When the game is T20, 180 runs is a big target. After that, Sri Lanka had a record of defeating their opponents by 180 or more at home only once. West Indies' task was not easy at all in Dambulla today. However, it was the Caribbean who had the last laugh in the first T20 of the series. West Indies won the 180-run target with 5 balls and 5 wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Kamindu Mendis and skipper Charit Asalanka scored 179 runs for 7 wickets, batting after losing the toss. Brendan King and Evin Lewis made West Indies' work easy by scoring 107 runs in 9.1 overs in the opening pair. Both got fifty. Building on this solid foundation, the Caribbean then won easily despite losing wickets at regular intervals.
King scored 63 runs off 33 balls, hitting 11 fours and 1 six. Lewis scored 50 runs off 28 balls. He hit only 5 fours but 4 sixes in his innings. No other West Indies batsman could reach 20 after the departure of the two in 7 balls and 7 runs.
Earlier, after Sri Lanka lost 3 wickets for 58 runs, Kamindu and Asalanka made a pair of 82 runs for the fourth wicket. Kamindu scored 51 runs off 40 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes. Skipper Asalanka hit 9 fours on his way to 59 off 35 balls. The Lankans added 39 runs in the last 23 balls after Kamindu's dismissal in the first ball of the 17th over broke the pair.
The second match of the series is in Dambulla on Tuesday.
1749.070 SRY