West Indies vs Sri Lanka, 3rd T20I, Sri Lanka tour of West Indies 2026 - CommentaryWI vs SL, 3rd T20I, Sri Lanka tour of West Indies 2026 - Commentary

After the loss yesterday, former captain Rovman Powell mentioned how West Indies manage to pull it off in the final (tournaments or series-deciders) and he played a key part under pressure tonight. Come-from-behind wins always works wonders for a team and its growth and West Indies will hope the graph is only on the rise as they plan to get the hands on that T20 World Cup again. Sri Lanka lost a series they should have easily won, with better execution with the ball and catching. They did have a good series though. They managed to win the lone ODI that rain let happen and today West Indies have hit back in the T20Is. Some crucial WTC points up for grabs as these two sides will now lock horns for a 2-match Test series. There's a lot of cricket going on around the globe. We will cross paths once again. Till then, take good care of yourself!

The West Indies were in trouble with Sri Lanka bossing the first three overs of the chase with the ball but they found way to break-free, through Hetmyer. Hasaranga and Theekshana then stunned the hosts, taking three wickets in the space of 13 balls, conceding just 1 run. Sri Lanka were bossy at that point but West Indies hung in there as Rutherford and Powell tried to take it deep. Rutherford got lucky with a couple of dropped chances and the moment Chameera missed his mark umpteen times in the name of trying the yorker, Powell pounced attacking him for three sixes in an over before being dismissed. Chameera did not learn and again got smacked for three sixes in his next over, this time by Jason Holder who was cool under pressure. They needed 60 off 24 balls and it came down to 6 runs off the last 6 balls. That's how brutal West Indies were and how poor Sri Lanka were.

Shai Hope collects the trophy and hands it to his team before posing in front of the champions board. This is the first series win at home for West Indies since 2024. They spray the champagne and celebrate the win.

Shai Hope (2/2): (How much priority do you put on fielding as a skipper?). I think it's something that we tend to neglect quite a bit, especially now in this day and age with the way how the ball is flying over the place and bowlers bowling at rapid speeds. We tend to neglect how important it is to have a strong fielding unit and we stress on it quite a bit, especially in the dressing room. We like people to put their hands up and find a way to impact the game. If you're not bowling or batting, you've still got a big role to play in the field. So it's something that we're stressing on and it's good to see the guys put a big effort in this series and hopefully we can continue. (What is the priority between now and 2028?) Winning bilateral series or getting a plan in place for the World Cup? It's a bit of both. You've got to build good habits and winning is a habit. As many games as we can win, the momentum that we can carry on into each game, each series, can be very important for us while trying to find that combination that goes well in certain conditions. You've got to still have your depth. So I think it's a good signs. The guys are playing really good cricket. It's just about putting it together and winning more series consecutively.

Shai Hope (1/2): (The first series win in four, Shai. How pleasing is this series victory?) You are always bring your stats out, Carlos (Brathwaite), because certain are things I don't know (smiles). But it feels great, especially coming out and performing in front of the home fans who came and supported us all through the T20 series. Very happy to give them something. (How do you right your wrongs mid-series to put in performances that you did tonight?) There's not much time between games and it's for us to make sure we learn from those experiences from the previous matches. A lot of discussions, ongoing discussions at that. So it's not something that we could give two or three days off and then have a think and come back. It's just about how fast we can turn around and put things right.

Kusal Mendis: (What went wrong? )I think firstly I'm very happy that my batting unit did well and Dunith Wellalage batted really well, then and Pathum (Nissanka) also batted really well. I think we've done good things in the whole tournament, there are only a couple of things that we have to learn. (Happy with total?) Yeah, of course, we're happy with this total, then I think a little bit different wicket today, then some balls came on slowly, some balls had a little bit of grip. I think the batting unit did really well. (On Wellalage) Yeah, of course, he's our spin all-rounder, Wanindu and him. I think he's done really well in the pressure situation. He batted really well, and his bowling in the powerplay, I think he's done really well. That's why he is chosen as the all-round in our team.

Shamar Joseph | PoTM, PoTS: Shamar Joseph: I just think it's all about the consistency and the work that the analyst and Ravi (Rampaul). Ravi played a big part in this series for us. The preparation that he gave to us, bowling Yorkers, stick to your basics. And I think we went about well doing it. (Enjoying the role finishing with the ball?) Shamar Joseph: I think my job basically is to just come at the back end, to finish well with the Yorkers. I think it's all about muscle memory. And I enjoy it. (How is the body for the Test matches?) I'm just naturally fit. I take it one day at a time. continue to do the work and get my body ready for the series. (How important is strength training?) I I just think bowling quick is natural for me. I just think, I spoke to Avi (Avenesh Seetaram, team analyst) before, I said, I want to get back up here. I want to get back to bowling 150 consistently. Seeing that tonight, it actually encouraged me to continue to put in the hard work and continue to bowl fast as possible.

23:08 Local Time, 04:08 GMT, 09:38 IST: Jason Holder and Rovman Powell are absolutely delighted as they exchange pleasantries. Rutherford and Holder celebrate with fist pumps before giving a hug to each other. Rutherford blows a kiss to the heavens as well. What a champion, Jason Holder is. Came in and when 30 was needed off 12 balls, he hit three sixes in an over to stun the opponents. How critical was that phase when the West Indies pulled it off with their fielding from the 19th over of their bowling effort? They cut off a few runs, effected a brilliant direct-hit, took a couple of great catches and that helped Shamar Joseph take three wickets and concede just 5 runs in the last over.

Two dots, but West Indies still have this in control. They are only one hit away