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The third and decisive T20 match played between West Indies and Sri Lanka was entirely in the name of the Caribbean power hitters. In this great match which reached the pinnacle of excitement, West Indies defeated Sri Lanka by 5 wickets and won the three-match T20 series 2-1. The biggest hero of this title win was the dashing batsman Sherfane Rutherford, who created such a storm as soon as he came on the field that the Sri Lankan bowlers looked helpless. Thanks to Rutherford’s explosive batting, West Indies easily achieved the challenging target given by Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan fans were disappointed on home soil.
Sri Lankan Lions’ big score also paled in front of Caribbean Lions At the beginning of the match, the Sri Lankan team, which won the toss and came to bat first, scored a strong score in the stipulated 20 overs. Amidst the local pitches and huge support from the home crowd, the Sri Lankan batsmen made a steady start and scored runs quickly in the middle order. West Indies bowlers certainly achieved initial successes, but due to poor discipline in the death overs, Sri Lanka managed to post a big total on the board. At that time it seemed that this spin-friendly track would become a problem for the West Indies batsmen, but the Caribbean had other intentions.
Sherfane Rutherford’s cyclone and rain of sixes all around the field West Indies’ chase of the target had a shaky start and at one point the match was completely stuck. Sri Lankan spinners were trapping the top order of the Windies in the web of their spin. Sherfane Rutherford entered the crease at such a critical moment. Rutherford launched a counter-attack on the Sri Lankan attack without any pressure. He hit skyscraper sixes all around the ground against both spin and pace. His aggressive and intelligent innings completely snatched the victory from the hands of Sri Lanka. In front of this explosive innings of Rutherford, the entire bowling plan of Sri Lanka completely collapsed.
West Indies made a strong comeback at the crucial juncture and captured the series. The first matches of the series had seen a close contest, making this third match a ‘do or die’ affair for both the teams. This victory of West Indies has once again proved that underestimating them in the shortest format of cricket can prove to be suicidal for any team. Due to the precise strategy of the captain and team management, the team corrected its mistakes at the last moment. Rutherford also got good support from the other end, due to which the West Indies won both the title match and the series with 5 wickets remaining.
Sri Lankan bowlers’ strategy failed, magic of spin did not work The Sri Lankan team hoped that their mystery spinners would force the West Indies batsmen to kneel in the third match. Initially this strategy seemed effective, but as the ball became a little old, the West Indies batsmen used the crease to force the spinners to change their lengths. Rutherford’s power hitting demoralized the main bowlers of Sri Lanka. After this defeat, the Sri Lankan team will now have to rethink its strategies for the upcoming ODI series, while the West Indies are full of confidence with this victory.