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Suranga Lakmal (AFP Photo)
Catch all the action of the day two of the second Test between West Indies and Sri Lanka through our live commentary. Day 1 Round Up:
Dinesh Chandimal's battling, unbeaten hundred defied a West Indies attack spearheaded by Shannon Gabriel as Sri Lanka were lifted by their captain to a first innings total of 253 on the opening day of the second Test at the Darren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia on Thursday. West Indies openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Devon Smith negotiated two overs before the close of play safely and will resume the home side's reply at two without loss on the second day. It looked for most of the day that Gabriel, the burly fast bowler who finished with the impressive figures of five for 59, would claim individual honours outright. But Chandimal, badly missed by Smith at slip off Miguel Cummins when only on 14, grew in confidence and resolve to finish on 119 not out, his 11th Test century and surely one of his most invaluable. He got good support from the lower-order, especially Kasun Rajitha, the fast-medium bowler who was one of two debutants in a Sri Lankan side showing four changes from the team comprehensively beaten by 226 runs in the first Test in Trinidad. Most controversial of the changes was the omission of veteran left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, although it was not clear if his omission was because of poor form or, as the selectors had hinted prior to the series, that he would be rested from one of the three matches.
Chandimal's innings spanned five hours and occupied 186 deliveries with ten fours and one six. It represented a significant reversal from his performance on the final day of the first Test four days earlier, when an ugly leave at off-spinner Roston Chase triggered Sri Lanka's second innings collapse. Like the Sri Lankan captain, Gabriel also received good support in the latter stages of the innings on a pitch offering considerable assistance to the fast bowlers. Kemar Roach, the senior man in terms of experience in the West Indies bowling line-up, claimed four for 49, including three of the final four wickets to ensure that the tourists were still left dissatisfied with their final total, especially as Chandimal made the decision to bat first. Gabriel's pace and hostility, reminiscent of his early bursts in both innings on the first Test, again caused great discomfort to Sri Lanka's top order and he was swiftly among the wickets in accounting for debutant opener Mahela Udawatte and returning middle-order batsman Dhananjaya De Silva. New ball partner Roach accounted for Kusal Perera in his second spell of the morning.
Playing his first Test ten years after his one-day international debut, which was also against the West Indies in the Caribbean, Udawatte endured the misfortune of repeating the experience of a decade ago in being dismissed for a duck. Gabriel took the outside edge of his bat to the second delivery he faced for Holder to take a superb catch at third slip. De Silva, who arrived in the Caribbean only last week due to the death of his father two weeks ago and therefore missed the first Test, suffered an elbow injury when he was struck on the arm by the fearsome Gabriel with the ball ricocheting onto the stumps. Scans revealed bad bruising but no fracture. Mendis joined Kusal Perera and the pair counter-attacked briefly with Perera striking Holder for three consecutive fours. Such aggression could not last though and Holder again showed a safe pair of hands in the slip cordon to account for Perera for 32 off the first ball Roach bowled coming back into the attack. Wickets continued to fall around Chandimal through the afternoon but just as it looked as if they would fail to cross the 200-run mark, the tailenders showed courage in support of their captain, taking a few blows on the body to give the senior man a chance to reach a noted landmark and give themselves something to try to defend on day two.
Commentary (West Indies innings)
6.6 Lakmal to Smith, Leg bye. 6/0
6.5 S Lakmal to Smith, Too straight and on the pads, the batsman fails to get his bat and it hits his pads. 5/0
6.4 S Lakmal to Smith, Similar length, outside off, Smith gets his bat up and lets it go to the keeper. 5/0
6.3 S Lakmal to Smith, Change of angle, goes around to brings the ball in to the left-hander. Lands it on a fullish length around off and makes the batsman play. Good intelligent stuff from Lakmal. 5/0
6.2 S Lakmal to Smith, Outside off and left alone on length by the batsman. 5/0
6.1 S Lakmal to Smith, Gets behind the shortish delivery and punches it down the pitch. 5/0
5.6 K Rajitha to Smith, Full and on the legs, the batsman clips it to square leg and takes a single. 5/0
5.5 K Rajitha to Smith, The ball is way outside the off stump, easy leave for the batsman. 4/0
5.4 K Rajitha to Smith, OOH! Uppish! Not too convincing from Smith. Gets a fuller delivery around off and pushes at it. The ball hits the outer half and almost flies to the point fielder. 4/0
5.3 K Rajitha to Smith, Another leave to the ball outside off. Nice and watchful stuff from Devon. 4/0
5.2 K Rajitha to Smith, Similar delivery, touch too wide. The batsman shoulders his arms. 4/0
5.1 K Rajitha to Smith, Angling away from the left-hander and on full length, Smith gets his hands up and lets it pass. 4/0
4.6 S Lakmal to Brathwaite, Similar length but touch too wide to entice the batsman. No run to end the over. 4/0
4.5 S Lakmal to Brathwaite, Full and outside off, Brathwaite leaves it on length. 4/0
4.4 S Lakmal to Brathwaite, Wide and swinging away and ignored by the batsman. 4/0
4.3 S Lakmal to Brathwaite, Drags his length back and keeps it around off. Brathwaite blocks it tentatively to the off side. 4/0
4.2 S Lakmal to Brathwaite, Full and between the sticks, the batsman presents the full face of the bat. 4/0
4.1 S Lakmal to Smith, Back of a length on the pads, clipped to the vacant square leg region for a single. 4/0
3.6 K Rajitha to Brathwaite, Straight outside off and Brathwaite keeps his willow away from the ball. A maiden over to start his career. 3/0
3.5 K Rajitha to Brathwaite, Goes full but down the leg side. Keeper collects it neatly. 3/0
3.4 K Rajitha to Brathwaite, Touch too wide and left alone. 3/0
3.3 K Rajitha to Brathwaite, On a good length around off and punched off the back foot. 3/0
3.2 K Rajitha to Brathwaite, Full and outside off and almost an edge. The batsman hangs his bat but fails to make connection. 3/0
3.1 K Rajitha to Brathwaite, Starts his Test career with a short of a length delivery, angling into the batsman, who dabs it to mid-wicket. 3/0
The debutant, Kasun Rajitha comes into the attack. He will be aiming to put in an impressive performance.
2.6 S Lakmal to Smith, Ends the over with a back of a length delivery on the hips and the batsman plays it down to the leg side with soft hands. 3/0
2.5 S Lakmal to Smith, Little bit of shape, into Smith, off the good length and hits his pads. 3/0
2.4 S Lakmal to Smith, Full around off, blocked by the left-hander. 3/0
2.3 S Lakmal to Brathwaite, Leg Bye! Too straight, back of a length and the batsman misses and gets hits on his thigh pad. The batsmen pinch a run. 3/0
2.2 S Lakmal to Brathwaite, Similar length, outside off and fended off the back foot. 2/0
2.1 S Lakmal to Brathwaite, Starts with a good length delivery and on the stumps. Brathwaite blocks it. 2/0
We are set to get underway. Kraigg Brathwaite and Devon Smith to continue their batting. Suranga Lakmal to bowl first up this morning. Three slips and a gully in place. Here we go...
PITCH REPORT - Russel Arnold assessing the surface says that the batsmen need to make use of the scoring opportunities whenever they come by. States that the shorter lengths had worked for the hosts and Sri Lanka will be aiming to hit those areas as well.
Kemar Roach is being interviewed by Darren Ganga on the sidelines. He says that it was a tough start for him but he was just trying to bowl it on line and length and that worked for him. Further adds that he is pleased with his 150th Test wicket. While talking about being 30 years old now and still playing the longest format, he states that in the start of his career he was fitter and aggressive but now he is enjoying the game more. Ends by saying that to get back in the side and lead the bowling attack is really good for him and he is enjoying it more.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, would like their bowlers to inspire something special. They would like them to use the greenish top to their advantage, and make full use of the wind blowing across the square as well. Suranga Lakmal, their most experienced bowler, needs to come good. New ball can prove to be handy, if utilized properly. Should be an exciting contest, stay tuned for the live action...
Hello and welcome to the coverage of 2nd day of the second Test match between West Indies and Sri Lanka from St Lucia. After yesterday's exploits, the Windies will be looking to enhance their dominance. Their bowlers have done a commendable job to bowl out Sri Lanka for just over 250. And it's time for their batters to come good and take the game away from the visitors.
... Day 2, Session 1 ...
The visitors were hoping for a better start to the second Test but it wasn't to be. Apart from Chandimal and Mendis to an extent, the other batsmen didn't show proper resistance. The Sri Lankan skipper scored a classy century on a demanding pitch and has given his side something to battle for. Day 2 promises to be good for the batting side but the Lankan bowlers can make things interesting by replicating their opposition's tactics. Join us on Friday at 1000 local (1400 GMT) to catch all the action. Till then, cheers!
Safely negotiated. The opening pair of the hosts required only a couple of overs to survive and they have done just that before the close of play. Earlier, it was a dominant display from the Windies' fast bowlers throughout the day. They were asked to bowl first on a green top and they made full use of the helpful conditions. Shannon Gabriel took a fifer and Kemar Roach complemented him equally well with a 4-wicket haul. The other bowlers were disciplined as well and kept a leash on the Sri Lankan batsmen.
1.6 A Dananjaya to Smith, Smith gets forward and defends the flighted delivery. THAT IS STUMPS ON DAY 1! 2/0
1.5 A Dananjaya to Smith, Tossed up on middle and leg, Smith goes back in his crease and blocks it from the full face of the bat. 2/0
1.4 A Dananjaya to Smith, Another loopy delivery and almost a yorker. The batsman digs it out. 2/0
1.3 A Dananjaya to Smith, The batsman failed to make contact and was hit low on the pads outside leg. 2/0
1.2 A Dananjaya to Smith, Tossed up on middle and blocked off the back foot by Smith. 2/0
1.1 A Dananjaya to Smith, Flighted on off and driven off the front foot to mid on for nothing. 2/0
Akila Dananjaya to share the new ball from the other end.
0.6 S Lakmal to Brathwaite, Touch fuller but too wide to make Brathwaite play at it. 2/0
0.5 S Lakmal to Brathwaite, The batsman chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. 2/0
0.4 S Lakmal to Brathwaite, In that same channel once again and the right-hander stays away from the delivery. 2/0
0.3 S Lakmal to Brathwaite, Similar length around off, left alone by the batsman. 2/0
0.2 S Lakmal to Brathwaite, Too straight and down the leg side, the batsman lets it pass to the keeper. 2/0
0.1 S Lakmal to Brathwaite, West Indies are away! Lakmal starts with a short of a length delivery and Brathwaite tucks it away off his pads for a couple. 2/0
First Published: June 15, 2018, 7:29 PM IST
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