Captain Chamari Athapaththu delivered with both bat and ball as Sri Lanka secured a four-wicket victory over West Indies in the second T20I in Grenada, taking a 1-0 lead in the series. The opening match had been abandoned due to rain.
Although West Indies were restricted to 101/9 after being asked to bat, Sri Lanka’s pursuit was far from straightforward. The chase became tense despite the modest target, with Athapaththu’s early fireworks proving decisive in complementing her earlier impact with the ball.
Sharing the new ball, as she had in the washed-out opener, Athapaththu conceded nine runs from her first five deliveries before striking to provide Sri Lanka with their first breakthrough. She beat Qiana Joseph’s expansive stroke to hit the off stump, claiming her first T20I wicket in the Caribbean since 2018.
Jahzara Claxton departed in the final over of the Powerplay, miscuing an attempt to attack Malki Madara, with Vishmi Gunaratne and Kavisha Dilhari nearly colliding at cover while completing the catch.
From there, Hayley Matthews and Stafanie Taylor attempted to steady the innings, guiding the hosts to 45/2 at the halfway stage. Matthews sought to increase the tempo in the following over, but her slog sweep off Athapaththu was taken at deep backward square. Her 28 proved to be the highest score of the innings.
Deandra Dottin cleared the ropes in the 13th over off Sugandika Kumari, West Indies’ only six of the innings, yet momentum remained elusive. She fell in the next over trying to target the same region, and Chinelle Henry was stumped off Dilhari soon after.
Malki’s variations then tightened the grip. A well-disguised slower ball dismantled Shermaine Campbell’s stumps, and she followed it with a sharp leg-cutter to remove Jannilea Glasgow. On a surface offering little pace, her changes of speed were particularly effective.
With partners running out, Taylor tried to lift Nilakshika Silva through the off side but found the fielder at cover, leaving West Indies eight down in the 18th over. Malki nearly had a fourth wicket in the next over, but Athapaththu dropped a sliding catch in the deep, and Nilakshika then missed a return opportunity off the penultimate delivery.
There was further drama when No.11 Karishma Ramharack was dismissed obstructing the field while attempting a second run. Replays showed she had tried to block the throw at her end, bringing a dramatic close to the innings. Notably, less than two weeks earlier, Dottin had also been out for obstruction in the ODI series.
Athapaththu set the tone in the chase immediately, cutting Matthews stylishly in the opening over. In Matthews’ next over, she struck over mid-off, followed with a sweep to the square-leg boundary and ended the over with a six over mid-wicket — the only six of Sri Lanka’s innings.
She continued her assault with consecutive boundaries off Ramharack and struck Henry twice past point in the final over of the Powerplay. At 45/0 after six overs, Sri Lanka appeared on course for a swift finish. Hasini Perera, initially quiet, added a couple of boundaries behind square as they advanced to 56/0 in seven overs.
However, the momentum shifted. Hasini’s slog sweep off Matthews resulted in a simple catch at short fine-leg. With 40 required from 76 balls, the equation still seemed comfortable.
Four balls later, Athapaththu was trapped lbw by Fletcher, halting the early surge. Sri Lanka then managed just eight runs from the next 22 deliveries. When Harshitha edged Ramharack behind, the target was reduced to 32 from 48.
Imesha attempted to counterattack Fletcher but chipped a catch to mid-wicket, and Joseph stumped Nilakshika at the start of the 14th over. In the six overs following Athapaththu’s dismissal, Sri Lanka had added only 12 runs, slipping to 74/5 and introducing uncertainty into the chase.
West Indies, though, lacked sufficient runs to fully capitalise. Gunaratne fell in the 17th over with 11 needed from 19 balls, but Kavisha Dilhari ensured there were no further setbacks as Sri Lanka completed the chase in 18.1 overs.
Brief scores:
West Indies Women 101/9 in 20 overs (Hayley Matthews 28, Stafanie Taylor 14, Malki Madara 3-16, Nilakshika Silva 3-20) lost to Sri Lanka Women 102/6 in 18.1 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 39, Kavisha Dilhari 18*, Qiana Joseph 2-13, Afy Fletcher 2-16) by four wickets.
