The 2nd match of the 3 matches One Day International series between Sri Lankan team and West Indies was played on February 26, Wednesday at Mahindra Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, in Sri Lanka. West Indies captain Kieron Pollard won the toss and elected to field first.
Sri Lankan captain Karunaratne failed to give a good and positive start to the team. He got out early of the match and could only make 9 runs for 1st wicket. Next Batsman Kushal Parera also got out on his very first ball and West Indies bowler completely dominated over Sri Lankan top-order batsmen. But A Fernando and K Mendis both showed their class and played brilliant innings. They made a significant partnership of 239 runs for the 3rd wicket. Both the batsman scored century and balanced the Sri Lankan inning. A Fernando scored 127 runs while K Mendis scored 119 runs. S Cottrell took most 4 wickets for West Indies. Sri Lankan team put a massive total of 345 runs in their 50 over.
Chasing 346 was never easy for West Indies batsmen. West Indies openers gave a good start to the team and collected 64 runs for 1st wicket. Shai Hope scored a half-century and made 51 runs while no other West Indies batsmen played good cricket and could not handle the pressure of the match. Unexpectedly the team collapsed very early. West Indies team got all out on only 184 runs in just 39 over and disappointed their fans by performance.
L. Sandakan and W. Hasaranga both took 3 wickets each for Sri Lankan team. A Fernando was selected as player of the match for a brilliant match-winning century in a tough situation. Sri Lankan team sealed the series with this win and leading in the series by 2-0. Sri Lankan captain praised the team and congratulated teammates.