Hayley Matthews Century Powers West Indies to 6-Wicket Win Over Sri Lanka in 3rd ODI
Hayley Matthews produced a captain’s knock of the highest quality, scoring her tenth ODI century to lead West Indies Women to a six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka Women in the third and final ODI at the National Cricket Stadium, St George’s, Grenada on February 25, 2026. Despite the win, Sri Lanka claimed the series 2-1 after their victories in the first two matches, but Hayley Matthews’ brilliant century ensured West Indies avoided a whitewash and claimed hard-earned ICC Women’s Championship points.
Sri Lanka Post 217 Despite Early Setback
Sri Lanka Women won the toss and elected to bat first in Grenada, but Hayley Matthews, operating with the new ball as captain, removed Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu with just her second delivery of the innings. The ball moved sharply back off the pitch and defeated the edge, sending Athapaththu back to the pavilion for a golden duck and leaving the visitors immediately destabilised. From that fragile position, Harshitha Samarawickrama provided the anchor innings her team needed, crafting a patient and composed 70 off 112 balls to hold Sri Lanka’s innings together through the middle overs.
She shared a 78-run third-wicket partnership with Vishmi Gunaratne before spinner Karishma Ramharack removed both in the space of four overs to put West Indies back in control. Kavisha Dilhari contributed an unbeaten 45 in the lower order to give Sri Lanka a respectable total of 217 for 7 from their 50 overs, a score that proved gettable but demanded disciplined batting from the hosts. Matthews finished her bowling spell with figures of 2 for 33 from ten overs, while Ramharack took 2 for 39 in a controlled team bowling effort.
Hayley Matthews Backs Up Her Pre-Match Confidence
Before the match, Hayley Matthews had told reporters she was in excellent batting form despite two low scores across the series: “I felt like I was in a pretty good space batting-wise and probably just got pretty unlucky in the first game and gave my own hand away in the second.”
Those words proved prophetic. Hayley Matthews opened the batting and found her timing almost immediately, piercing the ring with authoritative drives and pulling anything short through the leg side with conviction. Her fifty arrived from just 48 balls as West Indies moved to a dominant position in the first half of the chase. She was given one chance — on 70, she missed a drive to medium pacer Malki Madara, who could not hold the return catch — but Sri Lanka paid heavily for the dropped opportunity.
Century Sealed, Series Honour Preserved – Hayley Matthews
Hayley Matthews brought up her milestone tenth ODI century in the 43rd over off 118 balls, becoming the outright holder of the record for the most ODI centuries by a West Indian woman — moving ahead of Stafanie Taylor at the top of that particular landmark. She departed immediately after reaching the milestone, holed out at deep midwicket off the same Malki Madara who had dropped her earlier.
At that point, West Indies needed only a handful of runs to complete the victory. Deandra Dottin — who had attracted widespread attention for her dismissal obstructing the field in the second ODI — contributed a composed cameo alongside Chinelle Henry, who struck an unbeaten 32 to see the hosts home. The pair shared an unbroken 49-run partnership to complete the six-wicket win with several overs in hand.
Series and Championship Context
Sri Lanka had already clinched the series with victories in the first two matches — a 10-run win in the first ODI in which Inoka Ranaweera claimed four wickets, and a 14-run win in the second ODI made memorable by Dottin’s rare obstructing-the-field dismissal. Sri Lanka leave the Caribbean having now won four of their last five ODIs against West Indies since 2017, reflecting their remarkable transformation into one of women’s cricket’s most consistent and technically accomplished sides in the 50-over format. West Indies and Sri Lanka now prepare for a three-match T20I series, the first match of which begins on Saturday at the same National Cricket Stadium venue in St George’s.
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