Sri Lanka registered a comprehensive five-wicket victory with a half-century from their captain in the rain-shortened first one-day international against West Indies at Palekele on Sunday. Charis Asaranka and debutant Nishan Madushka. Chasing a revised target of 232 in 37 overs, the hosts raced towards victory with 5.3 overs remaining. Sri Lanka got off to a shaky start with a sluggish 45 for 3 in seven overs, but Asaranka’s arrival at the crease turned the tide. His partnership with Madushka came quickly as he scored 137 runs for the fourth wicket.
Both Asaranka and Madushka reached their half-centuries in just 44 balls.
Madushka, who played in 10 Test matches, was brought in in place of the injured opener. Pathum Nissankathe top scorer in ODIs in 2024.
“I’m glad he took the opportunity with both hands,” Asaranka said. “It’s good to have healthy competition.”
West Indies had posted 183 for four in 38.3 overs before the rain started.
Their spinners found it difficult to grip the wet ball.
“We were really tested by the conditions,” says West Indies captain Shy Hope Said.
“The wet ball was very difficult, especially for the spinners.”
Gudakesh Motiye finally broke the Asaranka vs. Madushka position. Brandon King He made a sharp catch at slip.
But by then the damage had already been done.
Madushka fell for 69 off 54 balls for Sri Lanka, which included seven fours and a six.
Moti also trapped Asaranka LBW after a brilliant 77 off 71 balls studded with eight fours and three sixes.
Moti finished with three wickets but could have made a bigger impact had it not been for the difficult situation where he had to change the ball twice.
Kamindu Mendis and Janice Liyanage I returned home from Sri Lanka feeling good.
Earlier, West Indies had a tough time against the Sri Lankan spinners. Charphan Rutherford‘s career best 74 has not appeared, but in conjunction with the support from Roston Chasehelped the visitors recover with an unbroken 85-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
However, it was not enough to stop Sri Lanka from taking a 1-0 lead in the series.
Sri Lanka came from behind to win the T20 series 2-1 last week, giving them their first series win over West Indies in the shortest format.
The remaining two ODIs will be held on Wednesday and Saturday.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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