West Indies vs Sri Lanka, 2nd T20I, Sri Lanka tour of West Indies 2026 - CommentaryWI vs SL, 2nd T20I, Sri Lanka tour of West Indies 2026 - Commentary

Sri Lanka lost 5 wickets for 23 runs at the end in the first game. Sri Lanka scored 99 runs in 6 overs towards the end today. That was the difference between a loss and the win. Today they scored an above-par total and dominated the game with spin. Shanaka smashed a 19-ball fifty (joint-fastest for SL in T20Is, levelling his own record) and inspired a set Kamil Mishara to score 28 runs off 10 balls as the left-hander notched up a fifty of his own. Sri Lanka were charged after a tight stumping check went in favour of Hetmyer and never let the hosts be in the game after that moment. West Indies need to put in an all-round show tomorrow to win the series. Can they? Or will Sri Lanka be bossy again in conditions that they are familiar with. We will get the answers in less than 24 hours from now. See you all soon. Good night!

Kusal Mendis | Sri Lanka captain: (On the most satisfying part of tonight's victory) I think we batted really well after the powerplay. Kamindu (Mendis) batted really well, score some 20 odd runs. He batted well under pressure. And then Kamil Mishara, batted really well. Then Dasun (Shanaka) played a very good innings. I'm also very happy with my batting. (On the partnership between Kamil and Shanaka) I think Dasun played his normal. He wanted to score runs under pressure and he batted really well. He hit a couple of sixes early on and he knows his strengths. Kamil supported Dasun well. Both of them batted really well. (On Kamil and Wellalage coming in and doing well today) We considered that Kamil is a left-hander and we planned to have a right-hand, left-hand combination in the middle. That's why we chose Kamil Mishara. He batted really well and did the job really well. Wellalage bowled really well in the powerplay and even after that he bowled a couple of overs. He did really well. (On the excitement levels in the group for the series decider tomorrow) I think we are a very good team. We've done really well in the last two games and in the first match also we did really well. We'll see tomorrow. If we do the basic things right and play our normal game, we can do it.

Shai Hope | West Indies captain: (On his exceptional reflex catch of Rathnayake) Yeah, just stuck to the right. Put the hand out and it stuck. (On where they lost the game) A few areas. I believe the execution wasn't as good as it could have been for us, especially in the bowling department. I thought the plans were pretty clear from the last game - utilize the conditions and the bigger side of the ground. I don't think we executed as well as we could have. Again, there are always areas to improve, so we've got to look at that ahead of tomorrow's game. With the bat, I thought the pitch was a little better today, so we kind of let ourselves down. Even though we probably leaked a few runs in the bowling department, still as batters we should have put our hands up a little more. (On West Indies not having chased a 160-plus total since 2025) We just need to find a way to be a lot more consistent in the batting department. Play to your strengths, understand what you need to do to score in certain situations, and understand the situation as well. I think as batters, sometimes we don't read the game as clearly as we could. We've got a lot of experience, so the guys need to bank on that experience a lot more. I don't think it's a case of us not batting well. It's about understanding the situations better and executing when the time comes. (One key message for the team for the final T20I) Win the game (smiles). Simple as that.

Dasun Shanaka | Player of the Match: (How special was this innings for you?)It's very special for me and for the team as well because we wanted to keep the series alive. I wanted to go and express myself, so I took the game on. (On putting together a great partnership with Kamil Mishara in a precarious situation) When I came to the crease, I was very clear that I am going to execute and play my shots today because we wanted to change the momentum. At the same time, Kamil was set by then. What we discussed was for him to play normal cricket shots and for me to take the game on. In the end, it went the opposite way. Kamil took the game on and hit some good sixes. The good thing is that he's got a good all-round game, which suits the T20 format. So, I'm really happy. (On scoring a fifty in 19 balls) Yeah, very impressive, especially against a good team. West Indies have always been a good side in T20 cricket and they have quality bowlers in their lineup. I'm really happy with the contribution.

23:07 Local Time, 04:07 GMT, 09:37 IST: The West Indies were never going to chase 195 on this pitch against this spin trio. They leaked around 15 extra runs with the ball and with the bat the Lankan spinners choked them to perfection. Both the openers were sent back inside the first two overs. Hety and Powell steadied things but Hasaranga, Chameera and Wellalage were too good and West Indies slumped from 90/2 to 122/8. Sri Lanka level the series 1-1 with a game to go.

Dushmantha Chameera to Roston Chase, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

Wanindu Hasaranga to Akeal Hosein, THATS OUT!! Caught!!