West Indies vs Sri Lanka, 2nd WT20I: Chamari Athapaththu's all-round brillance helps SL go 1-0 up

Match Overview

After winning the ODI series, Sri Lanka women carried their winning momentum into the T20Is as well and beat West Indies women by four wickets in the second game of the three-match series on Sunday, March 1 at National Cricket Stadium, St Georges, Grenada. After being put in to bat first, West Indies were restricted to 101/9 in their allotted 20 overs.

In reply, Sri Lanka comfortably chased down the target in 18.1 overs with captain Chamari Athapaththu anchoring the chase with her innings of 39 (26). Courtesy of her performance, Sri Lanka took a 1-0 lead in the series, with one match remaining in the rubber.

Earlier, after being put in to bat first, West Indies openers Hayley Matthews and Qiana Joseph had a quiet start to the innings, before taking on Chamari Athapaththu in the second over. However, the Sri Lankan captain had the last laugh, shattering Joseph’s stumps on the last ball to give West Indies their first blow.

Malki Madara got the second success for the visitors, getting rid of Jahzara Claxton for 4 (8). West Indies finished the powerplay on 25/2 in six overs after being jolted early. While other battters struggled, Matthews was fighting her way on a tricky surface to guide her team to a safe score. However, Athapaththu returned in the attack and got rid of her West Indian counterpart to open the floodgates for the hosts.

West Indies eventually collapsed and barely managed to cross the 100-run mark, courtesy of marvellous bowling performances from Nilakshika Silva (3/20) and Malki Madara (3/16). Later in the second innings, Sri Lankan openers Hasini Perera (18 off 20) and Athapaththu (39 off 26) got their team off to a flying start, adding 62 runs for the first wicket off just 45 balls.

Following a fiery beginning, the middle order struggled after the powerplay overs before Kavisha Dilhari's (18 off 13) saw them through. Sri Lanka managed to chase down the target in 18.1 overs and won by four wickets to take a lead in the series.

Top run-scorer of the match

Top wicket taker of the match

Player of the Match

Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu was adjudged Player of the Match for her brilliant all-around show. She first picked up 2/13 in two overs, helping her team get crucial scalps at different stages of the game. Later, she scored a quick-fire 39 (26) to get her team off to a flying start in the run chase.

Turning Point

Chamari Athapaththu dismissing West Indies captain Hayley Matthews in the 11^th over of the first innings was a pivotal moment in the fixture, as the hosts could never get going after losing their captain. West Indies could never really recover after that and crumbled against Sri Lankan spinners. After Matthews' dismissal, they lost their last seven wickets for 52 runs.