Sri Lanka and WI draw first Test

Paranavitana falls for 95 as match is drawn after rain washes out final session of fifth day of first Test in Galle.

undefined
Samaraweera, pictured, and Mathews were together when light rain forced the players to take an early tea [AFP]

Opener Tharanga Paranavitana missed out on a century as the first Test between Sri Lanka and West Indies was drawn on Friday after rain washed out the final session on the fifth day in Galle.

Paranavitana fell for 95 as the hosts reached tea on 241 for four, a lead of 39. No resumption of play was possible after the break and honours were shared.

Mahela Jayawardene joined Paranavitana, who was dropped after he had made 53, to complete a third wicket stand of 87 and help secure the draw after Sri Lanka had followed on.

West Indies, thanks to a career best 333 from Chris Gayle, had made 580 for nine declared in their first innings and then dismissed the home side for 378.

Bowling effort

“We came here with a winning mindset. We did everything that we were supposed to do in this test match,” Darren Sammy, the West Indies captain, said.

“We had a good chance of winning by putting some pressure on them. Like you saw our bowlers really toiled out there. The wicket was not really offering much assistance to the pacers.

“But I must commend the bowling unit for sticking out there and they created the opportunities. Their effort was good but unfortunately we didn’t get the ten wickets we wanted.”

Sammy helped end Paranavitana’s resistance, taking a simple catch at slip from the bowling of Shane Shillingford.

Jayawardene moved to his second half-century of the match by straight driving part-time spinner Brendan Nash for six but fell for 58 to the same bowler eight balls later when he drove too early and hit back a low return catch.

Thilan Samaraweera (19) and Angelo Mathews (5) were together when light rain forced the players to take an early tea at the Galle International Cricket Stadium.

Bright start

West Indies had started brightly in the morning and struck two early blows when Tillakaratne Dilshan and captain Kumar Sangakkara were dismissed within two overs of each other.

Sangakkara said his side’s below-par bowling in the first two sessions on the first day had allowed West Indies to take control of the Test.

“The lines and the lengths we bowled on this track was not good enough for us to put any pressure on them, to get wickets or to cut down on the runs. Chris [Gayle] took a lot of advantage from that and he batted magnificently,” he said.

The second test starts in Colombo on November 23.

Source: News Agencies