All-round Matthews leads West Indies to consolation win

Skipper Hayley Matthews' record-equalling century helped West Indies to a six-wicket consolation victory over Sri Lanka in the third and final ODI on Wednesday. Opting to bat first, Sri Lanka could muster only 217/7 in their 50 overs riding on Harshitha Samarawickrama's 70. Matthews led the chase, helping rebuild from a precarious 12/2, and is now joint-fifth on the all-time WODI centurions list.

Sri Lanka got off to a disastrous start when captain Chamari Athapaththu was dismissed for a duck by her counterpart, Matthews, in the very first over. However, Samarawickrama anchored the innings with a patient 70 off 112 balls, her second half-century of the tour. She shared stabilising partnerships with Hasini Perera (27 off 34) and Vishmi Gunaratne (26 off 46).

Furthermore, late contributions from Kavisha Dilhari, who remained unbeaten on 45 off 58 deliveries, pushed the visitors to a competitive total in excess of 217/7. For the hosts, Matthews and Karishma Ramharack were the pick of the bowlers, claiming two wickets apiece.

West Indies' chase began poorly as well. Malki Madara struck twice in succeeding overs to send back Qiana Joseph (2) and Shermaine Campbelle (0) cheaply, reducing the hosts to 12 for 2. The skipper then took control of the game, scoring a magnificent 100 off 119 balls, featuring 13 boundaries and one six.

Matthews shared a match-defining 136-run stand for the third wicket with veteran Stafanie Taylor, who contributed a steady 38 off 70 with just one boundary. After Matthews fell in the 37th over, Chinelle Henry (32*) and Deandra Dottin (24*) saw the team home with four overs to spare.

Matthews was named Player of the Match for her all-round performance, while Samarawickrama took home the Player of the Series award for her consistent run-scoring across the three matches. Sri Lanka had already sealed a historic series win by claiming the first two games.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka 217/7 in 50 overs (Harshitha Samarawickrama 70, Kavisha Dilhari 45*; Hayley Matthews 2-33, Karishma Ramharack 2-39) lost to West Indies 218/4 in 46 overs (Hayley Matthews 100; Malki Madara 2-33) by 6 wickets