West Indies keep a clean slate with five-wicket win over Sri Lanka, look set for semifinals

West Indies continued their winning streak at the Women’s T20 World Cup as they edged to a five-wicket win over Sri Lanka in a low-scoring affair in Bristol.

Hayley Matthews’ second successive three-wicket haul helped West Indies restrict Sri Lanka to 99. Though it wasn’t the most fluent batting effort from the Caribbean side, they got past the finish line with 99 for 5 in 16.1 overs.

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With their third straight win of the tournament, West Indies have strengthened their chances of making the semifinals. They are currently placed second in Group B, trailing England only due to inferior net run rate.

Electing to field first, Matthews spearheaded the attack three wickets in her first two overs.

After dismissing Vishmi Gunarathne in the first over of the innings, she dealt big blows in the next, snapping Chamari Athapaththu and Harshitha Samarawickrama. With Chinelle Henry chipping in with the wicket of Imesha Dulani, Sri Lanka were reeling at 23 for 4 at the end of powerplay.

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Nilakshika Silva, who had guided Sri Lanka to victory against defending champions New Zealand on Tuesday, once again took on the responsibility. She stitched a 34-run stand with Kavisha Dilhari to stem the slide and went on to topscore with 30 off 26 balls.

West Indian skipper Hayley Mathews spearheaded the attack three wickets in her first two overs. Pics: ICC

Towards the end, Kawya Kavindi (17) was the only Lankan batter to provide some resistance.

A disciplined bowling performance from West Indies had made sure that Sri Lanka never got their teeth into contest. Matthews finished with 3 for 15 in her four overs, while Karishma Ramharack mopped the tail (2 for 15) on a day where all West Indian bowlers were amongst wickets.

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Chasing a modest total, the Caribbean side made heavy weather for it. After a 28-run opening stand, West Indies handed Sri Lanka the breakthrough as Matthews was run out while attempting a cheeky single. Silva charged in from mid on and nailed the direct hit at the non-striker’s end to pack off the West Indian captain.

With Deandra Dottin falling to a Nimasha Meepage on the final ball of powerplay, West Indies were pushed back to 36 for 2.

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The Sri Lankan bowlers kept coming at West Indies, striking at regular intervals. Kavisha Dilhari was especially difficult to get past and she finished with 2 for 22 to give Sri Lanka a fighting chance.

However, Stafanie Taylor kept the pressure at bay with steady unbeaten 27.  Her 29-run partnership with Jannillea Glasgow saw West Indies knock off the requisite runs with almost four overs to spare. Sri Lanka also had to pay for the number of extras (23) that they conceded.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka 98 in 19.4 overs (Kavisha Dilhari 21, Nilakshika Silva 30; Hayley Matthews 3/15, Karishma Ramharack 2/15) lost to West Indies 99 for five in 16.1 overs (Stafanie Taylor 27 not out; Kavisha Dilhari 2/22).