West Indies defend 156 to clinch series

Thursday, 21 May 2015 00:44 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

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A collective bowling performance, led by offspinner Hayley Matthews’ career-best 3 for 7, helped West Indies Women defend 156 against Sri Lanka Women and seal the series 3-1 in Colombo.

After having opted to bat, West Indies slumped to 156 all out, with only four of their batters crossing double figures. Allrounder Sripali Weerakoddy carved up the top order, reducing West Indies to 44 for 3, before left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera inflicted more damage, claiming figures of 3 for 17 in 10 overs, including four maidens. Britney Cooper, coming in at No. 5, offered some source of resistance through 46 off 65 balls, but lacked meaningful support from the other end. This meant that the visitors were bowled out inside 48 overs.

Sri Lanka’s resistance was flimsier as they folded for 125 in 45.2 overs. Chamari Atappattu fell early in the chase when she was bowled by Stafanie Taylor for 2 by the fourth over. Weerakoddy couldn’t carry her bowling form into batting; she pottered around for 10 off 45 balls before Tremayne Smartt had her caught behind.

Each of Yasoda Mendis (13), Nipuni Hansika (21), Shashikala Siriwardene (16) and Eshani Lokusuriyage (30) got starts but none managed a substantial contribution, Lokusuriyage’s 30 off 50 balls was the highest score. The last four Sri Lankan wickets fell for only 10 runs with Matthews bagging her career-best ODI figures after having made 24 off 23 balls. Smartt and Anisa Mohammad finished with combined figures of 20-2-51-4.

West Indies Women 156 (Cooper 46, Ranaweera 3-17, Weerakkody 3-37) beat Sri Lanka Women 125 (Lokusuriyage 30, Matthews 3-7, Smartt 2-28) by 31 runs