West Indies won the first T20I by five wickets against Sri Lanka in Dambulla. Brandon King (63) and Evin Lewis (50) were the stars of the show as the duo were involved in a 107-run partnership for the first wicket chasing 179. Kamindu Mendis and Charith Asalanka scored brisk fifties for the hosts but it proved to be in vain.
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Upon being given the opportunity to bat, Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis began their innings with caution, scoring just 11 runs in the first two overs of their innings. In the third over, Nissanka picked up the pace by hitting consecutive boundaries off of Romario Shepherd.
Both of these boundaries were successful. However, he stole the following ball from behind Shai Hope and stole it. Despite the fact that Kusal Perera was successful in establishing a boundary, Shamar Joseph was able to castle him.
Kamindu Mendis, who was in good form at the time, was called to the crease as a result of this, and he got off the mark with a pull to the boundary. As the Lankans raced to 54 for 2 in the PowerPlay, Kusal delivered a four and a six off of Alzarri Joseph, while Kamindu smashed a pair of boundaries in the next over.
This allowed the Lankans to reach their goal. Kusal was bowled off by Gudakesh Motie after he failed to hit a cut ball during the subsequent over, which contributed to the wicket that was taken by Roston Chase, who had a relatively quiet over.
Kamindu and Charith Asalanka were the ones who brought the attack back to West Indies. In the 12th over, Charith Asalanka struck three boundaries, which brought the assault back to West Indies. Kamindu continued his great trend by scoring his second fifty in a Twenty20 International.
The hitter, however, was hit by a pull not long after that, and he ended himself in a deep hole. A total of two additional fours were hit by Asalanka during the same over, and he also reached his fifty-run mark. After skying one to deep midwicket, however, he was unable to survive and died. As a result of Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s cameo (17 off 10), Sri Lanka was able to achieve a competitive score of 179 for 7.
In a frightening manner, West Indies started the pursuit. Chamindu Wickramasinghe was hit for a six and a four by Evin Lewis, who did a smashing job. As it appeared that King was in a combative mood, he scored three boundaries off of Asitha Fernando. King was at the opposite end of the field. A costly 16-run sixth over helped the West Indies surge to 74 for 0 in the PowerPlay.
The pair was responsible for the 50-run partnership that was achieved in 4.4 overs. When King hit a six and a four off of Pathirana, he pushed his score up to fifty. During the subsequent over, his partner was able to catch up to him by hitting two tremendous sixes off of Hasaranga. In the subsequent over, the left-handed batter was the victim of a low catch at backward point, which ultimately defeated him.
The Sri Lankan team was able to regain control of the situation by taking the wickets of Shai Hope and King in a span of two overs. It was not possible for the new hitters, Chase and Rovman Powell, to continue the onslaught, which resulted in a slowdown in the rate of scoring. During the important 16th over, the West Indies scored two boundaries, which resulted in a total of 12 runs.
Powell was caught in the deep when Chase nicked one behind to Pathirana, bringing an end to his sluggish innings. Pathirana was the recipient of the catch. The West Indies ran their twos hard when they needed 13 runs off of 12 balls, and Sherfane Rutherford hit a boundary with four balls still to spare to ensure that they achieved victory.
Sri Lanka scored 179/7 in 20 overs, with Charith Asalanka scoring 59 and Kamindu Mendis scoring 51. Romario Shepherd scored 229 and Gudakesh Motie scored 16 runs. West Indies scored 180/5 in 19.1 overs, with Brandon King scoring 63 and Evin Lewis scoring 50. Matheesha Pathirana scored 227 and Kamindu Mendis scored 1-14.
