West Indies 149 for 3 (Hope 65*, King 37, Hasaranga 2-32) beat Sri Lanka 147 for 9 (Kamindu 51, Holder 3-18, Joseph 3-29) by seven wickets

King, Hope break the chase

Generally, when chasing a middling target on a sticky surface, a fast start in the powerplay when the ball is hard and seven fielders are in the ring is almost a prerequisite. And on that front, the West Indies openers delivered.

The pair of Hope and King struck 66 in an opening six-over salvo, as Sri Lanka were left ruing a host a missed opportunities – and King was at the centre of each of them.

The first was off Dushmantha Chameera, who rushed the right-hand batter with a short one that he could only miscue to midwicket. A no-ball check from the third umpire, though, offered a reprieve, much to the delight of the home crowd. The free hit that followed was a yorker squeezed to mid-on for a single that was never on. But Sri Lanka again let a chance slip by missing the direct hit.

Then, off the first ball of the very next over, Madushanka looked to have trapped King lbw, only for the decision to be overturned upon review for the ball having pitched outside leg.

King made the most of his good fortune as he found his timing soon after, racing along to a 22-ball 37 before eventually been knocked over by a googly from Hasaranga. Hope, at the other end, carried on at a similar click, managing 29 off 17 deliveries during the stand. But as the game progressed, he slowed down to crucially bat through to the latter stages and see the hosts home.

Sri Lanka strangle through the middle

If West Indies’ start was belligerent, what followed certainly belied that. The ten overs leading up to the death brought 54 runs and two wickets, as Sri Lanka clawed themselves back into proceedings. Such was West Indies’ early impact, it meant Sri Lanka were always underdogs; but it crucially kept them in the game till the latter stages.

Key to this was the spin pair of Maheesh Theekshana and Hasaranga. The latter was more expensive, giving away 32 in his four overs, even as he picked up the wickets of King and Hetmyer. Theekshana, meanwhile, went wicketless, but his four overs went for just 20 runs.

Ably assisting them was Malinga, carrying over his IPL form, as he mixed up his lengths and pace with a four-over spell of 1 for 26. Chameera also responded well from the early tap he was on the receiving end of by landing some crucial yorkers in the death overs.

To put it into context, between the tenth and the final over, West Indies struck just one six and two fours. It meant they need six off the final over. And Powell needed just two deliveries to ensure they win.

Wickets dampen Kusal fireworks

Earlier, Kusal continued his rich vein of form with a with a 23-ball 36 to ensure a near ten-runs-per-over powerplay for Sri Lanka. Twenty-six of those runs came in boundaries, including three sixes – two consecutively off Matthew Forde in a 17-run fourth over. That, though, would be Sri Lanka’s most profitable over of the evening as a flurry of wickets to end the powerplay reined in the visitors just as they were looking to build a head of steam.

From 43 for no loss, Sri Lanka found themselves 56 for 3 at the end of the powerplay, and then 65 for 4 midway through the eighth over. The situation was made considerably more perilous owing to the fact that their 6-5 combination meant a shorter batting line-up.

Kamindu, Shanaka consolidate

Following the sudden loss of their top order, including their in-form captain, Kamindu and former captain Dasun Shanaka had their work cut out. With only Hasaranga to come in the form of any sort of batting, wickets were at a premium and risks a minimum.

This was reflected in just the eight boundaries scored between the pair, including three sixes, in the eight overs they batted together. That they managed a run rate of 7.37 in this period was a credit to the pair’s running between the wickets. Even so, Chase, in particular, proved hard to get away with his quick offbreaks, as he snuck in 13 dots to the pair before the pressure eventually told as Shanaka sliced Chase to backward point while attempting to up the tempo.

That wicket was timely for West Indies, coming just as Sri Lanka would have been eyeing a death-overs assault. It meant Hasaranga had little time to get his eye in, before he too fell two overs later for an inconsequential 3 off six balls.

The pressure on Kamindu mounted, and West Indies also did well to starve the set batter off strike for concerted periods, with him eventually dismissed in the final over while looking to retain the strike on an ill-advised double.

Holder comes in clutch

Fresh off a run to the IPL final, Jason Holder once more proved his worth – particularly in the shortest format – as he read the conditions quickly and assertively to rein in Sri Lanka after a fast start. Introduced in the fifth over, he induced a miscue over short third first up from Pathum Nissanka, before following up with a well directed full inducker to knock over the dangerous Lankan opener.

Holder then set himself up for a hat-trick with a successful LBW review the very next delivery, to dismiss Lasith Croospulle who was playing just his second T20I. While the hat-trick was not forthcoming, Holder’s intervention had successfully shifted the momentum.

He would then return at the death to pick up his third as part of an outstanding two-run penultimate over, to end with figures 3 for 18. It meant that despite Kamindu and Shanaka’s best efforts at a mid-innings recovery, Sri Lanka were unable to land the finishing blows, managing just 25 for 4 in the death overs as the innings petered to a limp close.