Bristol ke County Ground par, Sunday ka din sirf ek cricket match nahi tha... yeh West Indies Women ke World Cup campaign ka woh scene tha, jahan kahani ne achanak apni raftaar badal di. Sri Lanka Women crease par aayi thi, lekin saamne khadi thi Hayley Matthews... West Indies ki captain, new ball ki commander, aur us pal ki asli director. Pehle overs mein Sri Lanka ki batting ghabrahat se bhari dikhi. Chamari Athapaththu, jo apni fearless batting ke liye jaani jaati hain, pehle do overs mein teen run-out chances se bach gayi. Lekin cricket kab tak maaf karta? Teesre over mein Hayley Matthews ne entry li... aur kahani ka sur badal gaya. Vishmi Gunaratne, Chamari Athapaththu, aur Harshitha Samarawickrama... teen bade jhatke, ek hi spell mein. Sri Lanka Women 9 runs par 3 wickets kho chuki thi. Scoreboard chup tha, dressing room bhaari tha, aur West Indies Women ke chehre par woh confidence tha jo sirf early wickets de sakte hain. Imesha Dulani bhi zyada der tik nahi payi, Chinelle Henry ne sixth over mein unhe hata diya, aur Powerplay ke end tak Sri Lanka 23 runs par 4 wickets ke saath mushkil mein thi. Phir Kavisha Dilhari aur Nilakshika Silva ne 34 runs ki partnership se innings ko sambhalne ki koshish ki. Ek chhoti si umeed bani... lekin Aaliyah Alleyne ne Dilhari ka return catch lekar us umeed ko bhi tod diya. Halfway mark par Sri Lanka 57 runs par 5 wickets thi. Nilakshika Silva ne 26 balls par 30 runs banakar fight dikhayi, Kawya Kavindi ne 28 balls par 17 runs banaye, lekin innings ko real momentum kabhi nahi mila. Sri Lanka Women 19 point 4 overs mein 98 all out ho gayi. Hayley Matthews ke 3 wickets for 15 runs aur Karishma Ramharack ke 2 wickets for 15 runs ne match ka direction set kar diya. Chase mein West Indies Women ko bhi thodi halchal jhelni padi. Mithali Ayodhya aur Nimasha Meepage ne new ball se dono openers ko Powerplay ke andar hata diya. Sugandika Kumari ka ek expensive fourth over 15 runs ka gaya, warna Sri Lanka bowlers ne early control banaye rakha. West Indies Powerplay ke baad 36 runs par 2 wickets thi. Shemaine Campbell 12 balls par 4 runs banakar ninth over mein out ho gayi, aur Kavisha Dilhari ne 12th over mein double strike karke Sri Lanka ko ek pal ke liye match mein wapas la diya. Lekin target 99 runs ka tha... aur itne chhote target ko defend karne ke liye perfection chahiye hoti hai. Sri Lanka ne 23 extras de diye, jo Women's T Twenty World Cup innings mein second-most extras ke roop mein record hua. Yeh extras sirf runs nahi the... yeh pressure ke neeche nikalti hui control ki keemat thi. Stafanie Taylor, apne calm experience ke saath, 27 not out rahi. Jannillea Glasgow ne saath diya. Aur West Indies Women ne 17 point 1 overs mein 99 runs par 5 wickets ke saath line cross kar li. Five-wicket win. Third consecutive victory. Semi-final bid aur strong. Bristol ne ek message clear suna... West Indies Women ab sirf survive nahi kar rahi, woh tournament ko challenge kar rahi hain. Aap sun rahe the Guru News Network, powered by द गुरु ज्ञान. Cricket ki asli kahani, clean analysis, fastest live line aur trusted updates ke liye visit karein The Guru Gyan... kyunki jab cricket ka drama itna gehra ho, toh source bhi utna hi sharp hona chahiye.

At the County Ground in Bristol, West Indies Women did not merely collect another victory. They produced a statement. A sharp, controlled, and increasingly dangerous statement in the ICC Women's T Twenty World Cup 2026. Against Sri Lanka Women, the story began with hesitation, pressure, and a new ball spell that changed the emotional temperature of the match almost instantly. Sri Lanka were asked to bat first, but from the opening moments, their innings carried the nervous rhythm of a side under siege. Chamari Athapaththu, their most powerful figure and natural leader with the bat, survived three run-out chances in the first two overs. For a brief moment, it felt as if luck might keep Sri Lanka breathing. Then Hayley Matthews arrived. And the match began to obey West Indies. Matthews struck with the new ball, removing Vishmi Gunaratne, then Chamari Athapaththu, then Harshitha Samarawickrama. Three wickets. One spell. A top order broken before it could even discover its shape. Sri Lanka were reduced to 9 for 3, and the contest immediately moved into damage-control territory. Imesha Dulani and Kavisha Dilhari could not settle with authority. Dulani fell to Chinelle Henry in the sixth over, and Sri Lanka ended the Powerplay at 23 for 4. It was the kind of start that leaves a team chasing not a score, but dignity. Dilhari and Nilakshika Silva then tried to rebuild with a 34-run stand, offering Sri Lanka a small pocket of stability. But stability is fragile when the scoreboard is still barely moving. Dilhari returned a catch to Aaliyah Alleyne at the end of the tenth over, and Sri Lanka were 57 for 5 halfway through. Silva fought with a 26-ball 30. Kawya Kavindi added a slow 17 from 28 balls. But the innings never found acceleration, never found authority, and never found the kind of partnership that turns a wounded start into a defendable total. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 98 in 19.4 overs. Matthews finished with 3 for 15, while Karishma Ramharack added 2 for 15. The chase, however, was not completely smooth. Mithali Ayodhya and Nimasha Meepage bowled with purpose and removed an opener each inside the Powerplay. Sri Lanka restricted West Indies to 36 for 2 after six overs, despite one expensive fourth over from Sugandika Kumari that cost 15 runs. Shemaine Campbell then fell for 4 from 12 balls in the ninth over. For a short, dramatic moment, Kavisha Dilhari's double strike in the twelfth over gave Sri Lanka a pulse. But the target was too small, and the margin for error was cruelly narrow. Sri Lanka's 23 extras made that task even harder, becoming the second-most extras conceded in a Women's T Twenty World Cup innings. Stafanie Taylor, calm and experienced, stayed unbeaten on 27. Jannillea Glasgow helped close the chase. West Indies reached 99 for 5 in 17.1 overs and completed a five-wicket win. It was their third straight victory of the tournament, and it strengthened their semi-final push with serious force. This was not a flawless chase, but it was a mature one. This was not just Matthews taking wickets, but Matthews shaping a match. And for West Indies Women, Bristol may be remembered as the day their campaign stopped looking hopeful and started looking dangerous. Thank you for listening to Guru News Network, powered by The Guru Gyan. For premium cricket news, fastest live line, and trusted match intelligence, stay connected with The Guru Gyan... where the game is not just followed, it is understood.