of the batting lineup crumbled, as Sri Lanka's spinners, led by debutant Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, and captain Charith Asalanka, tied the West Indians in knots on a turning track.
Scores: Sri Lanka 162-5 (20 overs); West Indies 89 all out (16.1 overs)
Wellalage proved especially destructive with 3-9 from his four overs, while Asalanka (2-6), Theekshana (2-7), and Hasaranga (2-32) shared six wickets between them. Seamer Matheesha Pathirana accounted for the other wicket.
The Caribbean side’s batting implosion was emblematic of a broader struggle — an inability to adjust to the spin-friendly conditions, as their chase was derailed early, with openers Brandon King and Evin Lewis falling cheaply.
Wickets tumbled rapidly thereafter, with little resistance from Powell and Alzarri Joseph in particular at the backend, as they shared in the team’s highest partnership of 23 runs. The capitulation reflected not only technical flaws but also an apparent lack of composure under pressure, something Head coach Darren Sammy and company will have to address ahead of the decisive game on Thursday.
While the batting was the primary issue, West Indies also struggled in the field earlier in the match.
Sri Lanka opting to bat first, made their intentions clear as Pathum Nissanka, who topscored with 54 off 49 balls, and Kusal Mendis (26), went on the charge in a 77-run opening stand.
Still, West Indies were far from their best in the field, as dropped chances by Roston Chase and Gudakesh Motie, as well as misfields from Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph, allowed Sri Lanka to gain crucial extra runs.
Nissanka slammed nine fours and a six in his knock, while Kusal Perera chipped in with 24, and Kamindu Mendis contributed 19, as West Indies gradually pulled things back from a more daunting target, which mattered little in the end.
Romario Shepherd led the bowling with 2-23.
West Indies fast bowler Jayden Seales has been named as one of the three nominees for the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award for August.
The 22-year-old Trinidadian quick is in the shortlist after finishing with 12 wickets in the series against South Africa including nine in the second Test in Guyana that helped him attain a career-best 13th position in the ICC Men’s Test Bowling Rankings and become the top-ranked bowler in the format from the West Indies.
Part of that nine-wicket match in Guyana was a career best 6-61 in the second innings, his second five-wicket haul in just his 15th Test match.
Seales’ competition for the award will be South African spinner Keshav Maharaj and Sri Lankan all-rounder Dunith Wellalage.
Maharaj, who is in line for a second Player of the Month award after having won earlier in April 2022, was the Player of the Series in the two ICC World Test Championship matches against the West Indies with 13 wickets.
He grabbed four wickets in each innings of the drawn Test in Port of Spain, which included three of the top four batters in the first innings and four of the top five in the second. He chipped in five scalps in the second Test in Guyana that his side won by 40 runs.
Wellalage made it to the men’s shortlist for his performances in ODIs.
The left-hander was Player of the Series in his side’s 2-0 series win over India with scores of 67 not out, 39 and two. He also finished with seven wickets including a haul of five for 27 in the third match.
Dunith Wellalage and Avishka Fernando starred for Sri Lanka as they claimed a first ODI series win over India in 27 years following their 110-run triumph in Colombo.
Fernando struck 96 from 102 deliveries to see the hosts score 248-7, leaving their opponents with an uphill task in difficult conditions at the R. Premadasa Stadium.
And having struggled in the second Test with Sri Lanka's spin bowlers, India did so again as Wellalage posted figures of 5-27 to secure a landmark victory.
Sri Lanka's opening three batsmen took the fight to India early on, with Pathum Nissanka (45), Fernando and Kusal Mendis (59) leaving them 183-3 in the 37th over.
Riyan Parag took three wickets as the Lions gave their opponents a target of 249 to draw the series, a task they found difficult from the beginning.
Captain Rohit Sharma (35) and Shubman Gill (six) fell early, with the Men in Blue's batting line-up crumbling to 82-6 by the 12th over.
Washington Sundar's 30 from 25 deliveries offered hope of a comeback, but Wellalage confirmed the triumph in just 26.1 overs with the wicket of Kuldeep Yadav to end India's 13-game unbeaten ODI run.
"We are in a really good mood right now, especially our coach," said Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka.
"He made a few changes in the team, and the boys really enjoyed the team environment."
Data Debrief: Sri Lanka end India ODI hoodoo
Sri Lanka's last bilateral ODI series victory over India was in August 1997, with India unbeaten in the next 13 such series, with 11 wins and two drawn series.
The win marked the Lions' first limited-overs series under new captain Asalanka and interim head coach Sanath Jayasuriya after Chris Silverwood's departure.
Sri Lanka held India to a draw in a thrilling finale to the first ODI of their series on Friday.
Charith Asalanka was the hero for Sri Lanka in Colombo, taking two wickets in the space of two balls to bowl India out for 230.
Pathum Nissanka (56) and Dunith Wellalage (67) led the way for Sri Lanka with the bat, propelling them to 230-8 from their 50 overs, with the pair plundering 18 boundaries between them.
India looked well set for the first 12 overs, until the dismissal of Shubman Gill (16) kick-started a mini-capitulation, with captain Rohit Sharma (58), Washington Sundar (five), Virat Kohli (24) and Shreyas Iyer (23) following in quick succession.
KL Rahul and Axar Patel appeared to have steadied the ship, but Wanindu Hasaranga (3-58) and Asalanka (3-30) struck in the space of seven deliveries to drag Sri Lanka back into it.
And the day ultimately belonged to Asalanka who, after being hit for four by Shivam Dube (25) in the 48th over, hit back with a pair of LBWs to leave the tourists stunned.
Data Debrief: India's dominance ended
India had won each of their last six ODIs against Sri Lanka, their joint-longest winning streak against them in the history of the format (along with a run between July 1998 and May 1999), but for the first time since a loss in Colombo in July 2021, they failed to get the job done.
This match did see the two form teams in ODIs take each other on. India (27) and Sri Lanka (22) have won more 50-over games than any other teams since the start of 2023.
The Colombo Stars opened their 2024 Lanka Premier League campaign with a win over the Kandy Falcons at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
The Falcons, who opened their campaign with a win on Monday, put the Strikers in to bat after winning the toss.
Colombo made use of the opportunity, posting 198-7 from their 20 overs.
It was a collective effort with the bat for the Stars as Sadeera Samarawickrama, skipper Thisara Perera, Muhammad Waseem, Chamika Karunaratne and Shadab Khan all made solid contributions.
Samarawickrama led the way with 48 from 26 balls including seven fours and a six while being well supported by Perera (38 off 30), Waseem (32 off 18), Karunaratne (25* off 10) and Khan (20 off 17).
Falcons captain Wanindu Hasaranga took 2-30 from his four overs.
The Falcons got starts from Dinesh Chandimal, Hasaranga, Angelo Mathews and Andre Fletcher but they weren’t enough as their chase fizzled out, eventually being dismissed for 147 with one ball left in the 16th over.
Chandimal made a top score of 38 while Hasaranga, Matthews and Fletcher made scores of 25, 25 and 24, respectively.
Shadab Khan led the way with 4-22 from his four overs including the tournament’s first hat-trick in the 15th over.
Dunith Wellalage took 4-20 from 3.5 overs.
Full Scores:
Colombo Stars 198-7 from 20 overs (Sadeera Samarawickrama 48, Thisara Perera 38, Muhammad Waseem 32, Chamika Karunaratne 25*, Shadab Khan 20, Wanindu Hasaranga 2-30)
Kandy Falcons 147 off 15.5 overs (Dinesh Chandimal 38, Wanindu Hasaranga 25, Angelo Mathews 25, Andre Fletcher 24, Dunith Wellalage 4-20, Shadab Khan 4-22)
Action continues on Wednesday when the Dambulla Sixers take on the Jaffna Kings at 4:30 AM before the Colombo Strikers face the Galle Marvels at 9:30 AM (Jamaica Time).
Both games can be seen live on Sportsmax.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
