Sri Lanka seal series whitewash

Mon, Mar 2, '20

Fabian Allen was on a rampage. He'd struck three sixes (one of them 98 metres long) plus two fours, and was on 37 off 14 balls. He'd just crashed one over cover, and seemed set to close out the game, only nine runs needed off the last five deliveries. But Angelo Mathews, went back through the years, resurrected what seemed for so long to be a dead-and-buried version of himself, and sharpened the next ball with considerable bowling wit. Allen tried to swing it over midwicket for what would have effectively been the match-sealing six. But Mathews had taken just enough pace off, and Kusal Mendis was standing at just the right place to take the catch above his head, maybe two feet in from the boundary.

This was the moment this ebbing, flowing game was won by Sri Lanka - West Indies' No. 10 and 11 unable to seriously challenge the target with only four balls remaining. Sri Lanka's batsmen had combined beautifully to get the team to 307, but it was Mathews who really clinched the game. With captain Dimuth Karunaratne missing his usual death bowler in Nuwan Pradeep, who left the field clutching his leg after 4.3 overs, Mathews was required to deliver his full quota - the first time he'd done this since way back in July 2015. He took 4 for 59.

Angelo Mathews, winning a match with the ball again. It would have seemed such a fantasy even six months ago.

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