There is a period of hope leading the West Indies to the comfortable victory of ODI

A 143 opening stand between Shai Hope and Evin Lewis gives the West Indies confidence to an eight-wicket victory in the North Channel.

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They all went out for 232, Sri Lanka were sent off with a strong performance from the West Indies and the guests went 1-0 in the three-game ODI series.

Set a target of 233 runs to win, the West Indies went straight to work scoring 56 runs at the 10-over mark, for a loss without wickets.

Openers Evin Lewis (65) and Shai Hope (110) were rarely bothered as they struggled to win as they built their 100-run partnership in the 23rd over.

Sri Lanka finally got a disappointment in the 29th over thanks to Dushmantha Chameera (2/50), who beat Lewis for 65 with a full throw on the middle stump. But there was only a small chink in the West Indies army.

Coming into this game, Hope had recorded three ODI halves against Sri Lanka in 2020, and the 27-year-old did all four in emphatic fashion.

At the end of the 41st over, Hope surrendered his 10th ton of ODI in 133 balls, hitting 12 fours and one six in the process.

The West Indies top scorer was seven goals short of batting through all the innings after Chameera picked up his second wicket, striking out a stump.

Since then, the West Indies have made a trip to victory with Darren Bravo (37 *) and Jason Mohammed (13 *) at center unnoticed.

Earlier, Sri Lanka opted to bat behind a successful toss and at first, it looked like a good decision. They started with an opening partnership of 105 runs under 19.2 overs, courtesy of Danushka Gunathilaka (55) and Dimuth Karunaratne (52).

The Sri Lankan openers took their side up to the three-figure mark but once Karunaratne was captured and bowled by Kieron Pollard (1/15), the visitors lost their next three wikis for just 14 running, with one break making some controversy.

Gunathilaka was fired for claiming he blocked the field after a bid from Pollard – a turning point in the game that put the West Indies on top.

From there, Sri Lanka had little to do except Ashen Bandara, who got an elegant fifty years on his first ODI tour. The 22-year-old hit 50 off 60 balls spanning four boundaries, giving the Sri Lankan mattresses something to save.

Limiting Sri Lanka to 232 in 49 overs, the West Indies used seven archers with Jason Mohammed the standout taking 2/12 off four pitches.

The second ODI will be played on Friday.

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