Another Sabina Park washout hands Sri Lanka their first ODI series in the Caribbean since 2003

Sri Lanka have won a one-day series in the Caribbean for the first time in 23 years, and they did it without having to take the field. Persistent rain washed out the third and final ODI against West Indies at Sabina Park on Monday, the second match running in Kingston to be abandoned without a ball bowled, and that was enough to seal a 1-0 result for the visitors.

The weather finishes the job

West Indies needed a win to square the series, but they never got the chance. After the second ODI was lost entirely to rain a few days earlier, the skies over Kingston refused to clear again. For a home side that had played only once in the series, it was a frustrating way to surrender a trophy, with no opportunity to put right what went wrong in the opener.

That opener, back on June 3, turned out to be the whole series. Sri Lanka posted 303 for 7 and then held their nerve in the field to bowl West Indies out for 262, winning by 41 runs. Pathum Nissanka top-scored with 79 and Kusal Mendis added a brisk 72, while Dushmantha Chameera did the bulk of the damage with the ball. Two washouts later, that single performance was all it took.

A milestone for a new captain

The win carries extra weight for Kusal Mendis, who took over the white-ball captaincy for this tour after Sri Lanka handed him the job ahead of Charith Asalanka and Dasun Shanaka. Leading the side for the first time, he has a series victory to show for it, and one that ends a long drought at that. Sri Lanka had not won an ODI series in the West Indies since 2003, a gap of more than two decades that finally closed in the most low-key fashion imaginable.

For West Indies, the result stings without offering much to learn from. Rust was always a worry coming into the series, and a single completed match gave them little time to find rhythm before the rain took over. Shai Hope’s side will want a cleaner look at this opposition when the cricket resumes.

Plenty still to play for

There is no time to dwell on it. The two teams move straight into a three-match T20I series, starting on June 11, before a pair of Tests closes out the tour later in the summer. Sri Lanka carry the momentum and the silverware into the short format, while West Indies will be desperate for dry weather and a fair contest to level the ledger.

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