All-round Matthews leads West Indies to consolation win

Skipper Hayley Matthews' record-equalling century helped West Indies to a six-wicket consolation victory over Sri Lanka in the third and final ODI on Wednesday.

Opting to bat first, Sri Lanka posted 217/7 in their 50 overs, anchored by Harshitha Samarawickrama's 70. The innings began poorly as captain Chamari Athapaththu was dismissed for a duck by Matthews in the first over. Samarawickrama shared stabilising partnerships with Hasini Perera (27) and Vishmi Gunaratne (26), with a late unbeaten 45 from Kavisha Dilhari pushing the total past 200. For the West Indies, Matthews and Karishma Ramharack took two wickets each.

West Indies' chase also started poorly, reduced to 12/2 after Malki Madara dismissed Qiana Joseph (2) and Shermaine Campbelle (0). Captain Hayley Matthews then took control, scoring a magnificent 100 off 119 balls (13 fours, 1 six). She shared a match-defining 136-run stand for the third wicket with Stafanie Taylor, who contributed a steady 38. After Matthews fell in the 37th over, Chinelle Henry (32*) and Deandra Dottin (24*) saw the team home with four overs to spare.

Matthews was named Player of the Match for her all-round performance. Harshitha Samarawickrama was awarded Player of the Series. Sri Lanka had already secured a historic series win by taking the first two matches.

Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 217/7 in 50 overs (Harshitha Samarawickrama 70, Kavisha Dilhari 45*; Hayley Matthews 2-33, Karishma Ramharack 2-39) lost to West Indies 218/4 in 46 overs (Hayley Matthews 100; Malki Madara 2-33) by 6 wickets.