In-form all-rounder Shanel Daley once again played the leading role as West Indies women maintained their dominance over the touring Sri Lankans in the first match of the Twenty20 Series yesterday.
Fresh from capturing the Player-Of-The-Series award in the three-match One-Day International series, the left-handed Jamaican turned in yet another match-winning performance to pilot the home team to a comfortable victory by 23 runs to take an early advantage in the five-match series.
West Indies, who were without regular captain Merissa Aguilleira, compiled 127 for seven after winning the toss and batting before restricting the Sri Lankans to 104 for eight in reply.
Daley stroked a Twenty20 career-best 48 and featured in a 39-run partnership with Deandra Dottin for the third wicket after the dismissals of stand-in captain Stafanie Taylor and Juliana Nero, who posted 30 for the first wicket.
The pair accounted for both sixes struck in the innings, with Daley, who fell with two deliveries remaining, also hammering four fours off the 28 balls she faced. Dottin’s belligerent 30 came off 25 balls and also contained two fours.
Shashikala Siriwardena was the best Sri Lankan bowler, returning figures of two for 24.
The visitors were helped by some inept fielding in the early part of their reply with openers Inoka Galagedera and Prasidini Weerakoddy benefitting from missed catches before pacer Subrina Munroe breached the former’s defence with the score on 16.
They then enjoyed the best period of the innings as wicketkeeper Weerakoddy (29) and Yashoda Mendis put together 32 for the second wicket.
However, the stand was broken in the 11th over when the latter ran out of patience and was bowled swinging wildly across the line of Daley’s left-arm spin.
Despite the gutsy efforts of Siriwardena, who came to the wicket at No. 4 and remained until the close of the innings to be 33 not out, the visitors proceeded to lose seven wickets for 34 runs in 6.3 overs.
Off-spinners Anisa Mohammed and Taylor each grabbed two wickets for 22 and 19, respectively, while Daley chipped in with a wicket to enhance her claim to the Player-Of-The-Match award.
The series continues today with the second match at Kensington Oval at 2:30 p.m.
