In a thrilling conclusion to their three-match Twenty20 International series in Kingston, Jamaica, the West Indies pulled off a last-over five-wicket win against Sri Lanka on Sunday, clinching the series 2-1 with just two deliveries remaining. The dramatic run chase, capped by batter Sherfane Rutherford’s unbeaten half-century, capped a seesaw contest that kept spectators on the edge of their seats from the first over to the last.
After winning the pre-match toss, West Indies captain made the tactical call to send Sri Lanka into bat first, a decision vindicated by seamer Shamar Joseph’s career-best player-of-the-match performance. The fast bowler picked up five wickets for just 33 runs, including two strikes in the sixth over and three more in the final over of Sri Lanka’s batting innings, narrowly missing out on a hat-trick twice.
Sri Lanka got off to a fast start, reaching 49 for one after just five overs, but the momentum shifted abruptly when Joseph claimed wickets on back-to-back deliveries. First, opener Pathum Nissanka (26 off 17) top-edged a pull to Roston Chase after sharing a 43-run second-wicket stand, before Pavan Rathnayake was trapped lbw on the very next ball. The host’s fielding also delivered early: Matthew Forde pulled off a spectacular one-handed catch off his own bowling to remove dangerous batter Kusal Mendis for just five in the ninth over of the match.
A late lower-order rally led by Dunith Wellalage dragged Sri Lanka to a competitive total of 169 all out. Wellalage anchored the recovery with a 28-ball 43, and shared a 49-run seventh-wicket partnership with Wanindu Hasaranga, but the stand was broken when Hasaranga was run out in the 19th over. Wellalage became the first of three Sri Lankan wickets to fall in the 20th over, closing out the visitors’ innings and setting the West Indies a target of 170 runs for victory.
The West Indies chase got off to a shaky start, losing opener Shai Hope to Dunith Wellalage on just the third delivery of the innings. The hosts recovered quickly to reach 52 for one, before a collapse that saw three wickets fall for just one run in a 12-ball period handed the momentum back to Sri Lanka. Rutherford, who would eventually become the innings hero, combined with captain Rovman Powell to rebuild the chase, putting on an 81-run fifth-wicket partnership that got the West Indies back on track for victory.
The contest turned chaotic in the 17th over, bowled by Sri Lankan paceman Dushmantha Chameera. The over stretched to nine deliveries after a no-ball and two wides, yielded 24 runs for the West Indies, and ended with Powell being dismissed for 33 off the final ball. After the over, the West Indies still needed 36 runs from the final three overs, with the equation narrowing to 29 runs from 12 balls by the start of the 19th over.
All-rounder Jason Holder turned the game irreversibly in the West Indies’ favor in the penultimate over, smashing three sixes off Chameera in just four deliveries. The blitz cut the required runs down to just six for victory heading into the final over, with Rutherford still at the crease. Rutherford, who had benefited from two costly dropped catches by Sri Lankan fielders earlier in his innings, hit the winning runs to bring up his half-century off 40 balls, finishing unbeaten on 54. Holder ended the innings on 21 not out from just five deliveries, as the West Indies reached 170 for five to seal the series.
The series win for the West Indies comes after the first two matches were split: the hosts won the opening fixture by seven wickets, before Sri Lanka claimed a 37-run victory in the second match on Saturday to leave the series tied heading into the decider. Prior to the T20I series, Sri Lanka claimed the preceding three-match ODI series 1-0, after the final two matches were washed out by rain following a 41-run win in the opening fixture. The two sides will next face off in a two-match Test series, scheduled to get underway on June 25 in Antigua.