The West Indies have claimed an early advantage in their three-match T20 International series against Sri Lanka, securing a tense seven-wicket win in the opening fixture at Kingston’s Sabina Park on Thursday night. Despite a small turn out, the crowd in attendance created an electric, boisterous atmosphere that lingered through the final dramatic moments of the match for the West Indies, known popularly as the Men in Maroon.
Sri Lanka got off to a blistering start through their opening batting pair. Pathum Nissanka, who survived a dropped catch when he had only scored seven runs, went on to compile 43 runs, building a solid first-wicket stand with Kusal Mendis before veteran seamer Jason Holder claimed his wicket. That breakthrough triggered a steady collapse of Sri Lanka’s batting line-up, with the West Indies bowling attack tightening control over the run rate for most of the innings. A defiant half-century from Kamindu Mendis, who scored 51, stopped the lower order from folding entirely, but Sri Lanka still could only post a total of 147 runs for the loss of nine wickets from their full 20 overs.
The West Indies pace attack delivered a standout performance to restrict the visitors. Shamar Joseph and Jason Holder shared six wickets between them, with Holder finishing with economical figures of 3 wickets for 18 runs and Joseph picking up 3 wickets for 29 runs. The fixture also marked a personal milestone for Holder, who brought up his 50th career wicket in T20 International cricket during the match.
In response, the West Indies openers got their run chase off to a flying start. Captain Shai Hope, who remained unbeaten at the end of the innings, and opening partner Brandon King put on a 63-run opening stand that laid a strong platform for the home side. Shimron Hetmyer chipped in with a quickfire 17 runs from just 9 deliveries to keep the scoreboard ticking, but the run rate stalled in the middle and late overs. Roston Chase’s slow 16 runs from 26 balls epitomized the home side’s ongoing struggles in white-ball cricket: an inability to find consistent boundaries and rotate the strike effectively, an issue head coach Daren Sammy has long worked to fix with the side.
The match went all the way down to the final over, with the West Indies still requiring six runs to win off the last six deliveries. With Hope holding his ground at the non-striker’s end having carried his bat through the whole innings, Jamaican hometown hero Rovman Powell hit a decisive six when the side still needed five runs, sealing the dramatic victory and putting the West Indies 1-0 up in the series.
The two sides will return to Sabina Park for the second fixture of the series this Saturday, where the West Indies will have the chance to clinch the series with a win.