The West Indies were relegated to a desperate scuffle to win the series against Sri Lanka by five wickets, with two balls to win in the second one-day of the three-match series at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua. Friday. A fourth ODI century by Evin Lewis and an elegant support by compatriot Shai Hope seemed to set the home side for a comfortable walk to the target of 84, 273 as the pair put on 192 for the first wicket.
However, with Lewis bowling out for 103 in the 38th over, the Sri Lankan side got their lives in the final stages of the match, with sewers Nuwan Pradeep and Thisara Perera picking up two wickets each.
But when he needed the most goals, Pradeep’s 28 came in the final two overs with Nicholas Pooran’s unbeaten 35, including two fours at the end of the match, to lead the West Indies to an unassailable 2-0 lead. Was. Final match at the same venue on Sunday.
Lewis’s century, which came off 121 balls and was embellished with eight fours and four sixes, earned him the Man of the Match award.
West Indies captain Kieron Pollard said, “It was a total team performance. Our best chance was chasing, so it was good to see the boys sticking to their plans.”
Earlier, Danushka Gunathilaka missed out on just one century as Sri Lanka made a competitive score of 273 for eight after batting.
Two days after his controversial dismissal – he was ruled obstructing the field in a run-out attempt by Pollard – the left-hander played a blistering 96-run knock to help his team recover from a dismal start.
Fast bowler Alzari Joseph’s opening double strike and the demise of Oshada Fernando on a total of 50 led to an efficient 100-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Gunathilaka and Dinesh Chandimal.
In this format of the game, four runs short of his third century, however, the left-handed batsman fell to Jason Mohammed.
In the first match, which was comfortably won by the West Indies by eight wickets, Mohammed took three wickets for 47 runs in ten overs, equaling him more than the usual gradation as a part-time off-spinner.
While Gunathilaka led his innings on a run-ball, Chandimal was more circumspect, though his contribution of 71 was crucial to enable the tourists to post a challenging goal.
He also benefited from the thrilling late fireworks of Vanindu Hasranga, who scored 47 runs in 31 balls with the help of four sixes and two fours.
But the leg-spinner, such a formidable threat in the preceding T20 International series, was kept for wicketkeeping for the second consecutive match.
The lack of success was particularly disappointing for Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne.
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At the end of the match, he said that the spinners are expected to take wickets.
“We lacked wicket-taking options and that’s why we could not put pressure on the West Indies.”
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