West Indies completed a five-wicket win against Sri Lanka to clinch the three-match T20I series at Sabina Park, as Shamar Joseph and Sherfane Rutherford starred.
Sri Lanka, after winning the toss and electing to bat first had their chance of making a solid total. The openers Kamil Mishara and Pathum Nissanka set the tone with a quickfire 48 in five overs. Mishara went on an aggressive run scoring spree, hammered 28 runs from just 23 balls but kept the scoreboard ticking. But the whole game turned on its head as soon Shamar Joseph introduced himself to the attack.
Joseph, fresh from the World Cup experience, struck two blows in the last over of the Powerplay to break what had become a rhythm for Sri Lanka. The visitors then soon slumped to 80 for 4 by the mid-way point of the innings However, the wicket of captain Dasun Shanaka proved crucial although he and Dunith Wellalage put together a good partnership to stabilize it. He attempted an inventive paddle shot against Jason Holder, missed the ball completely and was bowled through his leg stump.
Wellalage then counterattacked briefly, hitting four boundaries in one expensive over from Joseph. The West Indies pacer had the last word, however. Joseph then came back for the last over, and picked up three more wickets to finish with a brilliant 5-33 from his four overs – his first five-wicket haul in T20Is. With his final spell, Sri Lanka was limited to 169, a score that looked underwhelming after such promising boundaries.
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West Indies, in reply, got off to a shaky start with Shai Hope falling early. Sri Lanka’s bowlers were economical at the start, but Shimron Hetmyer turned tide with a blistering run-a-ball 31. His aggressive mindset kept the hosts with some comfort in the pace of scoring required on terms.
Sherfane Rutherford then kept the chase under control with an unbeaten 54 off 40 balls with great calm and poise. Having brought the target into far closer focus, Jason Holder administered the finishing blows in style with 21 runs from just five balls to end the chase.
Victory gave West Indies the series 2-1 thanks to Joseph’s career-best performance and Rutherford’s match-winning innings.