After 1408 runs and 28 wickets, and even some rain delays over five days, tSri Lanka and West Indies played out a draw in the second and final Test in North Sound. The stalemate means it was a first Test series victory in 11 attempts for West Indies, their last coming in 2023, ESPN reported.
Set a target of 302, John Campbell and Brandon King never threatened to take it on, but even so both scoring fifties – Campbell for the second time this Test – will have given the pair and the West Indian dressing room cause for optimism.
Moreover, with World Test Championship points of less importance, having already been eliminated from contention for a final berth, the series win was all that mattered to the hosts.
The first part of the Sri Lankan plan was quick runs, and in that they excelled. Dinesh Chandimal and Kamindu Mendis were the overnight pair, and it was clear from the outset that they would look to take on the bowling, ESPN said.
West Indies, however, weren’t in any mood to make it easy, as they stuck to defensive fields and lines – stacking a 2-7 field to the seamers, while the spinners lived on leg-stump lines. Despite this, Sri Lanka hurried along at a scoring rate of 5.79 in the session, one where they struck 139 runs in 24 overs.
The risks they were forced to take also meant that six wickets fell in the first two hours of play.
Despite some variable bounce around, Sri Lanka’s seamers – and Prabath Jayasuriya – were unable to cause much discomfort to the West Indies openers, who seemed in no hurry, moving to 65 after 23 overs at tea.
ESPN said that the inevitable draw was seemingly hastened by a tea-time shower, but it was of the passing variety and so play continued after a ten-minute delay. After the break, Jayasuriya continued to cause King trouble, threatening his outside edge and the stumps, but to no avail. Another rain break looked to have ended proceedings decisively, but good work from the ground staff ensured that there was a little more game time to get through.
Handshakes were offered and taken after the 40th over, as West Indies had moved to 109 for no loss, ESPN said.
Sri Lanka 549 for 9 dec (Udara 188, Dinusha 92, Seales 2-98, Shamar 2-98) and 251 for 9 dec (Chandimal 71, Alzarri 2-44) drew with West Indies 499 (Greaves 180, Hope 112, Asitha 5-130) and 109 for 0 (Campbell 51*, King 51*)
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