Tri Series 2016, WI v SL, 2nd ODI: 5 Talking Points

Following their massive win over the Zimbabweans, the Sri Lankans slumped to a humiliating loss at the hands of the West Indies in the second ODI at the Harare Sports Club. The 62-run win consummate’s yet another win by Jason Holder’s men as far as their rise in international cricket is concerned. As far as Sri Lanka was concerned, it will be a case of picking up their game when they face the Windies again in a few days. While there were a plethora of talking points on the day, here are the five most prominent of the talking points.

1. Dry Harare wicket greets both sides

After two Test matches and an ODI, it is clear that the wear and tear of the surface is something that would have had a profound impact on the surface. As Pat Symcox said in the pre-match pitch report, it seemed clear that the slower wicket would mean that the wicket would turn, something that was exploited quite a bit by Ashley Nurse.

2. Shai Hope and Jonathan Carter come to the rescue 

With the dryness of the wicket playing up quite a bit, the Lankan bowlers were able to make inroads in terms of troubling the West Indies batsmen. Shai Hope and Jonathan Carter impressed quite a bit with some impressive batsmanship as they spared the Windies of their blushes with an impressive partnership to say the least. The duo stitched an impressive 53-run partnership with Carter being the only player on the day to cross 50 runs. Shai Hope also played an impressive knock of 47 runs.

3. Rovman Powell steps on the accelerator with some quick runs

Having impressed for the West Indies ‘A’ side, the impressive Rovman Powell was finally handed a debut for the full international West Indies squad. The impressiveness of his debut, given the fact that he has been compared to the likes of Dwayne Bravo, Powell did not disappoint. While he did not impress as much with the ball, it was clear that his abilities with the bat were something that made the headlines. He smashed 44 runs from just 29 deliveries and absolutely decimated the bowling in a knock that included 2 boundaries and three sixes.

4. Ashley Nurse makes Lankans work for their runs

Ashley Nurse has been in and out of the West Indies team for the most part, especially given the fact that there are a few quality spinners within the West Indian cricketing framework. With the wicket playing on the slower side, it was clear that there was a lot riding on Nurse to make an impact with the ball. While Sulieman Benn made inroads by troubling the Lankan batsmen, Nurse cashed in with some impressive bowling, an effort that saw him pick the important wickets of Asela Gunaratne, skipper Upul Tharanga, and Sachith Pathirana to conclude with figures of 3/46 from his 10 overs.

5. Lankans slump to an unlikely defeat

As mentioned earlier, the Lankans slumped to perhaps their most unlikeliest of defeats when they were handed a 62-run loss. Moreover, both sides would be most certainly disappointed by the fact that they were unable to complete the 50 overs respectively. Moreover, the fact of the matter remained that Sachith Pathirana was the lone crusader in the Lankan’s cause with 45 runs. He was also supported by Shehan Jayasuriya who netted an impressive 31, but, this proved to be a bridge too far for the Lankans as they plummeted to a defeat.