(CMC) – West Indies T20 captain Rovman Powell and vice-captain Roston Chase were less than flattered with the pitch at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium which was used for the second T20I on Tuesday.
In pursuit of Sri Lanka’s 162 for five, the West Indies were skittled out for 89, their sixth lowest ever T20I score, on a pitch that offered sharp turn and bounce for the spinners.
Debutant spinner Dunith Wellalage snared three of the nine West Indies wickets that fell to spin.
Speaking after the match, Powell said the pitch was less than ideal for T20 cricket.
“At the halfway stage we were confident we could get 160, but it wasn’t really a cricket wicket. It wasn’t a T20 wicket,” Powell said.
And in the post-match press conference, Chase contended that the wicket was contrastingly different to the one used for Sunday’s opening match at the same venue where West Indies comfortably chased down Sri Lanka’s 179 for five to win by five wickets.
“It is clear to see obviously, the first game it was a true wicket and obviously this game the wicket was spinning a lot more, so I guess the guys were scared to put us back on a good wicket after losing the first game,” Chase said.
“I think they prepared the wicket in their favour, obviously with home advantage, and obviously we didn’t come out on top, so it’s for us to go back to the drawing board now and think about playing the spinning ball a bit more.”
Chase, however, refuted suggestions that West Indies’ batters were not comfortable against spin bowling. He said the Windies’ batsmen would have to make the necessary adjustments if the third and final T20I today is played in similar conditions.
“I would say that we aren’t accustomed to the wickets spinning like that. We are comfortable playing spin, but I guess when the wicket is spinning at that pace it’s a bit different from what we are accustomed to,” Chase said.
“I think if we had a next spinner, it would have been better for us, but we can’t dwell on that after the team is selected.
“Obviously, we have to bring out the sweep a bit more, reverse sweep and conventional sweep a bit more and try to work the ball around a bit more for longer and then try to power the ball in the back end,” he added.