Joseph’s five-for sets it up
Shamar Joseph’s 5/33 was the match’s defining swing, repeatedly breaking Sri Lanka’s momentum and keeping the target within reach. Sri Lanka still scraped to 169 all out, but West Indies’ chase was shaped by that damage: they got home by 5 wickets with 2 balls remaining, after absorbing a mid-innings wobble and then exploding at the death.
Rutherford flips the death overs
The game was won in the last five overs of the chase. West Indies were steady early (51/1) but slowed badly through the middle (59/3), leaving the finish in doubt. Then Rutherford took control, and with wickets in hand West Indies blasted 60/1 in the death at 15.7 an over, turning a tense pursuit into a late surge that Sri Lanka couldn’t contain.
Joseph and Rutherford headline
Joseph was the standout, his five wickets arriving often enough to prevent Sri Lanka from setting a bigger total. Rutherford’s 55 off 40 (SR 138) was the chase’s anchor and accelerator, while Rovman Powell’s 33 off 27 provided the support that made the 79-run stand decisive. For Sri Lanka, Dunith Wellalage’s 44 off 28 was the most fluent innings in a total that always felt a few runs light.
Sri Lanka’s bursts, West Indies’ reply
Sri Lanka’s innings never fully settled after losing three in the powerplay (51/3), and Joseph’s strikes ensured every rebuild was temporary. A 49-run stand involving Wanindu Hasaranga gave them a platform, and their death overs (44/4) added urgency, but the innings ended at 20 overs with the tail exposed. In the chase, Hasaranga’s tight spell (2/17) and Maheesh Theekshana’s control (1/26) squeezed the middle, yet the Rutherford-Powell partnership of 79 restored momentum before the final-over scramble.

