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Sri Lankan opener Pathum Nissanka hit six consecutive boundaries off West Indies pacer Shamar Joseph in the second T20I on Tuesday, October 15. Notably, Sri Lanka hosted West Indies for the second T20I at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla. The first T20I of the series saw West Indies defeating the hosts by a margin of five wickets. After the defeat, Sri Lanka unleashed their inner beast as they opted to bat on a tricky wicket.
Sri Lankan opener Pathum Nissanka charged on West Indies’ Shamar Joseph and smashed all his deliveries all over the park in the fourth over. He began the over with a boundary as the ball hit his pads. Later, he used his feet on the next ball to smash a boundary over extra cover. After an extra run for a wide ball, Nissanka then went on to smash another four and similarly got boundaries on all the deliveries.
Pathum Nissanka’s half century guides Sri Lanka to 73-run win over West Indies
Nissanka came up with a fiery fifty off 49 deliveries with a combination of nine boundaries and one maximum at a strike rate of 110.20. Owing to his brilliant knock, Sri Lanka were able to post a total of 162 runs for five wickets. Not only this, but Sri Lanka defeated their counterparts by 73 runs and level the series 1-1. Nissanka along with Kunal Mendis put up 52 runs in the powerplay and went on to add 77 runs off 60 balls for the first wicket.
After the match, Sri Lankan skipper Charith Asalanka said, “It is an important win for us. It is a journey and hopefully this win will be a start. It was a good toss to win. We were thinking 160-170 would be a par score and the openers set the platform. He (Wellalage) has experience playing 50-over cricket and didn't look like a debutant. Hopefully we win the series.”
