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Sri Lanka Tour of West Indies T20 series Game 3… Rutherford marauding fifty drives Windies to series win by 5 wickets
– Joseph 5-fer sets tone
Kaieteur Sports – A tense showdown for the series ended last night in favor of the Windies who pulled off a thrilling win by 5-wickets which handed them a 2-1 series lead to secure a huge victory in their backyard to win their first bilateral series since 2024.
In the final T20I match of the series at Sabina Park, Sri Lanka was bowled out for 169 in exactly 20 overs after the West Indies won the toss and chose to bowl first.
A spectacular 5-wicket haul by West Indian pacer Shamar Joseph led to the dismantling of the Sri Lankan batting order, keeping the visitors to a modest total despite several explosive starts.
Speedster Shamar Joseph was exceptional during his 5-wicket burst
The Sri Lankans first innings featured aggressive cameos but suffered from a lack of long partnerships. Dunith Wellalage anchored the middle order as the top scorer, striking 43 runs off 28 balls, accented by 6 fours and a six.
Openers Kamil Mishara (28) and Pathum Nissanka (26) provided quick momentum early on, but both fell before they could convert their starts into major match-defining scores.
With a pair of 3-fers in the series thus far, Guyanese Joseph spearheaded the bowling attack with an exceptional display of pace, picking up 5 for 33 from his maximum allowance of 4 overs.
His lethal execution in the death overs restricted Sri Lanka from maximizing their total.
The remaining wickets were shared symmetrically among the secondary bowlers to wrap up the innings.
West Indies chase ended when the Caribbean side finished on 170-5 with two balls left.
Guyanese Sherfane Rutherford carried his team home with some fantastic hitting
Opener Brandon King (17) and Shimron Hetmyer (32) gave the too-order some hope before leaving the heavy lifting to all-rounders Rovman Powell (33) and top-scorer Sherfane Rutherford 54* with 3 fours and 4 sixes.
The two pinch-hitters’ half-century stand helped reset the run chase with overs dwindling down.
Sri Lanka bowling was good but not good enough as a rampaging Jason Holder (21*) smashed three consecutive sixes to bring the deficit down to 6 runs from the last over.
Senior all-rounder Jason Holder played a whirlwind cameo which gave the Windies some juice during the clutch stage of the game last night
The winning runs came off the blade of Rutherford who got to his mini milestone but more importantly a huge win for his team.
Leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga returned figures of 2-17, Maheesh Theekshana (1-26), while pacer Dushmantha Chameera (1-64) was horrendous as he suffered the most during the final overs of the match. (Clifton Ross)
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