Riding on a brilliant spell by all-rounder Angelo Mathews, Sri Lanka defeated West Indies by six runs in the third and last T20I at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, clinching the series 3-0. The game went right down to the wire but the home side held their nerve in the crunch moment and guided their side over the line. Chasing a total of 308, the Caribbean side got off to a brilliant start as the top-three piled up half-centuries. However, Mathews unleashed his bowling skills and rattled the Windies middle-order. As a result, the visitors fell six runs short of the Lankan total and the home side registered a 3-0 whitewash.  Sri Lanka vs West Indies 3rd ODI 2020, Full Scorecard. 

Earlier in the match, Dimuth Karunaratne won the toss and asked the Men in Maroon to bowl first. The decision proved to be spot on as the home side got off to a great start again. All the batsmen chipped in with handy contribution and the scoring rate was also healthy throughout the course of the innings. Kusal Mendis and all-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva scored half-centuries and guided their side to a mammoth total of 307 runs. For West Indies, paceman Alzarri Joseph was the pick of the bowlers and took four wickets while Jason Holder dismisses two batsmen.

So, the ODI series is done and dusted and now, the action move towards the shortest format of the game.  Sri Lanka and West Indies will lock horns in a two-match T20 series, starting from March 4 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. The Caribbean side is the World T20 Champion at the moment and will look for redemption. While the Lankans will want to carry the momentum forward in order to clinch the T20I series too.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 01, 2020 10:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).