West Indies opening batters Kraigg Brathwaite and Jermaine Blackwood put on 62 runs for the 1st wicket as the visitors closed out day 2 just 135 runs behind Sri Lanka’s 1st innings score of 204.
A dramatic 1st session saw Sri Lanka lose their last 9 wickets for just 65 runs as the Windies spinners ran riot on day 2. The short period of play last evening had shown that this track had plenty of spin on offer and it continued to offer the bowlers plenty throughout the 1st session.
Jomel Warrican and Veerasamy Permaul beat the bat regularly early on, unlucky not to pick up some early wickets. The breakthrough finally came when Oshada Fernando played a loose shot to a short and wide delivery, nicking behind to Joshua da Silva.
It was an all too familiar sight for those who have followed Angelo Mathews career midway through the session, as the veteran pulled up in pain after completing a quick single, clutching his thigh. He left the field with the score on 162 but returned at the fall of the 8th wicket. Unable to run, he went for the boundaries and managed to get 18 runs off 15 deliveries before being dismissed by Jomel Warrican.
Charith Asalanka looked fairly comfortable in the middle, perhaps the ball spinning in to him making things slightly easier. He took on the spinners, notably getting his 1st Test runs with a reverse sweep to the boundary, but he didn’t last long enough for Sri Lanka, inside-edging to the fielder close in.
None of the batters were able to settle from that point, losing wickets in clusters as the puffs of dust from the Galle track appeared more frequently. The hosts went from 152/3 to 169/6 and eventually 204 all out.
The Sri Lankan spinners struggled to find the same amount of bite from the wicket as the Winds opening pair frustrated them with some solid defence.
