A fifth ODI hundred from Evin Lewis and a third consecutive half-century from Sherfane Rutherford propelled the West Indies to an eight-wicket DLS method consolation win over Sri Lanka in the third and final ODI at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
The West Indies, after winning the toss and electing to field first, restricted the Sri Lankans to 156-3 off the 23 overs that were possible due to rain.
Opener Pathum Nissanka made 56 off 62 balls while wicket-keeper/batsman Kusal Mendis also made 56*, with his coming off a swift 22 balls including nine fours and a six.
Avishka Fernando contributed 34 as Roston Chase and Sherfane Rutherford took a wicket apiece.
Set a revised target of 195 from 23 overs, the West Indians got to their target with an over to spare to avoid a series sweep and get their first ODI victory of 2024.
Evin Lewis was the star of the show with 102* off 61 balls including nine fours and four sixes, with the last of those sixes securing both the win and his third hundred against Sri Lanka.
Sherfane Rutherford was with Lewis in the end, finishing 50* off 26 balls after scores of 74* and 80 in the first two matches.
Captain Shai Hope and Brandon King contributed 22 and 16, respectively, as Dilshan Madushanka and Asitha Fernando shared the two Sri Lanka wickets.
Full Scores:
Sri Lanka 156-3 off 23 overs (Kusal Mendis 56*, Pathum Nissanka 56, Avishka Fernando 34, Roston Chase 1-20, Sherfane Rutherford 1-27)
West Indies 196-2 off 22 overs (Evin Lewis 102*, Sherfane Rutherford 50*).
With the disappointment of back-to-back losses hanging heavy in the air, the West Indies will enter Saturday’s final One Day International (ODI) against Sri Lanka, hoping to avoid a 3-0 sweep at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
In fact, West Indies captain Shai Hope was not shy to admit that this last contest in the three-match series is about more than just pride, it is about learning from mistakes and building resilience for the future.
The West Indies struggled with both bat and ball in the first two encounters, which they lost by five wickets. Hope acknowledges that those matches have exposed key areas that his side must improve upon, particularly their handling of spin and situational awareness under pressure.
“There are several factors we can point out, but I just think not adapting to the conditions fast enough was our main problem. Obviously, we didn't win the crucial stages of the game, and obviously, the spin department has been the only thing we have going right now for us. But yeah, the thing is, there are a lot of lessons that we need to take from the series. We can't change the past right now; we have to learn from it, and it's very important we do so quickly,” Hope said in a pre-game interview.
Hope emphasized that players need to improve individually and as a whole to support one another and create a solid, cohesive unit. He noted that achieving that level of synergy would take time but remained optimistic about the direction the team is headed.
“We have to keep trying. We have to keep finding ways to get better. I think it's more mental than anything at this point in time because skill work is skill work, yes, but we have to make sure we find ways to adapt as quickly as we can. One day of practice is not going to make us into the greatest batter or the greatest bowler ever. So there's more mental prep that we need to do right now at this stage and plan well,” Hope argued.
With the series outcome already decided, Saturday’s match will serve as a final test of character for the West Indies team, with fans and players alike hoping for a redeeming performance. However, to achieve that feat, the top order of the batting lineup will need to counter Sri Lanka's challenging spin attack, while the bowling unit will also have to be on point.
“Yeah, for sure, it has not been good enough. We asked the openers and the top-order batters to set the platform for the guys in the middle, and it's clear to see we didn't do that in this series, and we had to depend a lot on the lower order, which they played really well, in my opinion. But if we get those good starts or if we get that good start in this last game here, I think it would be a whole change to the context of the game,” Hope noted.
That said, the skipper singled out middle-order batsman Sherfane Rutherford, who scored 74 and 80 in the first two games, including sharing in an historic 119-run nine-wicket partnership with Gudakesh Motie in the second contest.
“He's been playing really well. He's been putting a lot of work off the field, and a lot of people won't see that, but the way he's progressed and matured for his career so far, I think, is tremendous. I think there's a lot that he can take from these few performances that he's had so far,” Hope said.
“He's shown that he's capable of batting and adapting to those conditions that we speak about in the team room. But, yeah, I think he's got a lot more to offer, and it's great to see he's getting those big scores now and all that hard work he's putting in is coming to fruition,” he ended.
West Indies suffered a series-defining loss in the second One-day International (ODI) against Sri Lanka, as they again went down by five wickets in Pallekele on Wednesday.
The defeat, which resulted from another disappointing batting performance, saw Sri Lanka taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, leaving the Caribbean side with mere hopes of salvaging pride in the final game on Saturday.
After a dismal batting collapse that saw the West Indies at a shocking 58-8 in the rain-affected contest, which was reduced to 44 overs per team, it was an historic ninth-wicket partnership between Sherfane Rutherford (80) and Gudakesh Motie (50 not out) that added a glimmer of respectability to their total.
The pair put together 119 runs, the highest-ever ninth-wicket stand in West Indies' ODI history, with Rutherford smashing four sixes and seven fours in his 82-ball knock, while Motie’s maiden ODI half-century came off 61 balls and included six boundaries, as they lifted the side to 189.
However, the damage had already been done by Sri Lanka’s disciplined bowling attack led by spinners Wanindu Hasaranga (4-40) and Maheesh Theekshana (3-25). Seamer Asitha Fernando had 3-35. Their batting unit led by an unbeaten 62 from captain Charith Asalanka then surpassed their target with some degree of comfort.
Scores: West Indies 189 (36 overs); Sri Lanka 190-5 (38.2 overs)
After being asked to take first strike, the West Indies’ top and middle order, with the exception of Rutherford, again failed miserably, as they crumbled under the pressure of Sri Lanka’s spin-heavy assault. In fact, besides Rutherford and Motie, opener Brandon King (16) was the only other batsman in double figures, which tells the tale of the alarming regularity in which the wickets fell.
By the 16th over, the Caribbean side had lost eight wickets for just 58 runs, with no batsman managing to stabilize the innings. However, in what seemed like a foregone conclusion, Rutherford and Motie showed resilience and defiance and gave the team a fighting chance, but their efforts were ultimately too little, too late.
West Indies bowlers initially showed some promise, as vice captain Alzarri Joseph (2-30) and Motie (1-18) picked up early wickets, but Sri Lanka's steady chase, led by Asalanka, ensured there would be no upset.
Asalanka, who struck seven fours and a solitary six in his 61-ball knock, anchored the innings with the assistance of Sadeera Samarawickrama (38) and Janith Liyanage (24), after Nishan Madushka (38) earlier got things going.
West Indies captain Shai Hope expressed disappointment with the team’s performance, particularly with the batting, as they are now left to play for pride in the third and final ODI.
“I really don't like to focus on things we can't control. Today it was disappointing. We just need to get through the powerplay and negate the spin threat. We needed to limit the dot balls so hopefully we can play better in the last game. We are not putting enough revs on the ball, bowling quickly as well, and so we need to take lessons from Sri Lanka’s spinners,” Hope said in a post-game interview.
“We didn’t put enough runs on the board, and that’s been the story for us in this series. We’ve got to do better in the third game.”
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.
A solid bowling effort from West Indian all-rounder Fabian Allen was not enough to prevent the Jaffna Kings from going sown by five wickets to the Galle Marvels in match two of the 2024 Lanka Premier League at the Pallekele International Stadium on Tuesday.
The Kings, after winning the toss and batting first, posted 177-7 from their 20 overs.
Avishka Fernando was the main contributor for the three-time champions with 59 from 48 balls while Pathum Nissanka hit 51 off 33 balls.
Fernando’s innings included seven fours and a six while Nissanka hit six fours and two sixes.
Captain Charith Asalanka also contributed a 15-ball 33 against 3-34 off four overs from Zahoor Khan and 2-23 from four overs from Dwayne Pretorius.
The Marvels then used all of the 120 balls available to them to successfully chase down their target.
Alex Hales led the way with 65 off 47 balls including seven fours and two sixes while Captain Niroshan Dickwella made 47 off 27 balls including eight fours and a six as Galle reached 179-5 off 20 overs.
Janith Liyanage also made a crucial 13-ball 25 for Galle. It eventually came down to them needing three runs off the last ball, a ball that Sahan Arachchige hit for four to seal the win.
Fabian Allen took 2-33 from his four overs for the Kings.
Full Scores:
Jaffna Kings 177-7 off 20 overs (Avishka Fernando 59, Pathum Nissanka 51, Charith Asalanka 33, Zahoor Khan 3-34, Dwayne Pretorius 2-23)
Galle Marvels 179-5 off 20 overs (Alex Hales 65, Niroshan Dickwella 47, Janith Liyanage 25, Fabian Allen 2-33, Avishka Fernando 2-40)
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