Kumari and Dilhari bag three-fors as Sri Lanka go 1-0 up

(34.1/50 ov, T:196) 198/4

Sri Lanka Women 198 for 4 (Samarawickrama 44*, Hasini 43, Gunaratne 40, Athapaththu 38, Alleyne 2-22, Fletcher 2-31) beat West Indies Women 195 (Matthews 38, Taylor 33, Kumari 3-30, Dilhari 3-41) by six wickets

Three-wicket hauls from Sugandika Kumari and Kavisha Dilhari set Sri Lanka up for their first women’s ODI win over West Indies since 2015, the hosts going 1-0 up in the three-match series in Hambantota on Saturday.

Since that last win in 2015, Sri Lanka had lost their last six ODIs against West Indies going into this match.

Sent in, West Indies made a strong start, getting to 75 for 1 courtesy a 68-run second-wicket stand between Hayley Matthews and Shemaine Campbelle. They lost steam after left-arm spinner Kumari broke that partnership in the 19th over, losing their last eight wickets for 120 runs. Matthews (38) apart, only Stafanie Taylor (33) got past 30, as the spinners, led by Kumari and Dilhari, chipped away.

Sri Lanka’s top five managed the chase perfectly, with four of them getting past 35. Captain Chamari Athapaththu (38) and Vishmi Gunaratne (40) got them off to a solid start, putting on 88 in 13.2 overs, before Sri Lanka stumbled briefly, losing three wickets for 13 runs, with two of them falling to the medium-pace of Aaliyah Alleyne.

Harshitha Samarawickrama (44*) and Hasini Perera (43), however, ensured there wouldn’t be any more major hiccups, putting on 63 for the fourth wicket to all but seal victory, before Afy Fletcher picked up a consolation wicket late in the game.

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