Kieron Pollard Becomes The First Player To Play 500 T20 Matches

On Wednesday 4th of March, West Indies’ limited-overs captain Kieron Pollard became the first player to play 500 T20 matches. Pollard reached the elusive milestone when he took the field for the first T20 international between Sri Lanka and West Indies at Pallekele in Kandy. His fellow countryman and teammate Dwayne Bravo is second on the list with 453 games.

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Swashbuckling opener Chris Gayle is third with 404 T20 fixtures under his belt. Pollard’s teammates congratulated him on reaching the landmark prior to the start of the game and was also presented with a special jersey to celebrate the occasion. The jersey had the Trinidad all-rounder’s name at the back along with the number 500.

Kusal Perera keeps Sri Lanka remotely in the hunt:

Coming to the game, the tourists chose to bat first after winning the toss in Kandy. Lead by a fifty from Lendl Simmons, West Indies set 197 to win. Along with Brandon King, Simmons made an explosive start to the innings by putting on 74 in eight overs. The likes of Andre Russell and Kieron Pollard applied the finishing touch to the innings with 35(14) and 34(14) respectively.

Right-arm speedster Oshane Thomas wrecked Sri Lanka’s chase by picking up five wickets in his three overs. Kusal Perera and Wanindu Hasaranga have kept the home side in the hunt with their 70-run stand in eight overs. The men in maroon are the reigning T20 champions, having won their second title four years ago by beating England in Kolkata.

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