ST JOHN’S, Antigua – West Indies deservedly earned their first Test series win over Sri Lanka in 23 years when the second Test predictably ended in a tame draw here at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Tuesday,
Brandon King scored an unbeaten half century in the West Indies’ second innings. (Getty Images)Trying to force an unlikely victory to level the series, Sri Lanka batted aggressively to score 251 for nine in 49 overs before declaring their innings belatedly just after lunch.
Set a target of 302 for victory in 60 overs, West Indies openers John Campbell and Brandon King never showed any interest in taking on the challenge, with both batters scoring unbeaten half centuries before both captains agreed to a draw with the home side 109 without loss after 40 overs.
The result gave the Windies a 1-0 series win after their innings and 217-run victory in the opener; and handed them their first Test series win over Sri Lanka since 2003.
It was always going to be a tough ask for the visitors after they resumed Tuesday’s last day on 92 for two – an overall lead of 142.
Overnight batters Dinesh Chandimal and Kamindu Mendis added a further 26 runs to the total in six overs before pacer Jayden Seales had Mendis caught at mid-off by a juggling Anderson Phillip to be out for 44.
Sri Lanka continued their push for fast runs with Chandimal leading the charge on the way to reaching his 37th Test half century.
However, he was dismissed by a spectacular diving catch by Kavem Hodge at backward point off the bowling of Alzarri Joseph for 71 off 107 balls, to leave Sri Lanka 156 for four.
Skipper Dhananjaya de Silva made a run-a-ball 34 before he was caught at long off trying to hit offspinner Roston Chase out of the ground and nine runs later Phillip had Kusal Mendis caught at gully, to make the score 197 for six.
Sonal Dinusha was run out for a brisk 28 off 26 balls, with Hodge bowling Isitha Wijesundara soon after for 10, as Sri Lanka slipped to 227 for eight with the lunch interval looming.
Surprisingly, Sri Lanka opted not to declare at their lunch time score of 231 for eight, an overall lead of 281 runs.
Instead, they chose to extend their overall lead to 301 runs, using valuable time in the process.
Knowing that a draw would secure a historic victory for their side, the West Indies’ openers were in no hurry to score, choosing to prioritize defense.
They carried the home side to 65 without loss at tea, essentially sealing the draw result.
To make matters worse for Sri Lanka, the heavens opened up shortly after resumption, leading to an hour of play being lost.
By the time play restarted at 4:37 p.m., the outcome was a foregone conclusion, with the agreement to end the match coming after both Campbell and King had reached their half centuries.
The West Indies’ Justin Greaves was named Player-of-the-Match and Player-of-the-Series.
