WI vs SL, 1st Test, Day 4, Review: Sri Lanka putting up a fight

The 1st Test between West Indies and Sri Lanka is taking interesting turns. At the end of day-3, it seemed that it would be a cakewalk for West Indies to win this game. However, the visitors are showing some great resilience and are putting up a great fight. They are in no mood to let this game drift away easily and are battling hard.

Although winning this game is next to impossible for Sri Lanka, they would be looking to draw the game at least. For this to happen, they will have to bat an entire day out which will not be any easy. At the close of play of day-3, they piled up 176 runs and also lost 3 wickets. West Indies, on the other hand, will be looking to wrap things up quickly.

West Indies push the lead further in their 2nd innings

Carrying on from an overnight score of 131 runs, Windies added 92 runs more onto the board. They took the lead all the way up to 452 runs, a position from where they couldn’t lose the game. K Powell who batted brilliantly on day-3 missed out on a well-deserved century. He only added 24 runs more to his tally and was dismissed on 88 by Dilruwan Perera.

Also, Shane Dowrich who scored a century in the first innings was dismissed for just 13 runs by Lahiru Kumara. Skipper Jason Holder scored a quickfire 39 off 40 deliveries and Windies declared at 223 after losing 7 wickets. Lahiru Kumara, who was the pick of the bowlers in the first innings continued to impress in the second innings as well. He picked 3 wickets in just the 9 overs that he bowled.

Sri Lanka swimming against the tide

From the situation they were in, Sri Lanka could only play for a draw. They did exactly that and had a very defensive approach to the game. Kusal Perera was dismissed early by Shannon Gabriel for just 12 runs. Sri Lanka was struck with another blow soon as Dinesh Chandimal walked off the field holding his head, which could probably be a headache or a migraine. Angelo Mathews took over from there and looked good as he scored his 31 runs. But, he was got out at the wrong time and was dismissed by Jason Holder as he tried to flirt with a delivery down the leg side. He would be absolutely gutted with that shot.

Roshen Silva got out quickly after that. He scored 14 off 23 balls and he dolled one back into Devendra Bishoo’s hands. Kusal Mendis was the best batter for the Lankans. He looked very good and will be eyeing his century on day-5. He scored 94 runs thus far and will be the key if Sri Lanka is to draw this one out. Furthermore, Dinesh Chandimal will mostly bat on day-5 and will have to play a responsible and cautious innings. Also, Niroshan Dickwella might hold the key as he looked in the first innings and is definitely due for a big one.

Brief Scores

WI, 1st Innings: 414/8 d in 154 overs (Shane Dowrich 125*, Shai Hope 44, Lahiru Kumara 4/95)

SL, 1st Innings: 185/10 in 55.4 overs (Dinesh Chandimal 44, Niroshan Dickwella 31, M Cummins 3/31)

WI, 2nd Innings: 223/7 in 72 overs (K Powell 88, Jason Holder 39, Lahiru Kumara 3/40)

SL, 1st Innings: 176/3 in 53.4 overs (K Mendis 94*, Angelo Mathews 31, Jason Holder 1/18)

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