Falling from heaven or seeing the two sides of the coin? Everything can be said. Akila Dananjaya drowned in the sadness of digesting six sixes in the next over. Kieron Pollard became the third batsman to hit six sixes in an over. West Indies beat Sri Lanka by a strange run.
T20 cricket occasionally presents something strange. There were so many things that happened in this match! The Caribbeans advanced to the three-match series after losing by four wickets to the Sri Lankans in Antigua in a thrilling match.
The first part of this match on Thursday morning Bangladesh time was fairly quiet. In his debut international match at the Coolidge Cricket Ground, the West Indies held Sri Lanka to 131 for the loss of a wicket.
In the second part, the match became a stage of drama and excitement. Powerplay record in explosive batting, then hat-trick, six sixes in overs, again two wickets in a row, after all the Caribbeans won with 41 balls left.
The Caribbean's first international match after the Covid break saw a lot of discussion material from the start. Fidel Edwards, 39, and Chris Gayle, 41, returned to the West Indies to play in the Twenty20 after almost nine years. Jason Holder returned after about a year and a half.
Dinesh Chandimal returned to this edition for Sri Lanka after almost two and a half years. Spinner Dananjaya, who was allowed to bowl after correcting his action, returned two and a half years later. Experienced Angelo Mathews led the country after almost three and a half years due to the absence of regular captain Dasun Shanaka due to visa complications.
Batting after losing the toss, the Lankans lost opener Danushka Gunathilaka in the third over. Debutant off-spinner Kevin Sinclair got a taste of the first wicket.
However, Niroshan Dickwella and Pathum Nissankar batted well and the Lankans went well. Two added 51 runs for the second wicket. At the end of 10 overs, the team had 71 runs.
From then on the reverse journey started. Dickwella (33 off 29 balls) was bowled while sweeping the holder's slower fouls. Nisanka made his debut by scoring 39 runs off 34 balls.
Then veterans like Chandimal, Matthews, Thisara Pereira could not stand. In the lower-middle order, Vanidu Hasaranga and Abhisit came and the slaves could not do anything. The Lankans can add only 35 runs in the last 6 overs.
The chaos of the Caribbeans started from the first over. Evin Lewis hit three sixes in a row to Mathews. Lendl Simmons hit a six to Dananjaya in the second over. In the next over, Lewis-Simmons bowled Dushmantha Chamira for 21 runs.
Hat-trick in the fourth over in the run festival. Dananjaya also started this over by digesting four with Lewis' bat. West Indies scored 52 runs in 3.1 overs. After 3 balls it becomes 52 for 3 wickets!
Lewis (26 off 10 balls) was caught long off trying to hit a six. Gayle LBW was the first to come down to three in the return match. Cottbehind Nicholas Puran in the next ball. Matan Dananjaya was overjoyed.
This is the 14th hat-trick in international T20 cricket, the fourth in Sri Lanka.
The flow of runs has not stopped yet. Simmons also completed the hat-trick over at the boundary.
Leg-spinner Hasaranga stopped Simmons in his first over. The batsman who scored 28 runs off 15 balls was out to sweep.
Will you be careful if you lose a wicket, Pollard wrote his name in the record book in the next over. Six balls, six sixes!
In international cricket, Yuvraj Singh and Herschelle Gibbs have been the only ones to have done so in T20 and ODIs.
West Indies made 96 runs in 6 overs, a record in the power play!
The rest of the drama is still there. In the next over, Hasaranga lbw Pollard and Fabian Allen in two consecutive googlies. Pollard storm stopped with 36 off 11 balls.
This time Dwayne Bravo did not let it be a hat trick. Holder hit another six to Dananjaya in the first ball of the next over, in which he hit a six off 6 balls.
After that there was no drama. Holder and Bravo lead the team with a cool head. Holder (29 * from 24 balls) finished the match with a six to Nuwan Pradeep, which is a perfect match with the match! Bravo remained unbeaten on 4 off 16 balls.
Dananjaya scored 72 runs in 4 overs, the most expensive bowling record by a hat-trick bowler. There are 6 sixes in it. Adorable hat-trick or beating, who knows which one will remember more Dananjaya!
Short Score:
Sri Lanka:
131/9 in 20 overs (Dickwella 33, Gunathilaka 4, Nisanka 39, Chandimal 11, Matthews 5, Thisara 1, Hasaranga 12, Bandara 10, Dananjaya 9 *, Chamira 2; Sinclair 3-0-26-1, Edwards 4 -0-29-1, Holder 4-0-19-1, McCoy 4-0-25-2, Bravo 4-0-26-1, Allen 1-0-4-1).
West Indies:
134/6 in 13.1 overs (Simmons 26, Lewis 26, Gayle 0, Puran 0, Pollard 38, Holder 29 *, Allen 0, Bravo 4 *; Matthews 1-0-19-0, Dananjaya 4-0 -82-3, Chamira 3-0-29-0, Hasaranga 4-0-12-3, Bandara 1-0-2-0, Pradeep 0.1-0-6-0).