Chasing a target of 437 for victory, West Indies could only hope for a draw by the middle of the second session as the batsmen failed to make the most of a very good start to the day by Bravo and Sarwan. Resuming at 96/1, both batsmen acquitted themselves well in taking the score to 156 before Bravo was C&B by Muralitharan for 83.
At 156/2, Sarwan well set and Samuels, Chanderpaul and Gayle to come, a draw was very much still in the cards. West Indies failed to solidify their position, however, as wickets fell at regular intervals. Samuels was next to go - caught behind off Chaminda Vaas. And when Chanderpaul was beaten all over the place by a Vaas incutter, the prospect of a draw all but dissipated.
From 156/1, West Indies soon found themselves stuttering at 229/6 after the dismissal of Ryan Hinds (caught behind off Muralitharan). When all was said and done Gayle was left unbeaten on 51 with the second innings total at 315. As far as second inning totals go, 315 represents some respectability and further illuminates the poor play of the Windies in the first innings. One can only speculate the result of the match had the home side not let so many chances go down in allowing Sri Lanka to amass 476/8d. Furthermore, how many times in recent history has the West Indies scored higher in their second innings? (280,315)
There are positives to be taken from this performance. The return of Sarwan to the Test team with two fifties augurs well for the immediate future. Dwayne Bravo's second innings opening knock of 83 speaks to a level of maturity that is often lacking in the younger players. That being said, the likes of Smith and Samuels showed nothing in this match and could find themselves on the sidelines for the second match.
In beating West Indies, Sri Lanka secured for themselves their first ever Test win on Caribbean soil.
Final Scores:
SL - 476/8d & 240/7d
WI - 280 & 315
Result: Sri Lanka win by 121 runs.
- 246 reads
Wed, 26/03/2008 - 4:25pm
Smith's shot in the second innings was awful. Samuels also got out to two bad shots as well - will they keep their place?
Also what about Gayle's captaincy? Gayle was a little too laissez-faire in the second innings in allowing the Sri Lankans to score too freely at times. Will people be calling for Sarwan to be made captain again instead of Gayle?
Thu, 27/03/2008 - 3:00am
I think it's still too soon to be calling for Gayle's head as captain. That being said Sarwan didn't get too long of a shot either - albeit due to injuries. The fact is, the guys seem to respect Gayle alot. He did buckle down and perform well in the second innings under pressure. He should learn on the job as far as being a better captain. Let's face it, the pressure on him in the position isn't akin to Ricky Ponting as far as the expectancy of the team's performance.
Something to look for the future though - Sarwan as Test captain and Gayle as ODI skipper.
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