Sri Lanka 162 for 5 (Nissanka 54, Kusal Mendis 26, Shepherd 2-23) beating West Indies 89 (Powell 20, Wellalage 3-9, Asalanka 2-6, Theekshana 2-7) with 73 runs

Sri Lanka’s spinners tore through the West Indian batters on a spinning Dambulla surface to level the series as they won the second ODI by 73 runs.

Spinners from Sri Lanka practice their skills

Hasaranga, Sri Lanka’s leading spinner, bowled his first delivery of the game in the 11th over of the chase. And the fact that he picked up a wicket on that delivery was perhaps the least remarkable aspect of it.

What was even more astonishing was that he was the sixth bowler used by Sri Lanka, and the West Indies still managed to collapse to 39 for 6. But who needs Hasaranga when you have the world famous offspin have the style of, uh, Charith Asalanka. Yes, with two left-hand batters at the crease, the Sri Lanka captain opted to introduce himself and a right-arm variant of Kamindu Mendis before Hasaranga.

And it worked too. Asalanka’s two overs yielded two wickets for just six runs – and those weren’t even the best figures at that stage of the match. No, that honor belonged to Wellalage – although he is certainly not new to the international scene – who took three for himself.

In the build-up to the match, Asalanka had stated that he expected more from the spinners in the first T20I, and his wish was granted, and then some in the second. Gudakesh Motie turning the ball square in the first innings would have set West Indies’ alarm bells ringing, but even that could not have prepared them for a sharp 100 kmph demolition of Theekshana.

WI needs to go back to the drawing board

The first T20I had seen the West Indian batters execute their plans to perfection and put Sri Lanka’s bowlers to the sword. Stepping out, moving around in the crease, using the depth, got everything loose, with the final over finish actually not being nearly as close as it looked.

However, Sri Lanka took their lessons and came back stronger – especially because they were prepared for what this surface had to offer, replacing pace bowling all-rounder Chamindu Wickramasinghe with Wellalage.

However, West Indies seemed to have missed the memo and had only two spinners in their line-up. And those two – Motie and Roston Chase – did their bit, going for just 37 of their combined eight overs. It won’t be a surprise if Fabian Allen gets a chance in the final game.

The West Indies batters then seemed at a loss as to how to deal with Sri Lanka’s array of spin threats, making expert use of the conditions and clever variations in pace, line and length. West Indies will have to come up with plans soon if they want to pose a threat in Thursday’s decider.

In retrospect, Nissanka shines

On the face of it, Nissanka’s innings seemed more damaging than anything – and by the standards of modern T20 cricket, it wasn’t too difficult to see why. This was an inning in which 42 runs were scored (9 fours and a six), but also 27 point balls.

In fact, it was a microcosm of Sri Lanka’s innings as a whole; they played out 58 dots. It meant that fewer than five runs were scored in five of the first ten overs, and around half of their powerplay total of 52 was plundered in one Shamar Joseph over, where a combination of luck and fighting spirit saw Nissanka score 25 runs plundered.

But if that over was meant to signal the start of the attack on Sri Lanka, Nissanka and Co seemed to have other ideas. That over ensured that the first three overs, in which Sri Lanka amassed eight points, quickly fell to the back of the mind; by the end of the powerplay, Sri Lanka’s run rate was a healthy 8.66, but that was the highest it would reach at any point in their innings.

The rest of Nissanka’s time at the crease was spent breaking spells of point deliveries and the odd single with the odd boundary. But the time he spent at the crease allowed him to do so consistently – thereby keeping Sri Lanka’s scoring rate above seven per over.

Anchors are largely considered obsolete in T20s, but on a wicket like this, Nissanka – who was named Player of the Match – proved invaluable (even if it didn’t seem that way at the time), as he allowed the likes of Perera to make early taking risks. And then, with wickets in hand for the death overs, the middle and lower orders struck freely. As a result, Sri Lanka hit 85 runs in the last ten overs – just four short of the West Indies’ final total.