West Indies ended their tour of Sri Lanka with a win as an unbeaten century from Evin Lewis helped them defeat the hosts by eight wickets via DLS method in the third and final ODI in Pallekele. (More Cricket News)
Sri Lanka had secured the series with a five-wicket win in the second ODI on Wednesday, but Lewis’ unbeaten 102 off 61 balls gave the Windies a morale-boosting victory in the final ODI.
West Indies had sent Sri Lanka to bat, but their innings was disturbed by rain in the 18th over. Upon returning to the crease after a five-hour delay, they were only given 5.4 overs to set a competitive total.
The hosts managed 75 runs after the restart with Kusal Mendis headlining their innings with an unbeaten 56 off 22 balls as Sri Lanka finished with 156-3.
Chasing a DLS-adjusted target of 195 in 23 overs, Lewis hit a swashbuckling hundred in his first ODI since 2021 with support coming from Sherfane Rutherford, who smashed an unbeaten 50 off 26 deliveries.
West Indies reached the target with one over to spare, and they will gather some confidence from the win as they prepare for the ODI series against England starting on October 31.
Data debrief: Windies end winless run
Saturday's win might have been a mere consolation for West Indies, but it helped end their run of five consecutive defeats in ODIs with their previous victory coming against England in December 2023.
It was also the tourists’ first ODI win in Sri Lanka following 10 straight defeats and ended the home side’s five-match unbeaten run in the format.
It was also their second win of the Sri Lanka tour, having won the first of three T20Is by five wickets earlier in the month.
