WI vs SL, 2nd Test: Chandimal, de Silva keep visitors in contest
Mar 31, 2021
St John's [Antigua], March 31 : Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva ensured that Sri Lanka do not fall behind on Day Two of the ongoing second Test against West Indies here at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium.
At Stumps on Tuesday, Sri Lanka's score read 136/3 and the visitors still trail by 218 runs in the first innings. Chandimal and de Silva are currently unbeaten on 34 and 23 respectively.
After bundling out hosts Windies for 354, Sri Lanka lost an early wicket as skipper Dimuth Karunaratne (1) was sent back to the pavilion by Alzarri Joseph in the ninth over of the innings. Lahiru Thirimanne and Oshada Fernando then put on 46 runs for the second wicket.
However, just when things started to look easy for the visitors, West Indies got wickets in quick succession as Kyle Mayers first dismissed Fernando (18) and then Kemar Roach bowled Thirimanne (55). This brought Chandimal and de Silva to the crease and the duo ensured that Sri Lanka does not lose more wickets till the end of the day's play.
Earlier, resuming the day at 287/7, overnight batters Kraigg Brathwaite and Rahkeem Cornwall saw off the first hour as they both went past their personal milestones. Brathwaite registered a century while Cornwall went past the 50-run mark.
The 103-run stand between the two was finally brought to an end by Suranga Lakmal as he dismissed Cornwall (73). Soon after, Kemar Roach (9) and skipper Brathwaite (126) were also dismissed by Dushmantha Chameera, as the hosts were bowled out for 354.
Brief Scores: West Indies 354 (Kraigg Brathwaite 126, Rahkeem Cornwall 73, Suranga Lakmal 4-94); Sri Lanka (Lahiru Thirimanne 55, Lahiru Thirimanne 34*, Kyle Mayers 1-6).
