2nd ODI, Kandy, October 23, 2024, 02:30 PM
189/10(36.0ov)
190/5(38.2ov)
Sri Lanka beat West Indies by 5 wickets
Best Batsmen
R
B
4S
6S
SR
Best Bowler
O
R
W
Econ
Man of the Match
Maheesh Theekshana
Commentry
Right then, that is it from this game and with one game remaining on this tour, Sri Lanka have now sealed the ODI series as well to go along with the T20I series win. The final ODI will be played on Saturday, October 26 in Pallekele again and will begin at 9 am GMT with West Indies looking to end the tour on a high and the hosts looking for a clean sweep. It should be an exciting watch and you can join us well in advance for the build-up. Cheers!
Charith Asalanka, the Sri Lankan skipper is presented with the match winner's cheque and is down for a chat. He starts by saying that the series win is huge and the guys deserved it. On playing Maheesh Theekshana, he says that it was due to the weather conditions and he is a class bowler in T20s. Ends by talking about his role batting at number 5 and reckons it is pretty huge and wanted to do well.
Shai Hope, the captain of West Indies says that he doesn't want to focus on things beyond their control like the toss and it was just a disappointing performance today. Adds that they need to bat better in the Powerplay and play spin better, be willing to face more dot balls. Mentions that they didn't have many runs on the board and the pace of their spinners wasn't right either.
Maheesh Theekshana is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH. He starts by saying that he got to play because of the rain and considers himself lucky as he was in the late and got the call pretty late from the coach. Adds that it was good to be back and do well. Talking about the surface he says it wasn't easy to play with the new ball while the ball gets older it becomes easier for the batters. The presenter cheekily asks him if he likes T20 better than One day cricket. He concludes by saying both.
The Presentation ceremony...
There is a slight delay in the post-match presentation because the rain came pouring down right after the winning runs were hit and the presentation party has to be shifted indoors.
West Indies lost the game in the very first hour or so of play where they lost 8 wickets for 58 runs in about 15 overs and even though, Sherfane Rutherford and Gudakesh Motie did exceptionally well to take them to 189 runs, it was a below-par total. With the ball as well, Motie was the shining light along with Alzarri Joseph as Hayden Walsh had another expensive outing and Roston Chase wasn't much effective either.
For Sri Lanka, the stand between Nishan Madushka and Sadeera Samarawickrama was crucial and after a watchful start, boundaries started to flow from both of their bats. Both of them did get out in the 30s but the platform was laid and batting had become easier. Skipper, Charith Asalanka then took charge and together with Janith Liyanage made sure that there were no hiccups. Liyanage fell but Asalanka stayed on and notched up an unbeaten 62 off 61 balls to seal the series win for his side.
With 190 needed for the win in another rain-hit game, Sri Lanka huffed and puffed a bit in the first Powerplay as Gudakesh Motie bowled a lovely spell for the visitors. However, once Motie went out of the attack, a bit of dew started settling in and the other spinners couldn't hit the right areas consistently which made the job for the Lankan batters that much easier.
That's it Sri Lanka have sealed the three-match ODI series with a game in hand and they have done so without breaking much of a sweat. As for West Indies, this is now their tenth straight ODI loss in Sri Lanka, a record they certainly won't be proud of.
In over# 39
2
1
Roston Chase 43/1(8.2)
38.2
2
That's it! Roston Chase drops the ball short outside off and Kamindu Mendis tucks it to the right of sweeper covers for a couple of runs and Sri Lanka win the match with 5 wickets.
38.1
1
Around the wicket, flighted delivery full outside off, driven along the ground by Asalanka to the sweeper on the off side for a single.
In over# 38
0
0
1
4
1
0
Alick Athanaze 12/0(3)
37.6
.
Tossed up on the off stump line. Kamindu Mendis offers a front foot block to end the over.
37.5
.
Tossed up delivery around off, Kamindu Mendis on the front foot, defends it to cover.
37.4
1
Just short on the off stump. Charith Asalanka stays back and taps the ball to long off for a run.
37.3
4
FOUR! SHOT! Sri Lanka needs 4 more! Short ball from Alick Athanaze at the batter and Charith Asalanka gets back deep in the crease and slogs the ball up and over mid-wicket for a boundary on the bounce.
37.2
1
Just short on the stumps. Kamindu Mendis pulls the ball to deep mid-wicket for a single.
