SL VS WI - 3rd T20I, West Indies tour of Sri Lanka, 2024

SL are on the rise. True, most wins have come at home. But in recent past, they have struggled at home as well. So, they will certainly take a lot of confidence from this series win. They have the momentum and they are making good use of it. A good and healthy Lankan cricket side augurs well for international cricket as they play a very attractive brand of cricket. Just like their opponents who have lost the series despite winning the first game. Their spinners were out muscled by Hasaranga and co. That I guess made most of the difference. But that's some learning as well for a West Indian side which is also pretty young. That's it from this series. But we will keep bringing you more action. See ya soon! Bye bye for now...

Charith Asalanka: Top-order batted really well. Thus, team performed really well. Throughout the series, I am talking about India series also. We have played well. We needed some momentum and we got the momentum in the second game of the series. I wasn't worried much. I thought our top-order batted well. Nissanka and Mendis made a plan and it worked. I am very happy. It is good to win a series. I want to thank every fan of Sri Lankan cricket.

Rovman Powell: To be honest, we had enough runs. We would have taken 160 on a turning wicket at the start of the game. If we would have controlled the powerplay better, we could have made a come back. SL spinners completely out bowled our spinners. I think it is a lot of positives. My guys gave good efforts in these conditions. Our batters did well. Thanks to the people of Sri Lanka. They have been very good to us. They have been very welcoming.

Pathum Nissanka | Player of the Series: He had a plan going in. The powerplays were vital. It is about keeping a clear head while playing 3 formats. (translated from Sinhalese by Roshan Abeysinghe).

Kusal Mendis | Player of the Match: I played really well. Nissanka played well in the first six overs. I could plan better. Little bit slow wicket. I knew how to play in these conditions. We tried to play normal cricket in the first 6 overs. It is hard to play the spinners on this deck.

The openers of Lanka had a plan in mind and they executed brilliantly. Nissanka took them on and Mendis followed soon. KP batted with aplomb as well. Mendis and Perera notched up fifties and Lanka never allowed control of the game to drift away. Earlier, Lanka lost a little bit of the control with the ball after Powell and Motie played cameos to hand Windies a more than fighting total. The stage was set for an exciting chase. But Lankan batters showed immaculate control and understanding to hunt this down without much of a fuss. The wicket which looked a little on the slower side looked a belter when the hosts batted on it. This is a major shot in the arm for this young side. This is the first time SL have defeated Windies in a bilateral T20I series. Sanath Jayasuriya was supposed to be an interim monitor but the legend is here to stay! And that is certainly great news for this Lankan unit. They have looked cohesive and they have looked very solid in home conditions.

22:13 Local Time, 16:43 GMT, 22:13 IST: A dark horse, which had never been thought of, has rushed past the grandstand in sweeping triumph. SL were identified as the dark horses after the loss in the first game. They were seen through similar prisms in the ODI series against India. And against England in the Tests. But this team knows how to come back and how! Not to forget they blanked the Kiwis in Tests at home. They are on a roll. They haven't had a great time at home but 2024 seems to be a different fairytale for them. This is their fifth series win at home in this format. Windies would be disappointed. They showed a lot of fight with the bat. But were clueless with the ball as Nissanka and Mendis took charge in the powerplay. Once they had peeled off 60 inside the powerplay, the rest of the chase was never going to be much of a headache.

Alzarri Joseph to Kusal Perera, FOUR, Lanka win this! Dambulla erupts. That was short, Kusal Perera pivots on the back foot and pulls it fine past short fine for a four. The two batters deserve a lot of the credit for this win. They didn't lose much sweat in chasing this down. Lanka take the series 2-1

Alzarri Joseph to Kusal Mendis, 1 run, fuller length delivery, clipped down to long-on and the scores are level! KP back on strike

Alzarri Joseph to Kusal Mendis, no run, that's a corker! Hits the right length outside off at 84 mph and Kusal Mendis was looking to poke but got beaten outside off

Alzarri Joseph to Kusal Mendis, wide, fuller length delivery, down leg, Kusal Mendis looks to wood it and misses. Only a wide

Alzarri Joseph to Kusal Perera, 1 run, 100 up for the duo! Fuller on the pads, clipped down to deep mid for a single. 3 more needed now

Alzarri Joseph to Kusal Perera, FOUR, fuller ball, 88 mph, gift of a delivery on the pads and nudged fine for a four. Kusal Perera brings up his fifty and that too off only 34 balls. He throws his hand in the air. Means a lot to him

Alzarri Joseph to Kusal Perera, 2 runs, drags one down wide of the man at long-on for a couple of runs

Alzarri Joseph [2.0-0-25-0] is back into the attack

Shepherd to Kusal Perera, 1 run, slaps a length delivery down the ground and wide of the bowler for a single

Shepherd to Kusal Perera, FOUR, and heaved away for a four. 11 more now. Was a low full toss, Kusal Perera swung it away and the man at long-on tried to get a boot in but the ball touched the ropes after hitting his boot

Shepherd to Kusal Mendis, 3 runs, well wide, outside off, Kusal Mendis slapped it wide of point. Rutherford put in the dive and stopped it with his left hand and that is exactly when he injured it as he tried to get up. The left hand twisted a little owing to the grimacing pain that he is right now. He is lying on the ground and the physio is tending to him. Excrutiating pain is also an understatement. It looked bad in real time. The batters also got confused and thought it was a four. They had stopped running midway while trying to take the third but they have completed the third run. 15 needed now

Another injury? Rutherford managed to save the four. But his left palm jammed into the ground with the ball in it. I hope there is no dislocation.

A little hold up. The batter getting some attention. Kusal Mendis wanted a single off the previous delivery and I guess tweaked something? Might have been the case. Or maybe some fatigue setting in. It is very humid there. Something to do with his right thigh. Sanath at th boundary line is still pensive about something. He hasn't been spotted by the camera on a chair. He has been standing all this while I guess. This series win means so much for him and his team.