Unbeaten West Indies meet Sri Lanka with a Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final at stake
Unbeaten West Indies can move to the brink of the semi-finals when they meet Sri Lanka in Bristol, while Chamari Athapaththu’s side chase a knockout place the country has never reached in nine previous World Cups.
Jun 21, 2026
West Indies and Sri Lanka meet in Bristol on Sunday with very different things riding on the result. The West Indies arrive unbeaten and within touching distance of the semi-finals. Sri Lanka arrive chasing something their women’s team has never managed in nine previous World Cups: a place in the knockout stage. The match starts at 3pm IST.
West Indies riding their momentum
Two games, two wins, and one of them against the defending champions. The West Indies announced themselves at this tournament when Shemaine Campbelle’s unbeaten 90 saw off New Zealand, and they followed it up by getting past Scotland to stay perfect in Group 2. Win here and they will be all but through to the last four.
What has impressed is how they have found a way even when not at their best. The Scotland game was tighter than they would have wanted, but Aaliyah Alleyne and the bowlers closed it out. A batting group built around Campbelle and a pace attack that keeps taking wickets at the death is a tough combination to break down, and Sri Lanka will need their best to do it.
Sri Lanka and a first they have waited a long time for
Sri Lanka have been one of the stories of the group. They stunned New Zealand by five wickets, a result that turned a tough draw into a genuine semi-final chance, before England brought them back down to earth with a heavy defeat at the top of the order. England racked up 219 for 1 and won by 87 runs, the kind of scoreline that can dent confidence as much as net run rate.
Chamari Athapaththu has carried this side for years. She has played in all nine previous editions of the World Cup without ever reaching the knockouts, and at 2026 the door is finally ajar. So much still runs through her bat. If Sri Lanka are to chase down or defend a total against the West Indies, the captain almost certainly has to be at the heart of it.
What is at stake in Bristol
The group has taken shape around England, who have looked the strongest side so far, with the West Indies pushing hard behind them. Sri Lanka sit further back and know the maths leaves little room for slip-ups, with Ireland and Scotland still to come after this. Beat the West Indies and the group cracks wide open. Lose, and the semi-final talk that has built around Athapaththu’s side quietly fades.
For the West Indies the equation is simpler. Keep winning and they decide their own fate. A third victory in Bristol would leave them needing very little from their final group game, and on current form there is no reason to think they cannot get it.