T20 WC 2021: WI vs SL Review – Sri Lanka sign off by knocking West Indies out

Despite not making it to the semi-finals, Sri Lanka ended their campaign on a high as they defeated West Indies in the Super 12 match at Abu Dhabi on November 4. As a result of the defeat by 20 runs, West Indies are now knocked out of the tournament.

Earlier in the evening, West Indies won the toss and elected to bowl first. Sri Lanka started well with Kusal Perera scoring 29 runs from 21 balls right at the top of the order. Once he left, there was Pathum Nissanka who formed a solid stand with Charith Asalanla. The pair put 91 runs together and the stand was broken when Nissanka was dismissed for 51 off 41.

Asalanka went on to make 68 runs from 41 balls. Dasun Shanaka played a cameo of 25 runs from 14 balls as Sri Lanka ended on 189 for 3. Andre Russell picked up two wickets while DJ Bravo picked up one. With the bat, West Indies didn’t get off to a good start and kept losing regular wickets. Other than Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran, no one even got a double-digit score.

Pooran made 46 runs from 34 balls. Hetmyer took the game deep but with regular wickets falling around him the required rate kept climbing up until it was beyond his reach. He ended with an unbeaten 81 runs off 54 balls. For Sri Lanka, Chamika Karunaratne, Binura Fernando and Wanindu Hasaranga picked up two wickets each while Dushmantha Chameera and Shanaka picked up a wicket each. All of that helped them restrict West Indies to only 169 for 8.

Top performers:

Charith Asalanka:

The left-handed batter has been incredibly impressive at no. 3 ever since he was given the role. He has shown all his class by scoring runs smartly and also at a good rate. His knock contained eight fours and one six, which helped his side have a good score.

Dasun Shanaka: The all-rounder shined in all facets today. His cameo was the exact thing which his team required in the death overs to get the final kick and finish on a high. He promoted himself and got the job done. His captaincy was spot on as well, with good fielding placements and bowling changes. He also picked up the wicket of Jason Holder.

Sri Lankan spinners: In the run chase of 190, Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana made sure that the runs were choked out. Theekshana bowled a wicketless spell of four overs where he conceded only 21 runs. Hasaranga picked up the wickets of DJ Bravo and Kieron Pollard and gave only 19 runs in his four overs.

Records/Achievements:

• Chris Gayle has now equalled Shahid Afridi for the most single-digit scores (13) in the T20 World Cups.
• Wanindu Hasaranga’s wicket tally of 16 is the most by any Sri Lankan bowler in a T20 World Cup, going past Ajantha Mendis’ tally of 15 in the 2012 edition.
• West Indies failed to qualify for the T20 World Cup semi-final for the first time since the 2010 edition.

Way ahead:

Sri Lanka ended their World Cup campaign with two wins from five matches in the Super 12 round. They had won all their three games in the qualifying round. West Indies will play their last game against Australia on November 6.