Sri Lanka beat West Indies by 41 runs at Sabina Park as Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Chameera and Theekshana seal 1-0 lead.
Sri Lanka beat West Indies by 41 runs at Sabina Park to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, powered by key batting contributions and disciplined bowling.
Sri Lanka posted 303 for 7, with Pathum Nissanka making 79 and Kusal Mendis striking an aggressive 72. Janith Liyanage and Charith Asalanka also played important knocks before the bowlers restricted West Indies to 262.
Kusal Mendis gave Sri Lanka’s innings the energy it needed after a cautious start, hitting 72 from 62 balls, while Nissanka, Liyanage, and Asalanka helped push the visitors beyond 300.
On a Sabina Park surface that offered some turn, Sri Lanka’s total proved 41 runs too many for West Indies, who began brightly but were gradually pulled back by Sri Lanka’s spinners and then finished off by Dushmantha Chameera.
Maheesh Theekshana produced an excellent spell, returning figures of 2 for 26 as West Indies batters repeatedly struggled to read his variations.
Wanindu Hasaranga also played a key role, taking 1 for 43 and keeping pressure through the middle overs.
West Indies captain Shai Hope was the only batter in the home side to pass fifty, scoring 56 from 66 balls. But despite several smaller contributions, West Indies failed to build the kind of long partnership needed to chase 304.
While the spinners squeezed the innings, Chameera operated as Sri Lanka’s strike bowler, claiming 4 for 67 from his 10 overs.
The match briefly paused for bad light when West Indies were nine wickets down in the 49th over. The players returned shortly after, and the final wicket fell with four balls remaining.
Having won the toss in a day game on a pitch with a green tinge, West Indies chose to bowl first and appeared to enjoy the better of the early exchanges.
Jayden Seales removed Sri Lanka’s new opener Kamindu Mendis in the seventh over, while West Indies conceded only 32 runs in the powerplay as Nissanka batted with unusual caution.
But Kusal Mendis changed the tempo soon after arriving at the crease.
He took a strong liking to Gudakesh Motie, launching four straight sixes down the ground off the spinner within three overs.
In the 20th over, Kusal struck two sixes and a four as Sri Lanka took 18 runs from the over. Motie did not bowl again in the innings, with Roston Chase instead delivering ten controlled overs and taking two wickets.
Kusal reached his half-century from 42 balls and looked ready for a bigger score before attempting to swipe a Matthew Forde full toss to the leg side.
Instead, he somehow top-edged it to short fine leg.
By then, his 136-run second-wicket partnership with Nissanka had placed Sri Lanka firmly on course for a total above 300.
Nissanka, by contrast, appeared to struggle for rhythm.
He did not time the ball as cleanly as usual, with West Indies bowlers discovering that the Kingston surface rewarded slower bowling.
However, after being dropped first ball at cover by Keacy Carty off Seales, Nissanka built a largely sensible innings. He ran hard between the wickets and collected boundaries where possible, particularly behind square on the leg side.
It took him 71 balls to reach fifty, and he was still scoring at under 80 when Chase dismissed him for 79 through an unusual pad-bat catch taken by wicketkeeper Hope.
Asalanka and Liyanage then added momentum and urgency in the final third of Sri Lanka’s innings.
Liyanage played the sharper knock, finishing unbeaten on 44 from 29 balls, while Asalanka made 45 from 44. The pair added 64 for the fifth wicket.
West Indies gave themselves a chance in the chase, although 304 would have been a ground-record target.
Their openers raced to 50 without loss after six overs before a sharp pickup and throw from Liyanage ended John Campbell’s innings.
The other opener, Justin Greaves, was also out before the powerplay ended, bowled by Theekshana after backing away and exposing his leg stump.
Even then, while Hope remained at the crease, West Indies still had hope of making a serious charge.
But they lost too many wickets through the middle overs, the same phase Sri Lanka’s batters had dominated.
Keacy Carty was brilliantly caught at short midwicket by a diving Kamindu Mendis, while Hope was deceived by a Chameera slower ball and offered a simple catch to backward point.
From 167 for 5, with the required rate moving toward seven, West Indies were always under pressure.
There were moments of resistance from the lower order, but Sri Lanka kept striking at key stages and eventually closed out the match.
West Indies’ biggest concern after this defeat may be their bowling. They lacked penetration in the middle overs, while the seamers were also too indisciplined, sending down 12 wides and drifting too often onto the pads.
Although West Indies played four specialist bowlers, allrounder Roston Chase was arguably their best performer with the ball on the day.
