06/26/26 05:13:00
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06/26 17:11 CDT West Indies trail Sri Lanka by 37 runs with five wickets in
hand in 1st test
West Indies trail Sri Lanka by 37 runs with five wickets in hand in 1st test
NORTH SOUND, Antigua (AP) --- An unbroken sixth-wicket stand between Amir
Jangoo and captain Roston Chase gave West Indies first innings parity with Sri
Lanka on the second day of the first test on Friday.
Jangoo reached a maiden half-century in only his second test and was 78 not out
at stumps. Chase was 42 not out in a partnership worth 103 runs which carried
the West Indies to 271-5 at stumps in reply to Sri Lanka's first innings of
308, a deficit of 37.
Until Jangoo and Chase came together in the final session, a Sri Lanka attack
depleted by the loss of fast bowler Lahiru Kumara to a hamstring injury managed
to keep chipping out West Indies batters who made a start, giving the visitor
an early advantage.
Kumara clutched his hamstring while running in to deliver the first ball of his
second over of the day. He hobbled off and didn't return before stumps.
In his absence, Asitha Fernando and Milan Rathnayake both compensated, taking
two wickets each during a second session which belonged to Sri Lanka. The West
Indies had been in a strong position at 89-1 at lunch and went to tea at 168-5.
Openers John Campbell and Brandon King were responsible for the solid start,
sharing a partnership of 58t. King's was the only wicket to fall in the first
session, caught at short cover off Rathanayake when he was 31.
Campbell was out early in the second session, holing out at long-on from the
bowling of Sonal Dinusha when he was 37.
With the Sri Lanka bowlers applying pressure, runs dried up and wickets began
to fall regularly. Rathanayake bowled Kavem Hodge off an inside edge for 16 and
Fernando dismissed Joshua da Silva (20) and Justin Greaves (3).
Jangoo and da Silva put on 52 for the fourth wicket in a partnership which saw
the West Indies begin to break the constraints of accurate bowling in the off
stump channel. Greaves tried to last until tea but fell to a superb, one-handed
catch by wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis.
The left-handed Jangoo was cautious at first but increasingly used his feet and
found ways to thread the ball through gaps on the off side. With Chase, he kept
a slow but steady scoring rate through the final session which they negotiated
safely, strengthening the West Indies' hand.
By stumps, Jangoo faced 174 balls for his 78 and hit seven boundaries. Chase
offered him stalwart support and took his 42 from 105 deliveries.
Fernando was both accurate and miserly, allowing only 25 runs from his 18 overs
while capturing two wickets. Rathnayake was equally hard working and had 2-45
from 19 overs.
Both teams are playing their first matches after long breaks from test cricket.
Sri Lanka is playing only its third match in this World Test Championship cycle.
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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
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