ST JOHN’S: Evin Lewis and Shai Hope played knocks of 103 and 84 respectively as West Indies defeated Sri Lanka by five wickets in the second ODI of the three-match series on Saturday here at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
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With this win, the hosts have gained an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
Chasing 274, Windies got off to a fantastic start as openers Lewis and Hope put on 192 runs for the first wicket and the duo finished the match with this start and Sri Lanka bowlers had no answers for their onslaught.
Sri Lanka did manage to take five wickets, but in the end, Nicholas Pooran (35) and Jason Holder (2) took the hosts over the line by five wickets with two balls to spare.
Earlier, Danushka Gunathilaka played a knock of 96 runs as Sri Lanka posted a total of 273/8 in the allotted fifty overs. Opting to bat first, the visitors got off to a bad start as the side was reduced to 50/3 in the ninth over. Dimuth Karunaratne (1), Pathum Nissanka (10), and Oshada Fernando (2) failed to get going with the bat.
Dinesh Chandimal (71) then joined Gunathilaka (96) in the middle and the duo formed a 100-run stand to revive the innings but as soon as Sri Lanka started to gain an upper hand, Windies managed to get three wickets with the visitors scoring just 54 more runs and Sri Lanka was reduced to 204/6 in the 42nd over.
In the final five overs, Sri Lanka added 51 more runs to their total and the side posted a score of more than the 270-run mark. For West Indies, Jason Mohammed returned with three wickets.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 273/8 (Danushka Gunathilaka 96, Dinesh Chandimal 71, Jason Mohammed 3-47); West Indies 274/5 (Evin Lewis 103, Shai Hope 84, Thisara Perera 2-45).