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Sri Lanka vs West Indies 1st ODI Full Commentary
Result · Jun 03 2026, Wed - 08:00 PM (IST)
WI 262/10 (49.2)
SL 303/7 (50.0)
Sri Lanka beat West Indies by 41 runs
CRR:5.31
ஆட்டத்தின் சிறந்த வீரர்
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We are ready for West Indies' reply with the bat! The camera pans on the Lankans, where the players are in a huddle, maybe Kusal Mendis has a few last words to tell his teammates. Justin Greaves and John Campbell will be opening for West Indies. Dushmantha Chameera will start the proceedings. But before that, he calls a groundsman who brings up a big hammer as Chameera is feeling a bit uneven where the bowlers land, near the popping crease. Everything is set now. Chameera to John Campbell with two slips in place. Awa we go...
... THE RUN CHASE ...
A late flourish - However, the duo of Charith Asalanka and Janith Liyanage shifted gears perfectly, stitching a rapid 64-run stand off just 48 deliveries to finish strong. Asalanka fell for a vital 45 in the 49th over, while Liyanage finished unbeaten on 44 to push Sri Lanka over the 300-run mark. For the West Indies, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, and Jayden Seales picked up two wickets each. So, can the WI chase 304? Or will the Lankans strike early with the ball? We shall find out soon. We have a cracking chase on our hands.
A quick chat - Roston Chase is up for a chat. He says that the track looks good to him. The deliveries did spin a bit, but overall, it looks good for batting. About the chase in the second inning, he reckons that the score is chasable if their batters protect the wickets and take the game deep. On his bowling plan, he says that he was a bit under pressure when he came to bowl. Continues that he tried to pull the score rate back and that is the reason he got a wicket under his column.
Windies did well in the middle overs - Just when Sri Lanka looked ready to completely take off, the West Indies pulled things back with quick wickets. Kusal Mendis departed in the 28th over, and Nissanka’s fine anchor knock ended on 79 in the 35th over after an unlucky dismissal. With Pavan Rathnayake also failing to hang around for long, Sri Lanka lost some crucial momentum in the middle overs, giving the Caribbean side a window back into the contest.
Nissanka and Mendis laid a solid foundation - Sri Lanka end their innings with a big score of 303 runs. Pathum Nissanka got a massive lifeline when he was dropped on the very first ball of the match, and he made the West Indies pay dearly. Though Kamindu Mendis fell early, skipper Kusal Mendis joined Nissanka to construct a brilliant 136-run partnership. Kusal played the role of the chief aggressor, smashing a quick-fire 72 off just 62 balls, while Nissanka anchored the innings beautifully to lay a rock-solid foundation.
A couple of runs to end the innings! Jayden Seales bowls this into the blockhole, outside off, Janith Liyanage jams it out towards long on and hurries back for the second run. Sri Lanka finish on 303/7!
SIX! BANG! That is a clean strike. Much fuller delivery, on middle, in the slot as well. Janith Liyanage clears his front leg away and dispatches it over the wide long on fence for a biggie. 300 UP FOR SRI LANKA!
Maheesh Theekshana walks in to bat now.
OUT! MILAN RATHNAYAKE IS RUN OUT! Two wickets in two balls for the Windies. A slower bumper from Seales, on middle and leg, Milan Rathnayake tries to be cheeky and goes for the reverse scoop but misses. Janith Liyanage, in a bid to retain strike, tries to steal a bye and Milan responds but a bit late. Shai Hope, the keeper, misses his shy at the batter's end as the ball rolls down the pitch. Seales collects it, turns around and hits the stumps at the bowler's end with Milan well short of his crease. Sri Lanka are 295/7 now, but the good thing for them is that Liyanage will be on strike.
Milan Rathnayake walks in.
OUT! TAKEN! Jayden Seales gets his second wicket. He bangs in a sharp bouncer at 131.1 kph, into the bodyline of the batter. Wanindu Hasaranga looks to pull it away but gets cramped up for room and cannot free his arms fully. He mistimes the shot high in the air towards deep square leg, where Sherfane Rutherford runs in from the ropes and takes a fine catch bending low to his front.
Uppish but safe! Back of a length and outside off, takes pace off, Wanindu Hasaranga backs away and tries to flat-bat it. He hits it from the bottom end of the bat just over the mid off fielder for a couple of runs.
WIDE! Attempted wide yorker, but just over the wide guideline, outside off, Wanindu Hasaranga throws his bat at it but misses. Wided.
Into the blockhole, outside off, Janith Liyanage squeezes it out towards deep backward point for a single.
FOUR! Lovely shot! Into the surface again, on middle, pace off too. Wanindu Hasaranga makes room for himself and smacks it over extra covers for a boundary.
Slows it up, short and on off, Janith Liyanage pulls it over mid-wicket for a single.
Another full toss, on leg, Wanindu Hasaranga backs away and drills it towards exra cover for a single.
Charith Asalanka walks back into the shed. Wanindu Hasaranga is the new batter.
OUT! CAUGHT! Matthew Forde eventually gets his man! He bowls full toss, on middle. Charith Asalanka stays in his crease and looks to go big downtown, but just does not get enough elevation on the shot. It flies towards long on, where Jayden Seales comes forward but then takes a few steps back to reverse cup it around his chest. Sri Lanka are 285/5. 300 is still on for them.
SIX! Unbelievable effort near the ropes but not enough! Fuller and around off, Charith Asalanka gets his front leg out of the way and launches it towards the long off fence. Roston Chase, who is stationed there, knows that it is sailing over, so he leaps early from inside the ropes. He extends his right hand above his head and slaps the ball back inside. Just one taken. However, the third umpire checks the replays and see that when Chase took his leap, his boot touched the ropes, so it will be a biggie.
Nails the yorker, just outside off, tailing away, Charith Asalanka fails to dig it out.
Slow over rate penalty for West Indies. That means the West Indies will have only four fielders outside the inner ring for the remaining two overs now.
Hard length and on off, Janith Liyanage stabs it towards mid off. There is a bit of a mix-up between the batters, but the throw is a wild one at the batter's end, giving both a chance to make their respective grounds. A dot to finish the over!
Pulls his length back a bit, on off, skids through, Janith Liyanage tries to hit it through the line but misses again.
Pitched up and around off, takes pace off, Janith Liyanage goes for the scoop again but makes no contact this time.
WIDE! A wide yorker, very close to the tramline, Janith Liyanage leaves it alone. The umpire calls it a wide. A bit harsh.
Back of a length and around of, Janith Liyanage stands tall and slaps it over extra covers for a brace.
FOUR! Not where he intended it to go, but gets the desired result! Full and just on off, Janith Liyanage holds the bat like a frying pan to scoop it over the keeper's head. The ball takes the inside half of the bat and flies between short fine and square leg for a boundary. All Seales can do is smile.
Short of a length and on middle, Charith Asalanka pulls it towards deep square leg for a single.
Time to sign off - That brings us to the end of an entertaining contest and the opening game of the series. Sri Lanka draw first blood and will now have the chance to seal the series in the second ODI, while West Indies will be eager to bounce back and force a decider. The action returns to Sabina Park, Jamaica, on Saturday, June 6, with the match set to begin at 7.30 pm GMT. As always, do join us a little earlier for all the build-up, analysis, and team news. Until then, it's goodbye from us and thank you for your company.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH - Kusal Mendis wins the award for his excellent knock of 72 runs off 62 balls.
Bowling unit turns the game - Sri Lanka were all over the place in the first Powerplay, conceding a few too many for their liking. However, they got the first breakthrough with a bit of luck, and then Maheesh Theekshana set the tone by removing Greaves, who was starting to look dangerous. There was a period where they struggled to create chances, but Kamindu Mendis’ stunning catch changed the momentum. Wanindu Hasaranga then found his rhythm and controlled things in the middle, and he and Theekshana combined for excellent figures of 3/69 (20 overs). Dushmantha Chameera ended any hopes of a West Indies fightback with a sensational four-wicket haul, which included the big wicket of Shai Hope, while Charith Asalanka wrapped things up to put the icing on the cake.
Visitors set a stiff target - Earlier in the game, Sri Lanka posted a commanding total, courtesy of a massive 136-run partnership between skipper Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka, who was dropped off the very first ball of the innings. Both batters went on to score impressive half-centuries, while useful contributions in the 40s from Charith Asalanka and Janith Liyanage helped propel the hosts beyond the 300-run mark. It was a mixed bowling effort from West Indies, with Jayden Seales, Roston Chase and Matthew Forde sharing six wickets equally. However, Alzarri Joseph and Gudakesh Motie proved expensive and struggled to keep the scoring in check.
Windies come up short - Chasing a massive total at this ground, West Indies got off to a flying start, reaching 50 inside six overs before John Campbell was run out. Justin Greaves kept the momentum going but fell late in the Powerplay, leaving the hosts 75/2 after 10 overs. Skipper Shai Hope then stitched a 52-run stand with Keacy Carty before Kamindu Mendis produced a moment of brilliance to break through. Hope held the innings together but kept losing partners and was dismissed soon after reaching his fifty as the asking rate climbed. Chase fought hard with a 47-run partnership with Gudakesh Motie, but both fell in quick succession. A late cameo from Shamar Joseph entertained the crowd, but the chase ultimately proved too much for the tail.
Sri Lanka strike first - Sri Lanka go 1-0 up in the series and begin their Caribbean tour with a professional performance, marking the start of a new era under head coach Gary Kirsten and captain Kusal Mendis. They were the better side and handled the pressure situations more effectively than the hosts. West Indies had their moments with both bat and ball, but could not capitalise in the decisive stages and will head back to the drawing board, with every defeat now hurting their chances of direct qualification to the 2027 ODI World Cup.
OUT! TAKEN! Well, that is it. SRI LANKA WIN BY 41 RUNS! Charith Asalanka gets the final wicket and gets the job done with four deliveries to spare. Flighted and fuller, outside off. Jayden Seales charges down the track to hit big to the leg side, but induces the top edge. The ball balloons toward backward point, where Janith Liyanage runs forward and takes the catch safely.
Short, outside off, Jayden Seales punches it back to the bowler.
Charith Asalanka to bowl the final over. Can he bowl the Windies out here?
Back of a length, angling in, around the pads of the batter. Shamar Joseph tucks it to the leg side and the bowler charges instantly so that the batters can't get a single. Dushmantha Chameera bowled out with the figures of 10-0-67-4.
Much fuller, on middle, Jayden Seales flicks it to wide long on for a single.
Good news! The light tower is back on now, and we should not be too far from resumption. In fact, we are good to go again.
Oh..no! Looks like the on-field umpires have deemed that the light is not good enough to continue. One of the floodlight towers has gone off, which seems to be the issue here. So, play has been stopped due to BAD LIGHT with just 8 balls remaining. We can see the Sri Lankan players sitting on the ground in a circle, with some of them doing some stretching. Stick with us for further news.
Game stopped due to : Bad Light
NO BALL! Fuller, around off, Jayden Seales jams it back to the bowler. Chameera overstepped the popping crease and the umpire signals a No Ball. Free Hit coming up...
Fires a back-of-a-length delivery, angling in, toward the batter. Jayden Seales swivels to pull it, but misses and takes a blow on his left forearm.
Yorker once again, around off, Shamar Joseph jams it to long on for a single.
Yorker, around off, Jayden Seales makes room and digs it to mid off for one.
Jayden Seales is the last man in.
OUT! CASTLED! Make it four for Dushmantha Chameera. He sees the batter shuffling across to cover the stumps. Chameera bowls much fuller, just behind the yorker length at the stumps. Forde opens his stance with an intent to go big regardless of watching the delivery. He ends up looking to flick it, but misses on the inside edge as the ball goes between his legs and rattles the off stump.
Full, outside off, Shamar Joseph looks to smash it away but misses.
Full toss, on pads, Matthew Forde clisp it to long on for a single.
FOUR BYES! Some free runs for West Indies. Milan Rathnayake sees the batter making room, so he follows and fires it much fuller, aiming at the pads of the batter. Matthew Forde looks to flick it, but misses. However, the ball nutmegs the batter and zips past the left of the keeper, who offers a dive but fails to stop it. It dribbles away for four runs to deep fine leg.
Slower bouncer, on off. Matthew Forde shuffles across the stump to heave it away, but gets beaten on the top edge.
Change of pace, a touch fuller in length, on middle. Forde whips it to the right of the deep mid-wicket fielder and gets a couple of runs.
On a good length, just outside off, Matthew Forde drills it to long off and denies the single.
Sri Lanka have been handed a penalty for slow over rate. They can only have four fielders outside the circle for the remaining 3 overs.
Another bouncer to end the over, around the shoulder of the batter. Shamar Joseph swivels and swings his blade to pull, but yet again fails to hit it.
Back of a length, on off, Shamar Joseph nudges it toward the vacant square leg region and gets a couple of runs.
Chameera bends his back and offers a bouncer, on off. Shamar Joseph misses his pull shot.