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Can Afghanistan Continue Their Dream Run Against Unbeaten South Africa?
West Indies 99 for 4 (Matthews 29, Taylor 28*, Athapaththu 1-18, Nisansala 1-18) beat Sri Lanka 89 for 4 (Athapaththu 26, Fletcher 4-23) by six wickets (via DLS method)
Stafanie Taylor scored an unbeaten 28 off 26 balls after Afy Fletcher's four-for had kept Sri Lanka under check, as West Indies secured a six-wicket win in a rain-affected game in Hambantota to level the three-match T20I series 1-1. This was also West Indies' first win of the tour.
Chasing a DLS-adjusted target of 99 in 15 overs, Taylor and captain Hayley Matthews provided the visitors with an ideal start of 44 runs in 6.5 overs, and in the process ensured West Indies were always ahead of the DLS-par score.
After Matthews fell to a Sachini Nisansala arm ball, Taylor then ensured she was around to anchor the chase.
In an 18-ball 24-run second-wicket partnership with Shemaine Campbelle, she took a backseat choosing to give strike to her more aggressive partner, who contributed 16 off 13. The subsequent dismissals of Campbelle, Qiana Joseph and Chedean Nation came about as a result of West Indies' positive approach, but the required rate was always below run a ball.
Aaliyah Alleyne then finished off any lingering hopes Sri Lanka might have harboured with a trio of boundaries off Kavisha Dilhari in the penultimate over of the innings.
At no point though had West Indies let the game get out of hand. While Vishmi Gunaratne and Chamari Athapaththu were going strong in their 44-run opening partnership, that had still come at a touch under run a ball. And once Fletcher spun one past Athapaththu to disturb her stumps, none of the other batters could up the scoring rate on a sluggish surface.
Gunaratne hung around for a laboured 24 off 35, but was trapped lbw in the 14th over by a Fletcher googly. Earlier, the legspinner, who had utilised the strong cross breeze to good effect, snuck one under Imesha Dulani's attempted sweep and then had Harshitha Samarawickrama top-edging on the way to figures of 4 for 23.
Dilhari had briefly shown some promise of a late counterattack scoring 14 not out off just six balls that included two boundaries when rain brought the first innings to an abrupt end after 15.2 overs.
