SL vs WI 2024: Lankan Lions topple Windies in third T20I to gain first series win against Men in Maroon

A thunderous powerplay followed by a combative partnership between Kusal Mendis and Kusal Perera saw Sri Lanka take the series against the West Indies by convincingly chasing down the 163-run target with a couple of overs to spare in the third and final T20I of the series at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium.

Coming into the game with the series drawn at one-each, the visitors opted to bat first. A crisp crunch through point to get the proceedings underway was followed up by peach of a ripper, which got Evin Lewis cleaned up for a golden duck. Maheesh Theekshana's second dismissal of the evening came in the last over of the powerplay when he had Brandon King swinging at thin air, registering his second wicket via the same mode of dismissal for the evening.

The visitors' state didn't look promising at the halfway mark of their innings, with them positioned on 55 for the loss of four wickets. Charith Asalanka got himself into the attack and secured a wicket straight away, flustering the furniture of Sherfane Rutherford.

It took a 25-run Dunith Wellalage over to turn the tide for the Windies, with Gudakesh Motie going berserk with three towering maximums on the trot. Although he got dismissed in the very next over, it set the stage for the rest of the batters to do their bit for the Windies to finish off on a score of 162/8. Rovman Powell had stated 145-150 to be a par score on such a surface.

While the West Indies had got to a score which seemed competitive on the face of it, it was up to how their bowlers would bowl during the run-chase which would determine the result of the game as well as the series. Hasaranga came back well with figures of 2/24 after being a tad bit expensive in the first two games of the series.

The West Indians started off with spin, much like the Lankans did with Theekshana. However, it did not go as planned as Fabien Allen was banished for three boundaries by Pathum Nissanka, who looked in the mood from the get-go. The very next over witnessed Alzarri Joseph travelling for 15 with Nissanka looking all guns blazing. Mendis got in on the action by welcoming Shamar Joseph with two mighty pumps which travelled all the way. By the time Motie went through Nissanka and the powerplay phase ended, the hosts already found themselves in a commanding position at 67.

It was not as if the Windies did not have their share of opportunities come their way. They could have had both Mendis and Perera dismissed in the ninth and tenth over, respectively. However, a missed run-out chance followed by a sitter of an opportunity fluffed by Roston Chase saw the two build into their innings.

Mendis brought up his half-century in the 14th over while Perera notched up his in the 18th, as respective 15th T20I fifties saw Sri Lanka hunt down the target with two overs to spare, in the process achieving their first-ever bilateral series win over the Men in Maroon in the 20-over format.