Home Cricket National Cricket Mendis-Kirsten Era begins on a winning note

Mendis-Kirsten Era begins on a winning note

Sri Lanka tour of West Indies 2026

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Sri Lanka tour of West Indies 2026

Sri Lanka registered a comfortable win over West Indies in the first match of the three-match ODI series played yesterday (3rd June) at Sabina Park in Kingston.

After being invited to bat first, the visitors produced an impressive batting performance to post 303 for 7 in their allotted 50 overs. The foundation for the strong total was laid by opener Pathum Nissanka and newly appointed ODI captain Kusal Mendis, who both struck fluent half-centuries.

Nissanka top-scored for Sri Lanka with 79 runs off 103 deliveries, including nine fours and a six. Mendis, leading the side, played an attacking innings of 72 runs from 62 balls, hitting four fours and four sixes.

The middle order also made valuable contributions, with Charith Asalanka adding 45 runs and Janith Liyanage chipping in with 44 runs to help Sri Lanka surpass the 300-run mark.

For the hosts, pace bowlers Jayden Seales and Matthew Forde claimed two wickets apiece, while off-spinner Roston Chase also picked up two wickets.

Chasing a target of 304, West Indies struggled to keep up with the required rate despite a fighting effort from captain Shai Hope, who top-scored with 56 runs. The home side eventually managed 262 runs, falling 41 runs short of the target.

Sri Lanka’s bowling attack was led by experienced fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera, who delivered a match-winning spell. Although he proved expensive at times, Chameera struck at crucial moments to finish with impressive figures of 4 for 67 from his 10 overs.

Result
Sri Lanka
303/7 (50)
West Indies
262/10 (49.2)
Batsmen R B 4s 6s SR
Pathum Nissanka c Shai Hope b Roston Chase 79 103 9 1 76.70
Kamindu Mendis c Shai Hope b Jayden Seales 12 21 1 1 57.14
Kusal Mendis c Shamar Joseph b Matthew Forde 72 62 4 4 116.13
Pavan Rathnayake c Jayden Seales b Roston Chase 24 38 0 1 63.16
Charith Asalanka c Jayden Seales b Matthew Forde 45 44 3 1 102.27
Janith Liyanage  not out 44 29 5 1 151.72
Wanindu Hasaranga c Sherfane Rutherford b Jayden Seales 7 4 1 0 175.00
Milan Rathnayake run out (Shai Hope) 0 1 0 0 0.00
Maheesh Theekshana not out 0 0 0 0 0.00
Extras 20 (b 0 , lb 2 , nb 2, w 16, pen 0)
Total 303/7 (50 Overs, RR: 6.06)
Bowling O M R W Econ
Jayden Seales 10 3 67 2 6.70
Matthew Forde 9 1 44 2 4.89
Shamar Joseph 8 0 38 0 4.75
Alzarri Joseph 9 0 65 0 7.22
Gudakesh Motie 4 0 40 0 10.00
Roston Chase 10 1 47 2 4.70

Batsmen R B 4s 6s SR
John Campbell run out (Janith Liyanage ) 17 14 2 1 121.43
Justin Greaves b Maheesh Theekshana 45 38 5 1 118.42
Keacy Carty c Kamindu Mendis b Asitha Fernando 27 37 1 0 72.97
Shai Hope c Pavan Rathnayake b Dushmantha Chameera 56 66 2 2 84.85
Sherfane Rutherford lbw b Wanindu Hasaranga 5 12 0 0 41.67
Roston Chase b Dushmantha Chameera 33 46 3 0 71.74
Gudakesh Motie c Pavan Rathnayake b Maheesh Theekshana 22 30 3 0 73.33
Matthew Forde b Dushmantha Chameera 15 26 1 0 57.69
Alzarri Joseph b Dushmantha Chameera 0 2 0 0 0.00
Shamar Joseph not out 23 22 1 1 104.55
Jayden Seales c Janith Liyanage  b Charith Asalanka 2 4 0 0 50.00
Extras 17 (b 5 , lb 2 , nb 3, w 7, pen 0)
Total 262/10 (49.2 Overs, RR: 5.31)
Bowling O M R W Econ
Dushmantha Chameera 10 0 67 4 6.70
Asitha Fernando 8 0 59 1 7.38
Maheesh Theekshana 10 1 26 2 2.60
Milan Rathnayake 10 0 54 0 5.40
Wanindu Hasaranga 10 0 43 1 4.30
Charith Asalanka 1.2 0 6 1 5.00