Sri Lanka completed a smooth warm-up for Sunday’s final against the Netherlands in Harare with an eight-wicket victory over West Indies, led by Pathum Nissanka’s second consecutive century and yet another four-for from Mahesh Theekshana.
Set with a low total of 244, Sri Lanka easily defeated it, including a match-best opening stand of 190 between Nissanka and Dimuth Karunaratne. However, both players received reprieves because of a pitiful fielding effort from the West Indies. Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama won the match with 34 balls remaining despite the fact that both fell before the chase was finished—Nisska for 104 and Karunaratne for 83.
The only bright spot for West Indies came from Keacy Carty, whose 96-ball 87 helped his team to a respectable total when it looked like they would become the tournament’s seventh successive team to be skittled by Sri Lanka for less than 200 runs.
When Johnson Charles and Brandon King put together a quick 36-run opening stand, this did not appear to be the case. Charles and King liked the Sri Lankan captain’s easy pace as Dasun Shanaka opened the bowling alongside Dilshan Madushanka. However, the game was changed by Theekshana’s early entrance, who would eventually win Player of the Match.
King was the first to fall, his middle stump upset because he tried to sweep too far and went too far. While Shai Hope was caught in front by one that skidded through from a fair length to catch him sitting in his crease, Shamarh Brooks then managed to get a light nick through to the keeper that was confirmed on review.
Charles was still going strong at this point, but Matheesha Pathirana, who can be unpredictable, snatched his one and only scalp and caught him lbw with a rapid, straight, and kept a touch low from back of a length. When Theekshana came back later and hit Romario Shepherd’s middle stump, the West Indies were reduced to 155 for 8.
At that point, it appeared that West Indies would struggle to complete the entire 50 overs, let alone 40. However, Carty, helped by the fact that he was dropped on 8, put together a string of lower-order stands to bring his team into the match on a pitch with few demons.
Nicholas Pooran was already at the crease when he initially entered it at 62 for 4, but he was soon the first ODI victim of leg spinner Dushan Hemantha after holing out at deep midwicket. For the rested Wanindu Hasaranga, Hemantha was on the field.
Carty and Kyle Mayers then added 41 runs together before Kyle Mayers was castled by Sahan Arachchige, a debutant who was filling in for Dhananjaya de Silva. After Roston Chase was immediately caught lbw by a vicious googly and became Hemantha’s second victim of the match, Carty put together another courageous stand, this time 32 with Shepherd.
The total seemed doomed after Shepherd was dismissed, but Carty helped Kevin Sinclair and Akeal Hossein to partnerships of 63 and 25 runs, the former being the finest of the innings, to raise it to a respectable total.
In an otherwise disastrous West Indian attempt, Carty’s application throughout would stand out as an exception. This was never more obvious than on the field, when multiple opportunities of different complexity were missed, a common problem throughout this tournament. The most egregious of these was made by captain Hope himself, who allowed through a skier despite wearing gloves.
When it came down to it, the game between these two teams—as well as between West Indies and the Associates—that many might have imagined would have had much more significance when it was scheduled at the beginning of the tournament actually served to highlight the divergent paths taken by each side. It seems likely that Sri Lanka will have a much tougher test when they play the Dutch on Sunday.
Sri Lanka 244 for 2 (Nissanka 104, Karunaratne 83) beat West Indies 243 all out (Carty 87, Theekshana 4-34) by eight wickets