Bristol, June 21 (IANS) The West Indies produced a ruthless bowling display to dismiss Sri Lanka for just 98 in 19.4 overs after opting to field first in their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Group B clash at the County Ground in Bristol on Sunday. Captain Hayley Matthews set the tone with a devastating opening spell that ripped through Sri Lanka’s top order, leaving the Asian side struggling to recover from an early collapse.

Matthews struck in the very first over, removing Vishmi Gunaratne for one with a stunning return catch, before returning in her next over to send back Chamari Athapaththu for two and Harshitha Samarawickrama for a duck. Sri Lanka slumped to 9/3 inside three overs, handing West Indies complete control of the contest.

Imesha Dulani attempted to steady the innings with a brisk 17 off 19 deliveries, adding valuable runs alongside Kavisha Dilhari, who once again led Sri Lanka’s resistance with a composed 21 from 20 balls. However, Chinelle Henry broke the partnership by dismissing Dulani, while Aaliyah Alleyne followed up by producing a sharp caught-and-bowled chance to remove Dilhari at the end of the 10th over.

Sri Lanka’s hopes of a recovery faded further when Ashmini Munisar trapped Kaushani Nuthyangana lbw for a golden duck, leaving them six down with less than 50 runs on the board.

Nilakshika Silva then mounted the only substantial fightback, top-scoring with 30 off 26 deliveries and stitching together useful stands in the lower order to push the total towards three figures.

The experienced Karishma Ramharack ensured the resistance did not last long. She had Nilakshika’s supporting cast unravel as Sugandika Kumari and Kawya Kavindi were both stumped by Shemaine Campbelle while Mithali Ayodhya was run out in a mix-up. Kavindi battled for 17 off 28 balls, but Sri Lanka’s innings ended on 98 with two balls still remaining.

West Indies’ bowlers shared the workload superbly after Matthews’ opening burst. Matthews finished with three crucial wickets to put Sri Lanka on the back foot, while Ramharack claimed three wickets of her own to wrap up the tail.

Henry, Alleyne, Munisar and Afy Fletcher chipped in with one wicket each as Sri Lanka never managed to build a meaningful partnership after the early setbacks.

After being asked to bat first, Sri Lanka lost wickets at regular intervals and never recovered from the damage inflicted inside the powerplay. Their total of 98 left West Indies needing 99 runs for victory and another important win in the race for the semifinal places.

Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 98/10 in 19.4 overs (Nilakshika Silva 30, Kavisha Dilhari 21; Hayley Matthews 3-15, Karishma Ramharack 2-15) against West Indies.

–IANS

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