Sri Lanka vs West Indies, 2020: 1st T20I – Kieron Pollard's milestones, West Indies' hat-trick against Sri Lanka, Oshane Thomas' record spell and more stats

West Indies registered their first win on their tour of Sri Lanka as they got better of the hosts by 25 runs in the first T20I match. Lendl Simmons batted through for an unbeaten 51-ball 67 that included nine boundaries. Andre Russell and Kieron Pollard scored 35 and 34 respectively in quick span as West Indies finished on 196/4.

Oshane Thomas ran through Sri Lankan top-order with a 5-wicket haul as they were reduced to 56/5 in the powerplay. Kusal Perera (66 off 38) and Wanindu Hasaranga (44) brought back life in the chase but they were eventually bowled out for 171.

All the statistical highlights from the West Indies’s 25-run victory against Sri Lanka in the first T20I:

West Indies’ hat-trick against Sri Lanka:

3 – West Indies have won each of their last three matches in the T20I format against Sri Lanka. The Lankan team won six of their first seven meetings in the T20Is against West Indies.

A record total for West Indies:

196/4 – The total of 196/4 by West Indies is their highest T20I total against Sri Lanka. Their previous highest total in this format against Sri Lanka was 185 during the 2015 Pallekele T20I.

A record 5-wicket haul for Oshane:

1 – Oshane Thomas became the first player in Men’s T20Is to claim a 5-wicket haul against Sri Lanka. Ravichandran Ashwin’s bowling figures of 4/8 during the 2016 Vizag T20I were the previous best figures for any player in Men’s T20Is against Sri Lanka.

2 – Oshane Thomas is only the 2nd player in Men’s T20I cricket to have picked up a 5-wicket haul inside the powerplay (1-6 overs). Lasith Malinga was the first player to do so during the last year’s T20I against New Zealand also in Pallekele.

5/28 – Oshane became only 3rd player to claim a 5-wicket haul for West Indies in a Men’s T20I game. Keemo Paul registered figures of 5/15 in the 2018 Dhaka T20I against Bangladesh while Daren Sammy took 5/26 against Zimbabwe in the 2010 Port of Spain T20I.

A game of milestone for Pollard:

500 – This match in Pallekele was Kieron Pollard’s 500th appearance in the Twenty20 format. He is now the first player to feature in as many as 500 T20 games. Pollard was also the first player to feature in 300 and 400 T20 matches.

10000 – Kieron Pollard completed 10000 runs in the Twenty20 format with the 34 runs he scored in this match. Pollard brought up the milestone with the 2nd of the two sixes he struck in the game. He is the 2nd player after Chris Gayle (13296) to reach 10000 T20 runs.

West Indies’ trio feature together:

2016 – The last instance of West Indies taking the field in a T20I with all of Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell in the playing XI was during the 2016 USA series against India. The trio featured in 16 T20Is till date out of which West Indies on 11 and lost only three. Another two matches ended without a result. Two of those three defeats came against Sri Lanka in Pallekele only.

Contributions galore for the West Indies:

4 – As many as four players scored 30+ runs in this match for West Indies. This is only the 2nd instance of four players scoring 30+ runs in a T20I game for the West Indies. The other such instance was recorded during the last year’s T20I against India in Hyderabad.