Sri Lanka dominate day 2 as spin trio Lasith, Mendis, Praveen run through West Indies top order – by Sunil Thenabadu (sports editor – eLanka)
Stumps DAY 2: West Indies 113 for 6 (Brathwaite 41, Mendis 3-23, Jayawickrama 2-25) trail Sri Lanka 386 (Karunaratne 147, Dhananjaya 61, Nissanka 56, Chandimal 45, Chase 5-83, Warrican 3-87, Gabriel 2-69) by 273 runs
West Indies drove them back into the game in the first two sessions on day 2 taking Sri Lanka’s last seven wickets for just 105 runs But after a confident opening stand they gave up all the position they had achieved in the evening session losing six wickets for just 54 runs.
Basically, what this implies, is that regardless of Roston Chase’s five-wicket haul, West Indies are still precariously placed with a huge 273 runs behind Sri Lanka, with only four wickets left. Though they bat deep, but the pitch is now taking significant turn, specifically for Sri Lanka’s spinners. So predominant were the slow bowlers of both sides on day two, that no batter could make a fifty Dinesh Chandimal and Kraigg Brathwaite came nearest, hitting 45 and 41 individually.
Sri Lanka lost their overnight pair in the very first hour, and lost the remainder of their batters each side of lunch, but still, it was the last session of the day that was most spectacular. West Indies had restricted Sri Lanka to 386 – a good score, but not the colossal one that the hosts had endangered at the end of day one. Brathwaite and makeshift opener Jermaine Blackwood having taken the place of concussed Jeremy Solozano , with the concussion replacement Shai Hope to come in at No. 4 made a half-decent start, too, putting on 46 for the first wicket. But as is often the situation in Galle – though often not as early on as the second day – once one partnership was broken, several wickets fall in quick progression.
Blackwood was the first to be dismissed. He had been lbw on 2 against Dushmantha Chameera, but the umpire rolled down the appeal and Sri Lanka did not review. He had seemed to have become relaxed at the crease, specifically against Lasith Embuldeniya, whom he hoisted for a straight six, but then missed a flattening delivery from the same bowler, who was accurately adjudged lbw which Blackwood charred a review.
Four overs later, Praveen Jayawickrema- the other left-arm spinner in Sri Lanka’s XI – got a ball to gush up from the straight, and take Nkrumah Bonner’s glove to be caught at slip , where Dhananjaya de Silva took a crisp catch to his left.
