WI vs SL | 2nd Test Day 1: Skipper Brathwaite resurrects Windies after Lakmal's new-ball scare

A gritty 99 not out from the skipper Kraigg Brathwaite and valuable contributions from lower-order batsmen Alzarri Joseph and Rakheem Cornwall put West Indies in control in the second Test of the series against Sri Lanka. 

The tourists, however, did not let the game slip away from them at any moment and could well have bowled out the hosts cheaply had the fielders helped bowlers on the first day.

Sri Lankan skipper Dimuth Karunaratne won the toss and sent Windies in to bat first on a pitch that promised to be slower in nature. He banked on his pace trio of Suranga Lakmal, Vishwa Fernando, and Dushmantha Chameera to have the best use of the surface. 

On cue, Lakmal was on the money from the word go and persisted around the off stump line of both John Campbell and Brathwaite. The pacer was so accurate that his first three overs ended as maiden overs and the line of the attack started to become tighter and tighter to Campbell and it finally induced a poke from the left-hander to give Sri Lanka their first success. He was in mid of a terrific spell and capitalized on his rhythm to get the better of Nkrumah Bonner with a delivery that the right-hander centurion from the last game could not play with decisive footwork.

Karunaratane was elated with twin strikes from Lakmal and handed him an extended spell after his first six overs yielded no runs and provided two wickets. Lakmal was not done and he was all over Windies’s number in Kyle Mayers as the left-hander could not show enough discipline and assurance outside his off stump. 

Out of three boundaries that went off Mayer’s bat, he was lucky to survive on two of them before Lakmal finally found the outside edge of his bat. But, to his and Sri Lanka’s agony, Pathum Nissanka—the hero of the last game, dropped an absolute dolly in the third slip to give the hosts a big reprieve. Lakmal bowled a marathon 10-overs long spell and provided his team with a perfect start on the very first morning.

Karunaratne brought the left-arm spin of Lasith Embuldeniya and the pace of Chameera around and after the first drinks break. The tourists were looking to get into the middle order while the hosts’ skipper Brathwaite was batting with his usual solidity and Mayers was looking forward to taking the game to the opposition camp.

Mayers was quick to pounce on scoring opportunities by Embuldeniya and Chameera as the pacer went for fuller deliveries in a bid to extract an outside edge of his bat. He achieved the moral victory by drawing false strokes, but the left-hander was willing to risk his wicket and scored boundaries off him.

The day was evenly poised at the lunch interval with Mayers and Brathwaite leading Windies’s riposte after an impressive spell of bowling from Lakmal.

Karunaratne started the afternoon session with his new-ball bowlers Fernando and Lakmal. The move paid off immediately as Mayers’ appetite for quick runs led to his downfall in the very first over after the lunch break.

The next man in Jermaine Blackwood knows only one way of playing his game and he started taking Lakmal to the cleaners to get off and running. Runs started to flow from both ends but there were enough hints for Sri Lanka as boundaries were coming in streaky ways for the hosts.

Lakamla returned with his third spell of day to remove Blackwood with a back of a length delivery outside off stump which the batsman could not resist playing at. With the scoreboard reading 120/4, it was upon the pair of current and ex-captain to take the Windies to a comfortable position in the first innings. They were on their way to fulfil that task with a fifty run partnership filled with crisp boundaries from both the batsmen. Brathwaite completed his hardworking fifty in the process and Windies were looking settled with him batting at the crease.

But, just after the 50-run partnership landmark, Karunaratne brought Dhananjaya de Sliva to extract something out of the surface. As the skipper would have wished for, he extracted an outside edge of Holder’s bat with a widish full delivery that tempted the batsman into playing a booming drive through the off side. 

The game was hanging in balance after Holder’s wicket and the wicketkeeper-batsman Joshua Da Silva was battling highly accurate bowlers from both ends. He persisted with defence for as many as 35 balls before playing a rash shot away from his body against Chameera to had Sri Lanka an advantage in the afternoon session.

The onus was on Brathwaite’s shoulder to stitch partnerships with lower-order batsmen as Joseph walked out to bat ahead of Cornwall. He did not waste the opportunity though and lifted de Silva over the top for a six to hit the ground running. A crisp drive followed in the spinner’s next over and Windies were once again on track to get out of trouble.

Joseph played some delightful strokes in his 41 ball-29 innings but the left-arm spinner trapped him LBW to taste his first success of the day. 

The next man in Cornwall started to dazzle from the word go and went past the 20-run mark in no time with five boundaries off all bowlers except Chameera. Then, having seen him walloping every bowler for fun, Karunaratne brought back Chameera to test him with pacy deliveries. The right-hander was up to the task and smashed the pacer for a four and six to seek his dominance on the day’s proceedings.

Meanwhile, Brathwaite was batting with immense control on his stroke-making. He was dismissed in ugly manners in both the innings of the last Test and he was keen to not let this opportunity of batting go from his grasp. As Cornwall was blazing the bowlers from one end, he held up the other to take Windies to a position of relative safety at the end of the first day’s play.