Matthews derails Sri Lanka to hand West Indies third consecutive win

West Indies strengthened their semi-final bid by registering their third straight win of the World Cup over Sri Lanka at the County Ground in Bristol on Sunday. Hayley Matthews' three-wicket burst with the new ball derailed Sri Lanka early and they never really recovered. While their chase wasn't without a few hiccups, West Indies chased down the 99-run target with relative ease.

Asked to bat first, Sri Lanka appeared fidgety and frazzled right from the outset. Chamari Athapaththu survived as many as three run-out opportunities in the first two overs before falling to Matthews in the third. On either side of her wicket, Matthews also accounted for Vishmi Gunaratne and Harshitha Samarawickrama to leave Sri Lanka reeling at 9/3. Neither Imesha Dulani nor Kavisha Dilhari looked assured at the crease before the former fell to Chinelle Henry in the sixth over, leaving Sri Lanka on 23/4 at the end of the Powerplay.

Dilhari and Nilakshika Silva then combined for a 34-run stand to restore a semblance of stability, but the partnership ended when Dilhari returned a catch to Aaliyah Alleyne to end the 10th over. Reduced to 57/5 at the halfway mark, Sri Lanka never found the partnership or acceleration needed to post a competitive score. Silva battled hard for a 26-ball 30 but found little support apart from Kawya Kavindi's slow-paced 28-ball 17. They were eventually bowled out for 98 in the 20th over.

The chase wasn't as straightforward as West Indies would have hoped. Mithali Ayodhya and Nimasha Meepage started well with the new ball and accounted for an opener each inside the Powerplay. Barring a wayward fourth over from Sugandika Kumari that went for 15 runs, Sri Lanka bowled well to restrict the West Indies to 36/2 in the Powerplay.

Progress wasn't rapid but steady for West Indies, even as Shemaine Campbell fell for a scratchy 4 off 12 balls in the ninth over. Dilhari's double strike in the 12th over briefly revived Sri Lanka's hopes, but the target proved too modest to defend. The fact that they conceded 23 extras - the second-most in a Women's T20 World Cup innings - did not help their cause. Stafanie Taylor and Jannillea Glasgow ensured that the West Indies crossed the line in the 18th over without any further hiccups.

Brief Scores:Sri Lanka 98 all out in 19.4 overs (Nilakshika Silva 30, Kavisha Dilhari 20; Hayley Matthews 3-15, Karishma Ramharack 2-15) lost to West Indies 99/5 in 17.1 overs (Stefanie Taylor 27*; Kavisha Dilhari 2-22) by five wickets.