Skipper Charith Asalanka led from the front with an unbeaten half-century, guiding Sri Lanka to clinch the three-match ODI series against the West Indies with another game to spare in Pallekele on Wednesday.
After facing a dire situation at 58 for 8, Sherfane Rutherford and Gudakesh Motie mounted an extraordinary recovery, establishing a record-breaking partnership of 119 runs for the 9th wicket. Their remarkable effort propelled the West Indies to a total of 189.
Chasing 190 to win, Sri Lanka was reduced to 25 for 2 in 8.3 overs, losing Avishka Fernando and Kusal Mendis, both of whom had brief outings in the first two matches. Nishan Madushka and Sadeera Samarawickrama then stabilized Sri Lanka’s innings, stitching together a 62-run partnership at nearly a run a ball, with both scoring 38.
Madushka, fresh off a fifty on debut, contributed well with the bat before being bowled by Joseph. Samarawickrama also managed to get some runs under his belt before being caught by the keeper off Chase while attempting a paddle sweep.
At 112 for 4, Charith Asalanka and Janith Liyanage joined forces, adding 55 runs to bring Sri Lanka closer to their target. During the partnership, Sri Lanka’s skipper reached his second consecutive fifty and his 14th overall before losing his partner to a run-out. Asalanka finished unbeaten on 62 off 61 balls, leading the islanders to their target in 38.2 overs.
After being put in to bat, the Windies openers were sent back early, with only 17 runs on the board. Maheesh Theekshana castled Alick Athanaze in the third over, before Asitha Fernando took a catch off his own bowling to dismiss Brandon King for 16 in the next over, after King had struck three fours.
The two opening bowlers continued to cause damage, shattering the stumps of Keacy Carty and Shai Hope, respectively, before the first powerplay of nine overs finished, leaving the visitors at 31 for 4.
First-game survivors Sherfane Rutherford and Roston Chase joined in the middle but were unable to build an effective partnership this time. Chase was beaten all ends up by a superb googly from Wanindu Hasaranga.
Romario Shepherd faced only two balls before falling in the same over as he attempted to be aggressive against the leg-spinner and ended up holding out to long-on. Then, Hayden Walsh and Alzarri Joseph were both cleaned up by Theekshana and Hasaranga in successive overs, reducing the West Indies to 58 for 8.
Once again, Rutherford stood tall, and he, along with Gudakesh Motie, got the team out of trouble. Both managed to control the Lankan spinners, forcing the skipper to bring the lone pacer into the attack. Eventually, Asitha provided a chance to get rid of Rutherford when he was on 23 in the 22nd over, with the score at 99, but Janith Liyanage couldn’t hang onto the catch at mid-on.
The two left-handers continued to cash in, surpassing a hundred in their partnership and setting the record for the highest 9th-wicket partnership for the West Indies in ODIs, as well as in Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, the senior player notched up his second consecutive half-century in 57 balls.
Rutherford got another life when he was dropped on 72 by Nishan Madushka, this time off Dunith Wellalage in the 32nd over, with the score at 164. Runs continued to flow in the partnership before Asitha finally broke the stand with the wicket of the dangerous Rutherford, who was well caught by Wellalage near the boundary ropes.
Rutherford proved to be the crisis man for the visitors in the first two ODIs, sharing an incredible 119 runs for the 9th wicket with Motie before falling for an invaluable 80 runs off just 82 balls, hitting 7 fours and 4 sixes.
Soon after, Motie completed his maiden ODI fifty, before Hasaranga took a return catch from Jayden Seales to wrap up the innings. Courtesy of that century stand, the West Indies managed a superb recovery, ending up with 189 all out in 36 overs. Motie also played a valuable knock and remained not out on 50 off 61 deliveries, with 6 fours.
Hasaranga was the pick of the bowlers, claiming 4 wickets for 40 runs, while Theekshana and Asitha took three wickets apiece for Sri Lanka.
Earlier, the start of the match was delayed by rain for over 90 minutes. The toss took place at 4:15 PM, with the first ball bowled at 4:30 PM, and each side facing 44 overs.
Having won the toss, Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka chose to bowl first. The team made just one change, bringing in Maheesh Theekshana in place of Jeffrey Vandersay.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon King | c & b Asitha Fernando | 16 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 88.89 |
| Alick Athanaze | b Maheesh Theekshana | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Keacy Carty | b Maheesh Theekshana | 6 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 42.86 |
| Shai Hope | b Asitha Fernando | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 83.33 |
| Sherfane Rutherford | c Dunith Wellalage b Asitha Fernando | 80 | 82 | 7 | 4 | 97.56 |
| Roston Chase | b Wanindu Hasaranga | 8 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 57.14 |
| Romario Shepherd | c Maheesh Theekshana b Wanindu Hasaranga | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 200.00 |
| Hayden Walsh | b Wanindu Hasaranga | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14.29 |
| Alzarri Joseph | b Wanindu Hasaranga | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 25.00 |
| Gudakesh Motie | not out | 50 | 61 | 6 | 0 | 81.97 |
| Jayden Seales | c & b Wanindu Hasaranga | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 83.33 |
| Extras | 12 (b 2 , lb 6 , nb 1, w 3, pen 0) |
| Total | 189/10 (36 Overs, RR: 5.25) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maheesh Theekshana | 9 | 1 | 25 | 3 | 2.78 | |
| Asitha Fernando | 7 | 0 | 35 | 3 | 5.00 | |
| Dunith Wellalage | 6 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 6.00 | |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | 8 | 0 | 40 | 4 | 5.00 | |
| Charith Asalanka | 4 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 6.50 | |
| Kamindu Mendis | 2 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 9.50 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nishan Madushka | b Alzarri Joseph | 38 | 44 | 6 | 0 | 86.36 |
| Avishka Fernando | c Brandon King b Alzarri Joseph | 9 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 75.00 |
| Kusal Mendis | b Gudakesh Motie | 3 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 23.08 |
| Sadeera Samarawickrama | c Shai Hope b Roston Chase | 38 | 50 | 6 | 0 | 76.00 |
| Charith Asalanka | not out | 62 | 61 | 7 | 1 | 101.64 |
| Janith Liyanage | run out (Brandon King) | 24 | 34 | 2 | 1 | 70.59 |
| Kamindu Mendis | not out | 11 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 68.75 |
| Extras | 5 (b 0 , lb 3 , nb 0, w 2, pen 0) |
| Total | 190/5 (38.2 Overs, RR: 4.96) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gudakesh Motie | 9 | 2 | 18 | 1 | 2.00 | |
| Alzarri Joseph | 6 | 0 | 30 | 2 | 5.00 | |
| Jayden Seales | 3 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 6.67 | |
| Hayden Walsh | 5 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 8.20 | |
| Romario Shepherd | 4 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 5.75 | |
| Roston Chase | 8.2 | 0 | 43 | 1 | 5.24 | |
| Alick Athanaze | 3 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 4.00 | |
The West Indies were forced to make no changes.
West Indies (Playing XI): Brandon King, Alick Athanaze, Keacy Carty, Shai Hope (C/WK), Sherfane Rutherford, Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Jayden Seales
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Nishan Madushka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis (WK), Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka (C), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Janith Liyanage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Asitha Fernando
