SRI Lanka’s spinners came good in the second CG Insurance T20I, to level the three-match series against West Indies, winning by 43 runs at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua on Friday night.
The regional side was bowled out for 117, in reply to Sri Lanka’s 160-6.
It was a good showing for the visitors who lost the first match by four wickets. It was Sri Lanka first win after losing eight consecutive matches in this version of the game. Akila Dananjaya shined in the powerplay, returning figures of 1/13 from his four overs. This after he collected 62 runs in his spell in the opening T20 which the regional side won by four wickets.
Wanindu Hasaranga was also devastating, securing 3/17 and Lakshan Sandakan took 3/10 including the vital wicket of Windies skipper Kieron Pollard for just 13. He was the only change for Sri Lanka from the first match.
Tailender Obed McCoy was the leading scorer for an unchanged West Indies with a cameo 23 off seven balls. This after the opening batsmen and power hitters failed to fire.
Evin Lewis was first to go, attempting a sweep against Dananjaya but misses as the ball stayed low and hit the middle stump in the third over. He made six.
The veteran Chris Gayle did better than his previous outing, a first-ball duck, and reached 16 but was caught out off the bowling of PWH de Silva in the seventh over. Gayle didn’t under the ball enough and Ashen Bandara at deep midwicket came in from the boundary to get his hands under the ball to take a good catch.
Simmons would lose his wicket in the same over. A tossed up delivery from Hasaranga that Simmons failed to pick up the googly, played down the wrong line and it spun to take the front pad in front of off stump. He reviewed the decision but lost it and had to depart for 21 of 18 balls.
In came Holder but he too doesn’t last long, thanks to bowler Gunathilaka. Attempting to slam another six but the elevation wasn’t there and took a straightforward catch. The Windies Test skipper departed for

Wickets continued to tumble for the host team, with Dwayne Bravo and Nicholas Pooran losing their wickets to Chameera.
Bravo in the first ball of the over sent a simple catch to Mathews from midwicket off the leading edge of the bat.
Pooran was bowled on the last ball of the over, playing a huge swipe across the line to a length ball that was angled in from around the wicket. The ball whizzed under the bat to hit the stumps. Fabien (12) was next to go then, Pollard. He tried to slam the ball over cover, but it took the outside half of his bat and flew towards the sweeper cover Chandmal, who ran in quickly to get under the ball. Earlier, Sri Lanka, made one change to their line-up with the inclusion of left-arm wrist spinner Sandakan, won the toss and decided to bat. Openers Danushka Gunathilaka (56) and Pathum Nissanka (37 gave the visitors a great start getting their team to 94-0 before the first wicket fell.

Gunathilaka brought up the 50 for SL off the bowling of Holder with the first six of the match. Moving towards the offside, Gunathilaka helped the ball over wicketkeeper Nicholas Pooran and it carried all the way. He almost lost his wicket in the sixth over but was dropped by Pollard at midwicket off the bowling of Holder, who delivered a slower bouncer which Gunathilaka pulled away towards Pollard. However, the Windies captain mistimed the jump and failed to hold on with his right hand. Gunathilaka continued his onslaught reaching his half-century in the 10th over penalizing McCoy’s short and wide delivery, smashing through point for four.
Bravo got the breakthrough for the West Indies in his first over sending Nissanka back to the pavilion after Gunathilaka called for a single, going for a pull but got an inside edge onto his leg and the ball bounced towards the offside. Bravo moved quickly across in his follow-through, fielding the ball with one hand and hit the stumps directly with Nissanka well short.

In the same over, Bravo got rid of the other danger man with another slower, fuller and wider delivery.
Gunathilaka delayed his shot, reached out for the ball, failing to keep it down and it went straight to Sinclair at wide mid-off to have Sri Lanka 96-2 and soon, 105-3 with Bravo getting another wicket.
That of Chandimal who was looking to slog the ball across the line but instead got a top edge that ballooned on the offside with Simmons just needing to move a couple of steps to his right from short fine leg and completed the catch.
The remaining wickets were picked up byMcCoy (1-34) and Holder (1-36), who also had a runout.
The third and final T20 is carded for tomorrow (Sunday).