Evin Lewis Leads West Indies to Secure Dominant Victory in Third ODI

It was by no means a dead rubber in the third One-Day International between Sri Lanka and the West Indies. In the first Twenty20 International of the tour, the Caribbeans recorded their maiden victory in the final match of the white-ball visit to the island nation. The visitors ended the series on a high note because of Lewis's dominant innings, which resulted in an eight-wicket victory despite rain delays.

In terms of West Indies fielding, Sri Lanka's first ten overs of the innings were remarkably out of character. Two of Pathum Nissanka's catches and one of Avishka Fernando's were dropped. By that time, they had both added 47. On the first delivery of the 18th over, however, Avishka gave Roston Chase a simple return catch and left. Rain was falling heavily at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium at that point, causing the action to wobble and end in a major five-hour break.

Evin Lewis carves history:

Kusal Mendis blasted the first four deliveries to the boundary when play started up again. Nissanka was run out for 56 after reaching his 15th half-century in ODI cricket off 58 balls. After hitting nine boundaries and a six over midwicket, Mendis finished 56 not out after reaching a 19-ball half-century and being dropped twice. Lewis and captain Shai Hope collaborated for 72 runs after West Indies lost their first wicket at 36.

𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞! 🌟

Returning to ODIs after a three-year hiatus, Evin Lewis left Pallekele in awe with his magnificent knock of 102* (61) 😎pic.twitter.com/HQ3vQFbc1M

— Cricket.com (@weRcricket) October 27, 2024

The Windies regained their confidence after captain Charith Asalanka's second over, which produced 14 runs. In the following over, Sherfane Rutherford set the pace after Maheesh Theekshana was rinsed for 18. With a few overs left, all but 15 runs were reached after a 20th and 21st over of 10 and 13 runs, respectively. Intriguingly, Rutherford reached his third consecutive half-century in just 26 deliveries during that exact over. Lewis also scored a century in that same over, which significantly shifted the game in the visiting team's favour.

Sherfane Rutherford joined Lewis when Hope was caught for 22, and with one over remaining, they defeated the West Indies by eight wickets. Rutherford scored his fourth ODI half-century, which included three sixes and four boundaries, in just 26 deliveries. In the series, he also scored 74 and 80 runs, however Charith Asalanka, the captain of Sri Lanka, was voted player of the series after he took two wickets and scored 145 runs.

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