WI VS SL - 1st T20I, Sri Lanka tour of West Indies, 2021

A low-scoring game that looked pretty one-side and dead at the innings break but came alive due to Dananjaya's hat-trick and Pollard's six sixes. It was the power of the mighty West Indians, who struck 13 sixes, that was the difference maker. Whenever they were in doubt against the spinners they went for it and playing that brand of cricket made the game more entertaining. Sri Lanka have extended their winless streak to nine T20Is now and have to find a way to compete against this strong West Indies side. The second T20I is on Friday. Join us for that encounter. That's it from this one. This is Akshay Maanay signing off on behalf of Vineet Anantharaman, Pradeep Krishnamurthy and our scorer Venkatesh. Goodbye!

Angelo Mathews: After the start we got, it was very good batting by Dickwella and Nissanka, we didn't assess the conditions. We lost too many wickets and were 20-30 short. I think 160 would have been a good score. Credit should go to the West Indies as they held their nerve.

Kieron Pollard, Player of the Match: Thank god for small mercies, as seniors and guys with experience, we need to support the young guys like Sinclair, we trusted him with the new ball, a lot of pressure on him and he did well. After the third one (on when he thought about hitting six sixes in the over) - I felt after hitting a couple of sixes, I understood how the pitch plays, it was important to be positive and play your shots on that pitch, back yourselves to clear the boundary - just happy that I managed to contribute to the team's cause at that point of time. A couple of things went through my mind before the sixth ball - before the last ball, I thought should I go for the six or take the 30 runs in the over, he went around the wicket and bowled it onto my pads, I told myself 'Wait Polly, take a chance'. That's how I have played my cricket all along, especially against the spinners. Today was my day, unfortunate for him, but this was a good win for our team

21:21 Local Time, 01:21 GMT, 06:51 IST: Trust the West Indies to make a straightforward chase interesting and they give you a game to remember. The idea was simple - kill the chase quickly. Lewis gave that indication when he smashed three sixes in the first over of the innings. He and Simmons added a 50+ stand in just 3.1 overs before Danajaya provided the breakthrough and followed it up with two more wickets - Gayle and Pooran - to complete his hat-trick and become only the third Sri Lankan to achieve the feat. However, his joy was short-lived as Pollard smashed him for six sixes in his very next over and took the game away. The other spinner - Hasaranga - got into action as he picked two in two balls to keep Sri Lanka alive. Holder and Bravo used their experience to ensure there were no more hiccups and West Indies got over the line. Presentations coming up..

Pradeep to Holder, SIX, West Indies win by 4 wickets. Holder finishes it in typical Caribbean style. He gets a length delivery right in his arc, clears his front leg and smokes it way over the long-on fence. Smiles and handshakes in the West Indian dugout..

Ankit: I was not interested in this match. Boy how wrong I was!! But when I saw the fall of wicket and that 6x6 commentary, I can only say that I have to get content with highlights. Last such thing happened when Malinga took 4-fer against New Zealand.

Nuwan Pradeep, right-arm fast medium, comes into the attack

Ashen Bandara to Dwayne Bravo, no run, drifting in around off-stump, Bravo defends off the inner half back to Bandara

Ashen Bandara to Dwayne Bravo, no run, shortens the length and still extracts spin, Bravo defends late and right under his eyes

Ashen Bandara to Holder, 1 run, dragged back length, Holder sits back and punches it to long-on

Ashen Bandara to Holder, no run, floated up on off-stump, Holder drives inside out and picks out cover

Ashen Bandara to Holder, no run, tossed up on off-stump, Holder prods forward and defends it back

Ashen Bandara to Dwayne Bravo, 1 run, drifting down leg, Bravo sweeps it to fine leg and settles with a single

Ashen Bandara, right-arm leg break, comes into the attack

Chameera to Holder, no run, bouncer around off, Holder goes for the hook and is beaten on the top-edge

Chameera to Holder, FOUR, shot! There have been fabulous shots hit in the match but this has to be the best of the lot. Not a bad delivery by any stretch. Back of a length and outside off, Holder gets on top of the bounce and drives on the up through extra cover, the timing was so good that sweeper was beaten comfortably

Chameera to Holder, no run, short of length around off, Holder drops it near his feet and searches for the ball

Chameera to Holder, wide, attempted slower delivery that goes horribly wrong, way outside off and Holder does not bother, easy call for the umpire

Chameera to Dwayne Bravo, 1 run, angled into the pads, Bravo gets inside the line and flicks it to deep mid-wicket

Ashutosh: The same bowler taking a hattrick and getting hit for six sixes in an over in the same game is a record which might never be broken !!

Chameera to Holder, 1 run, short of length outside off, Holder punches it to sweeper cover

Chameera to Holder, no run, back of a length slanting in, Holder blocks it with a straight bat