Sri Lanka v West Indies 1st Test, Day 2 Review: Hosts end the day in a commanding position

Sri Lanka v West Indies 1st Test, Day 2 Review: Hosts end the day in a commanding position: The day’s play started with a ball that was only 10 overs old however devoid of much seam movement compared to the first morning. The runs kept coming at a good clip, with Karunaratne pulling Jerome Taylor to the square leg boundary in the 5th over of the morning before driving him through mid-off for another four to bring up his 150.

At the other end Kemar Roach conceded 2 fours in 2 overs to Chandimal. Taylor and Roach went out of the attack, and Gabriel, who replaced Roach, saw an edge from Karunaratne fly through the vacant slip area before Blackwood put down Chandimal. In his next over, Gabriel produced the only other moment of discomfort for a Sri Lankan batsman in the session when he straightened one past Chandimal’s edge. Bishoo’s introduction saw Chandimal step down the track and whip the leggie away wide of mid-on. He reached his 5th Test century and second ton in a row at Galle with a 4 over extra cover.

With just 7 minutes before lunch Samuels dismissed Karunaratne 14 short of a double-hundred. The wicket was a result of the slowness of the pitch. The left-hander jabbed at a short one from Samuels that stopped on him, and ended up giving a simple return catch to the off spinner.

Chandimal had extended his overnight stand with Dimuth Karunaratne to 238 and then added 86 with Angelo Mathews to take Sri Lanka to 425 for 3. A 500-plus total looked like a formality, and 600 seemed likely, but Sri Lanka only managed 484. The slide began with tea around the corner, when Chandimal slapped Jerome Taylor straight to cover. In his next over, Taylor straightened one from around the wicket to produce an edge from the debutant Milinda Siriwardana. The Windies had hit back with 7 wickets for 59 runs to bowl-out the hosts.

Mathews was removed 1st ball after tea when Jason Holder banged one short, and Mathews, got into an awkward position while trying to fend the ball onto the leg side, popped back a simple return catch. Devendra Bishoo dismissed Dhammika Prasad and Rangana Herath off successive deliveries, before Kusal Perera played on to Shannon Gabriel. The final wicket fell to Bishoo, who finished with 4 wickets as Nuwan Pradeep mistimed a slog to deep midwicket.

The young West Indian openers began on a positive note and took the score to 26 runs in just 5 overs without any discomfort. The first real scare came in the 6th over when Herath got one to spin and beat Kraigg Brathwaite’s bat. The ball thudded into his back leg and umpire Richard Illingworth had no hesitation in raising his finger. The Windies vice-captain reviewed this decision and got a respite. The tracker showed that the ball had pitched marginally outside the leg and thus survived.

An elegant cover drive off the front foot past the covers for a four in the same over must have given him confidence however his joy was short-lived. A couple of over later Herath produced an arm-ball and the right-hander played down the wrong line and missed it completely. This was plumb LBW and there wasn’t any need for a review. His opening partner Shai Hope was looking good on 23 with 3 crisp fours however was undone by an absolute beauty from the classy veteran left-arm spinner.  He got one to flight, drift and turn ever so slightly past the outside edge of Hope’s crooked prod to strike the top of off stump. Marlon Samuel and Darren Bravo safely negotiated the rest of the overs and the visitors ended the second day on 66/2 and with plenty to do.

West Indies’ total of 5 spilled chances will be a cause of concern and should be quickly addressed by the team management. Sri Lankan meanwhile won’t be pleased with their lower-order collapse, but a total of 484 has put them in a strong position, particularly given the amount of turn that is now available for the spinners.

Brief Scores:

Sri Lanka 1st Innings – 484/10 (Karunaratne 186*, Chandimal 151; Bishoo 143/4)

West Indies 1st Innings – 66/2 (SD Hope 23; Herath 14/2)