After a clean sweep 3-0 ODI series win. Sri Lanka was looking to extend their winning momentum against West Indies in a two-match T20 series. This series was hosted by Sri Lanka and the two matches were played on the 4th and 6th of March at Pallekele.
The Caribbean team is well known for its specialization in the T20 format and it did not fall short of its expectations as they comfortably won both matches against Sri Lanka who were playing at home. With Andre Russell as a part of the two-match series, the West Indian fans had high hopes and expectations from their side. Both Sri Lanka and West Indies recently locked horns with the Indian team in T20 format but could not beat the blue army. They were now looking to make improvements in their performances and weak parts of their game ahead of the T20 world cup which will be hosted by Australia. West Indies received a huge boost as they saw the return of Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell on their side. Fabian Allen also showed off his outstanding batting skills in both ODI and T20 series. The West Indian side also had experienced bowlers in their side which saw them through as winners in the series. Sri Lanka largely relied upon Lasith Malinga and Angelo Matthews as their experienced bowlers but both fell short of decent performances in either of the two matches. High hopes were set on Kusal Perera owing to his batting experience and recent run of form but he too showcased a below-par performance.
In the first match, West Indies won the toss and decided that they will bat first. Sri Lanka fell short but they went down fighting as the match was a nail-biting thriller. Lendl Simmons batted throughout the inning. Andre Russell and Kieron Pollard helped the batting line up in the middle overs. They managed to score a staggering 197 runs in the first inning. Despite scoring a half-century, Kusal Perera could not get close to the target. All of their 5 wickets were taken by Oshane Thomas in the power-play. Although Perera and Hasaranga tried their best, they could not achieve the target. Their total score was 176 in 19 overs.
In the 2nd T20 match which was played at the same venue, West Indies once again won the toss and this time they decided that they will bowl first. Sri Lanka managed to score a decent score of 155 runs while losing 3 wickets in the first inning. The West Indians put up a strong bowling effort. The target of 155 looked like no match for the mighty batting line up of West Indies that had hard-hitters like pollard and Andre Russell. The score-line kept ticking for the West Indians throughout the match and they managed to reach their target in just 17 overs.
Towards the end of their inning, Andre Russell outstandingly finished the match as he rained sixes. He went on to become the man of the series.