Jason Holder, Shamar Joseph put WI 1-0 up

Jason Holder, Shamar Joseph put WI 1-0 up

Jason Holder and Shamar Joseph shared six wickets between them before Shai Hope smashed an unbeaten fifty in the chase as West Indies easily brushed aside Sri Lanka in the T20 series opener on Thursday (June 11).

Sri Lanka surprisingly opted to bat first. Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis started well, but Holder immediately applied the brakes by castling Nissanka and dismissing Lasith Croospulle lbw first ball. Sri Lanka finished the Powerplay at 56/3. Kamindu Mendis hit a fighting fifty, but wickets continued to fall as Sri Lanka managed just 25 runs in the death overs, finishing with 147/9.

In reply, Brandon King and Shai Hope smashed fours and sixes at will. West Indies knocked off 66 runs in the Powerplay alone. King fell for 37, but Hope remained unbeaten on 65* as West Indies reached 149/3 in 19.2 overs.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka 147/9 in 20 overs (Kamindu Mendis 51, Kusal Mendis 36; Jason Holder 3-18, Shamar Joseph 3-29) lost to West Indies 149/3 in 19.2 overs (Shai Hope 65*, Brandon King 37) by 7 wickets