Sri Lanka 190 for 5 (Asalanka 62*, Joseph 2-30) beat West Indies 189 all out (Rutherford 80, Motie 50, Hasaranga 4-40, Theekshana 3-25, Fernando 3-35) by five wickets

Though the pitch for this 44-over match – drizzle had delayed the start by two hours – was exceedingly spin friendly (it was the same track used for Sunday’s game), 190 was always going to be a challenge to defend. Where Sri Lanka’s spinners were able to be consistently menacing, often getting significant turn even off faster deliveries, West Indies’ slow bowlers did not quite have the same impact.

Motie was their best slow bowler, conceding only 18 from his nine overs, and taking the wicket of Kusal Mendis. But legspinner Hayden Walsh was underwhelming, guilty of pitching far too short and being picked off – he went for 41 runs off his five overs. Roston Chase was also only moderately effective. In fact it was seamer Alzarri Joseph who collected the innings’ best figures of 2 for 30.

Although Hasaranga would go on to get more wickets, it was Theekshana who was the best of Sri Lanka’s slow bowlers, and Theekshana who set the collapse in motion with a gorgeous offbreak that beat the outside of left-hander Alick Athanaze’s bat and clip off stump. The offbreak turned big on this surface, and he threatened both right-handers and left-handers with it, going to the carrom ball only occasionally. The lines Theekshana bowled were mostly impeccable.

Later, a big offbreak would sneak between Keacy Carty’s bat and pad and rattle his stumps as well, before a slider beat the wild reverse-swipe that Walsh attempted off Theekshana in the 15th over. He collected figures of 3 for 25 off nine overs.

Hasaranga’s googlies were doing their usual damage, with Chase suckered in by one that was flighted beautifully. Hasaranga had to work less hard for the wickets of Romario Shepherd, and Alzarri Joseph, who didn’t fancy picking him. He’d take the final wicket of the innings too, getting Jayden Seales caught and bowled, and took home the game’s best figures of 4 for 40.

Fernando’s 3 for 35 was especially impressive on a track that did not favour him. He dismissed Brandon King with a surprise bouncer that King played at too early, before bowling Shai Hope with a slightly back of a length delivery that the batter dragged on to his stumps. That he broke the big Rutherford-Motie stand was also significant, even if the wicket of Rutherford came off a low full toss.

In fact, Rutherford had been struggling terribly before Motie joined him at the crease in the 16th over and provided the early impetus for their partnership. The No. 10 struck important boundaries, off Hasaranga especially, and by the end of the 25th over had 35 runs to Rutherford’s 33, though Rutherford had been there longer and faced more balls.

This is the point at which Rutherford began to attack however, having earlier seemed bewildered by every spinner Sri Lanka employed against him. There were suddenly sixes down the ground and on the legside from Rutherford – one hoick over deep square leg off Asalanka’s bowling taking him to his half century, off 57 balls. He continued to hit out until he was caught on the deep square leg boundary in the 35th over, having hit four sixes and seven fours. His 80 off 82 was the highest score in the game.

Later, after Samarawickrama and Madushka – both of whom made 38 – had lifted Sri Lanka out of immediate danger, Asalanka’s entry into the game sent them smoothly off towards the five-wicket victory that would eventuate with 34 balls remaining.

The hallmark of a good Asalanka innings is his early boundary-striking ability, and so it was here – spotting a full delivery outside off from the opposition’s best seamer second ball, Asalanka creamed it through point for four. In Joseph’s next over, Asalanka crashed him through square leg and drilled him through cover for two more fours, having also slog-swept Roston Chase for a boundary in between. In a flash he was on 20 off 14.

Though the tempo slowed, he got to his half century off the 48th ball he faced, and went on to shepherd Sri Lanka home, remaining not out on 62 off 61 balls.

The post Hasaranga and Theekshana spin West Indies out and seal Sri Lanka series win appeared first on Cricket's Finest.

In a fairly scathing assessment, Sammy argued that while the next T20 World Cup – in 2026 – was going to be co-hosted by Sri Lanka, such turning tracks would not be the norm with the ICC having primary input over the curation of the wickets.

“So I told the guys, ‘yes, when the World Cup comes we won’t get these conditions – the ICC will make sure the pitches are good’. So it was a moral victory for us from the first game to the second game.”

“Sri Lanka’s strength has always been spin, and we still believe that it’s with spin that we will be able to win the most,” he said following Sri Lanka’s win in the third T20I. “So we made pitches to support that strength. When that’s working for us, I think it’s a lot easier for us to win.”

“When you have pacers, like the two slingers (Nuwan Thushara and Matheesha Pathirana) not getting an opportunity to bowl on good wickets, when the true test comes that’s where you really test your team.

“I mean, there’s home advantage, but what good does that make for the development of your squad, especially your fast bowlers, in being able to bowl and have an impact on the game?”

Sammy’s point holds some merit. In the final T20I, both Pathirana and Thushara bowled just two overs each, with the former being introduced as a seventh bowling option – after both part-time spinners Asalanka and Kamindu Mendis. In contrast, in Sri Lanka’s series win earlier in the year against Afghanistan, only two spinners had been used in each game.

And this might be where Asalanka and Sammy perhaps can find some common ground. While Asalanka has championed Sri Lanka’s spinners, he too acknowledges that they need to bolster their fast-bowling ranks.

“We have a lot of fast bowlers on our bench. Today you saw Nuwan Thushara and Matheesha Pathirana, and they bowled well when called upon. As a team, however, we need our fast bowlers to improve a little more. Aside from those currently in the side, we need more coming in. That’s how we will be able to play well in any conditions.”

Bowling and pitches aside, one immutable fact is that Sri Lanka’s batters turned up more often than did those of West Indies. Sammy, who had stated ahead of the series that he was looking to test their squad depth, is keenly aware of the improvements that need to be made on that front.

“We came here with the T20 World Cup I think less than 20 months away. Having seen the way we played on a typical Dambulla wicket – what we expected from what all the stats said – I thought we dominated.

“We started the series with a squad looking to see the depth, and the home side had to change the whole set-up to make sure that their spinners got the advantage. Ideally, yes, our men did not respond well to the spin. However, with the mindset that we have in our team being a championship winning team, we must be able to play in different conditions. You know, by letting [our] bowlers be challenged and also our batters be challenged.”

Asalanka, for his part, had no such qualms about his batters. Indeed, the scores over the course of the West Indies T20Is indicate that Sri Lanka’s batting has been performing well – they scored at least 160 in each game – despite the nature of the tracks.

“We were expecting a spinning wicket in the first game as well, but it didn’t play as we expected,” Asalanka said. “Then in the second game it turned a lot more, but we still managed to score 162, and in this game we chased down 163 in 18 overs. I think, if you look at the scores you can’t really say it’s a bad wicket.”

But what about on better tracks? While that is a question that can only be answered definitively once Sri Lanka have to deal with such conditions, Asalanka is confident that their batting line-up is primed to deal with whatever challenges are put before them.

“As a team, our goal is that if we get a good wicket abroad, we should be able to score 200-250, but if it’s a harder wicket then we should be able to score 160-170 or in that range.

“Against India, we were chasing 200 or so, but after a good start we were unable to finish it off. Even in the last game, we were on the verge of winning but then our set batters were unable to finish the game. On pitches like this it’s important that the batter that is set, as much as possible, takes the game long or finishes it off.”

The post Sammy calls 2-1 series loss ‘moral victory’ on turning tracks in Sri Lanka appeared first on Cricket's Finest.

Since the last T20 World Cup, Sri Lanka have won series in England and South Africa, cruised through the World Cup Qualifiers in Abu Dhabi undefeated, and beaten Pakistan and India on their way to becoming Asia Cup champions. But Sri Lanka lost to both those oppositions and defending champions Australia in the first week of the tournament, which Ratnayake put down to overall underperformance.

“It was bad playing through and through this tournament,” he said after Sri Lanka lost to India by 82 runs. “They’ve been doing poor cricket, and that is not acceptable. We’ve been talking about it, we’ve tried to come out of it and we’ve tried various things, we’ve been fearlessly doing things, freely doing things, and I think the skill has failed us when it has been really important.”

“From the second match up to the fifth match [in Ireland], there were situations where we were on top and we faltered,” Ratnayake said.

One such situation was in the second T20I, where Sri Lanka were 101 for 2 in the 13th over but then lost 5 for 56 in five overs to lose by seven runs. Still, Ratnayake was happy with the work they did back in Sri Lanka.

“Our preparation was really good back home,” he said. “We played on various types of wickets. We simulated some of those similar situations, but winning those moments, winning those appropriate situations, decision-making along with the skill hasn’t been backed up. The skill did not come through as it did as you said in the finals of the Asia Cup. So that’s something which we need to work on, rethink and come back.”

“In the past 22 months, we’ve worked hard on creating an environment which is conducive for learning,” he said. “So we are not only building up in confidence but building up in confidence so that we would back ourselves with the skill as well.”

But has that confidence spilled over into overconfidence, given Sri Lanka’s fighting talk before the series? Athapaththu spoke realistically of their chances of making the semi-finals at this tournament despite being in the tougher of the two groups, and Ratnayake backed that up when he said Sri Lanka “are here to win the World Cup,” and not just participate.

“Overconfidence is a thing which is verbally not accepted in our environment, so I don’t think it’s overconfidence, but they are confident enough,” he said. “That is what we thrive on and that is what we emphasise on. It’s just that when needed, we haven’t won the moments.”

Now, they also have no hope of winning the World Cup but Ratnayake continues to believe in the group of players he is working with. “This has happened and we will never give up, so that’s a very heartening and a very satisfying thing for a coach to see,” he said. “As much as I’ve created an environment, I’m quite privileged and honoured to be here because they are a super lot. I know we will come through this sooner rather than later.”

Sri Lanka have two days before their final match, against New Zealand on Saturday, and Ratnayake has described it as a “prime objective” to “salvage ourselves” and win that game. They will be up against a New Zealand side who will feel the same way, after their chastening defeat to Australia, and with the match a must-win to keep their semi-final hopes alive. For Ratnayake, nothing less than an almighty fight will be acceptable.

The post ‘Bad playing through and through’ behind Sri Lanka’s winless run at T20 World Cup appeared first on Cricket's Finest.

“The tour of Sri Lanka gives us a chance to test our depth and assess players in different situations, especially with several senior players missing out for various reasons, including a need for rest and rehabilitation from injury,” Sammy said in a CWI statement. “We are confident in the squad’s ability to compete strongly against Sri Lanka.”

Alzarri Joseph, who had been rested for West Indies’ most recent T20I series, against South Africa at home, returned to the side but there was no place for left-arm seamer Obed McCoy, who often operates at the death.

West Indies T20I squad

Rovman Powell (capt), Roston Chase (vice-capt), Fabian Allen, Alick Athanaze, Andre Fletcher, Terrance Hinds, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Gudakesh Motie, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Shamar Springer

Andrew has played only three List A games and seven CPL matches so far, but has already done enough to catch the attention of some West Indies greats, including Viv Richards and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, his CPL coach at Falcons, and Ian Bishop.

“As we continue to build our ODI team, this tour offers a valuable opportunity to evaluate strategies and give opportunities to emerging talent,” Sammy said. “We are excited to see young players like Jewel Andrew, who has earned his place as an exciting prospect for the future.”

Shai Hope, who won a two-year contract with CWI, will continue to captain the ODI team with Alzarri Joseph his deputy. Matthew Forde, who didn’t find a place in the T20I side, made it to the ODI side. He has had some success with Dambulla Aura in the LPL.

The ODI squad has two specialist spinners, with wristspinner Hayden Walsh Jr retaining his place to complement left-arm fingerspinner Motie. Batters Athanaze and Keacy Carty, who were also part of West Indies’ most recent ODI squad, for the Australia tour earlier this year, retained their spots.

Carty was also in good form for TKR in the CPL, where he scored 246 runs in ten innings at an average of 30.75 and strike rate of 125.51.

West Indies’ white-ball tour of Sri Lanka will begin on October 13 and will run until October 26.

West Indies ODI squad

Shai Hope (capt), Alzarri Joseph (vice-capt), Jewel Andrew, Alick Athanaze, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Gudakesh Motie, Sherfane Rutherford, Jayden Seales, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh Jr

The post Russell, Pooran opt out of SL T20Is; Andrew bolts into ODI squad appeared first on Cricket's Finest.