COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, CMC – West Indies saw Sri Lanka seize the balance of power in the second Test yesterday, following Kumar Sangakkara’s 24th Test hundred before rain again interrupted the two sides.
Wayward bowling and a few lapses in the field from West Indies paved the way for Sangakkara’s undefeated 135 that led Sri Lanka to 294 for five in their first innings before rain stopped play about 15 minutes before tea with a minimum of 46 overs remaining on the second day.
Not a ball was bowled after the break, and this followed a large chunk of the same period being lost the previous day at the Premadasa Stadium due to the inclement weather, which descended on the Sri Lankan capital.
The fickle Sri Lanka weather also badly disrupted the first Test, which ended in a draw at Galle last Friday to leave the three-Test series level at 0-0.
Weather forecasts indicate a 50 to 60 per cent chance of further rain interruptions over the remaining three days.
West Indies failed to match the steady bowling of the previous day, and Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka captain, reached his milestone from 216 balls, when he drove his 216th ball from Dwayne Bravo through cover for a single.
The visitors appeared almost helpless, as Sangakkara and Thilan Samaraweera with 80 stabilised the Sri Lankan innings with a record fourth-wicket stand of 170, after the home team had wobbled on 34 for three in the first hour of play on the opening day.
The stand was the highest for the fourth wicket in Tests between the two sides, eclipsing the 167 between Chris Gayle and Brendan Nash in the first Test.
Before lunch, West Indies confronted toiled without success, as Sangakkara and Samaraweera defied them to carry Sri Lanka to 199 for three at the interval.
West Indies did not have a ghost of chance to separate the two batsman, as they stroked the ball with crisp assurance, after Sri Lanka resumed from their overnight total of 84 for three.
Darren Sammy, bowling his harmless medium-pace, featured when both batsmen collected their half-centuries, with Samaraweera flicking the West Indies captain to deep fine leg to reach his 50 from 103 balls, and Sangakkara pulling him to deep mid-wicket for his sixth four to arrive at the landmark from 141 balls.
Bravo made the breakthrough for West Indies about 10 minutes after the interval, when Samaraweera top-edged a hook at his short, rising 170th delivery, and was caught at deep fine leg top-edging a hook. He struck eight fours and one six.
Bravo however, could not prevent Sangakkara from reaching his hundred, and fortune again deserted him, when the left-hander, on 120, hooked at a short, rising ball, and got a top edge, but wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh Jr could not hold onto a difficult leg-side chance.
West Indies continued to leak runs, and Angelo Mathews linked-up with Sangakkara to add 69 for the fifth wicket.
Sammy claimed the second new ball when it became available after 80 overs, and Roach returned to again bowl with pace, hostility, and purpose, and succeeded in the fifth over with the “new cherry”. The West Indies strike bowler had Mathews caught behind for 25, when the lanky batsman edged playing defensively forward to end the day, with figures of three for 66 from 21 overs.
Time and weather did not allow West Indies to make further inroads into the Sri Lanka batting, as Prasanna Jayawardene joined Sangakkara, and they batted through until the rain drove the players off the field.
The three-Test series is level 0-0, with the third Test, starting next Wednesday at Pallekele.
West Indies are seeking their first Test victory ever on Sri Lanka soil.
Scoreboard
Sri Lanka 1st Innings
T. Paranavitana c D.J. Bravo b Roach 16
T. Dilshan b Roach 4
*K. Sangakkara not out 135
M. Jayawardene b *Sammy 2
T. Samaraweera c Shillingford b D.J. Bravo 80
A. Mathews c wkpr Baugh b Roach 25
+P. Jayawardene not out 12
Extras (b3, lb5, w9, nb3) 20
TOTAL (5 wkts, 90 overs) 294
N. Kulasekara, A. Mendis, R. Herath, S. Lakmal to bat
Fall of wickets: 1-10 (Dilshan), 2-31 (Paranavitana), 3-34 (M. Jayawardene), 4-204 (Samaraweera), 5-273 (Mathews)
Bowling: Roach 21-5-66-3 (nb1, w2); Sammy 25-6-47-1 (nb1); D.J. Bravo 18-5-61-1 (w7); Benn 11-2-39-0; Shillingford 15-0-73-0
WEST INDIES: C. Gayle, A. Barath, D. Bravo, S. Chanderpaul, B. Nash, D. Bravo, +C. Baugh Jr, *D. Sammy, S. Benn, S. Shillingford, K. Roach
Toss: Sri Lanka
Umpires: Asad Rauf, R. Kettleborough
TV umpire: S. Davis
Matchreferee: A. Hurst
Reserve umpire: K. Dharmasena
