Perera steers Sri Lanka to series win

The West Indies bowling looked listless in the absence of captain Jason Holder, who was suspended due to slow over-rate, and injured all-rounder Andre Russell.

Badree had contracted dengue fever in the Caribbean and did not fly to Sri Lanka alongside T20 team-mates Darren Sammy, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo.

The one-day series will be followed by two Twenty20 games.

The visiting side had several bright sparks in both ODIs but has not managed to seize the crucial moments. The first ODI was reduced to 26 overs and then the second one was 38 overs affairs.

The West Indies, though, will be pleased with the form of a few of its batsmen. Holder’s men will, however, hope he can convert the starts into bigger knocks.

Keen to avoid a series sweep, West Indies will also be keen to take a few momentum into the Twenty20s. Sri Lanka lacked a few discipline as they were forced to contend with a slippery ball after the break, but just as his frontliners appeared to be losing their way, a half-fit Angelo Mathews stepped into the breach to deliver two cheap overs towards the close.

Palekelle: An unbeaten century by Marlon Samuels went in vain as Sri Lanka defeated the West Indies by 19 runs on Saturday to sweep the three-match one-day worldwide series 3-0.

Sri Lanka’s bowling is led by its pace pair of Lasith Malinga and Suranga Lakmal, who have taken six wickets between them so far. They also have a number of spin options in Sachithra Senanayake, Mendis, Shehan Jayasuriya, Milinda Siriwardana and Dilshan. However, that was the last success West Indies would see for a while as Perera and Thirmanne dominated.

Samuels (63) too shone with the bat, but his efforts were not enough as Kusal Perera (99) and Lahiru Thiramanne (81) guided the home side to a 8-wicket win to clinch the series.

Their top order have not made substantial contribution and will need to fire if West Indies are eyeing to win the final game.