TAROUBA, Trinidad, CMC – Irrepressible skipper Stafanie Taylor produced another telling all-round performance as West Indies pulled off a comfortable 40-run win in the final One-Day International to sweep their three-match series against Sri Lanka Women here Sunday.
Sent in at the Brian Lara Stadium, the Caribbean side rallied to 182 for eight off their 45 overs, with Taylor stroking a top score of 55, opener Hayley Matthews getting 41 and former captain Merissa Aguilleira gathering an unbeaten 37.
Off-spinner Shashikala Siriwardene was the best bowler with three for 26 while left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera supported with two for 24.
Taylor then proved her worth in gold with the ball, snatching three for 29 with her off-spin to send the visitors crashing to 142 all out in the 41st over.
Fast bowler Shakera Selman also struck form, grabbing three for 30.
Dilani Manodara top-scored with 42 with Rebeca Vandort scoring 34.
In a contest reduced to 45 overs per side, the Windies suffered an early setback when Kycia Knight was dismissed cheaply for five with the score on eight in the fourth over. However, Taylor and Matthews then came together in an 83-run, second wicket stand to prevent the possibility of collapse.
The right-handed Taylor faced 82 balls and counted seven boundaries while Matthews, also a right-hander, struck four fours in a 75-ball knock.
Matthews’s dismissal triggered a slide that saw four wickets fall for 30 runs and it took a 29-run sixth wicket partnership between Aguilleira and Kyshona Knight (14) to rally the innings.
Aguilleira’s knock was a crucial one as she hit three fours in a busy 42-ball innings.
West Indies then got a great start when Selman removed Nipuni Hansika (0) and Chamari Atapattu (11) to reduce the Sri Lankans to 18 for two in the seventh over.
Manodara, however, came to her side’s rescue, anchoring three small partnerships to keep the innings afloat.
She put on 33 for the third wicket with Yasoda Mendis (18), 20 for the fourth with Hasini Perera (8) before adding a further 30 for the fifth with Vandort, to push her side up to 101 for four.
Manodara had faced 85 deliveries and struck two fours when she was caught and bowled by Matthews in the 32nd over , leading to a slide which saw the last six wickets perish for 41 runs.
Both teams will now turn their attention to the three-match Twenty20 series which starts in Antigua on Thursday.
