The 1st match of the T20 International series between Sri Lanka and West Indies was played on March 4, Wednesday at Pallekele, in Sri Lanka. Lasith Malinga was the captain of Sri Lankan team and Kieron Pollard was the captain of West Indies team. West Indies captain won the toss and decided to bat first.
West Indies openers gave a solid speedy start to the team and made 74 runs for the 1st wicket in just 8 over. Opener Lendon Simmons scored the most not out 67 runs for West Indies. Captain Pollard and finisher Andrew Russel both played aggressively and scored quick 34 and 35 runs respectively and helped team to get a total of 196 runs in 20 over.
It was a tough chase of 197 runs for Sri Lankan batting against West Indies bowling. Sri Lankan openers failed to give good start and Fernando got out early of the inning but other opener Kushal Parera played brilliant inning and scored the most 66 runs for Sri Lankan team. West Indies bowlers bowled in good areas and controlled the match. Sri Lankan batsman De Silva fought back and scored 44 runs but it was not enough and Sri Lankan team got all out on 171 runs in 20th over. O. Thomas bowled brilliantly and took 5 wickets for West Indies. R Powell also took 2 wickets.
West Indies won the match by 25 runs and took an early lead in the series by 1-0. O. Thomas was also awarded as player of the match for his unbelievable match winning bowling performance. During post match interview Kieron Pollard looked satisfied with team efforts and he appreciated the bowling efforts by Oshane Thomas. On the other hand Sri Lankan captain looked disappointed with team performance and promised to deliver good cricket in the next match.