Charlie Austin
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2nd Test: Sri Lanka v West Indies at Kandy, 21-25 Nov 2001 Charlie Austin |
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West Indies 1st innings:
Sri Lanka 2nd innings: |
Sri Lanka were 79 without loss at the last drinks break in the evening, having added just 20 runs in the last 50-minutes, which leaves them with a lead of 176.
There are 15 overs still scheduled for the evening, but despite broken skies, these will not be bowled before bad light halts play.
Both batsmen enjoyed some good fortune. Marvan Atapattu survived a stumping chance off Carl Hooper having scored 29 and Sanath Jayasuriya looked lucky to survive an appeal for a catch behind the wicket. Television replays indicated that the ball brushed his glove as he tried to pull the ball.
At the break, Jayasuriya was 45, closing in on his first half-century of the series, and Atapattu was 31.
West Indies, whose victory chances have all but evaporated, have tried to slow down the game after tea, bowling just 11 overs in 50 minutes. Just about acceptable with two fast bowlers, but not so with a spinner operating from one end.
After the interval, Colin Stuart came onto bowl and to widespread relief managed to avoid bowling anyone more beamers at the Sri Lankan batsmen. He bowled unchanged.
Marvan Atappattu started cautiously and waited 43 balls for his first boundary, but looked solid at the evening water break on 22.
Sanath Jayasuriya was on 34.
Both Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu started cautiously in the second innings, well aware that early second innings wickets against the new ball has cost them dear in Kandy against South Africa, England and India.
At the interval they were 23 without loss with a lead of 120.
Jayasuriya, looking for his first significant score of the series, was 15 not out, having hit one boundary through the covers and enjoyed one moment of fortune when he edged the ball just wide of his stumps.
Atapattu was eight not out.
West Indies will have been greatly relieved to have seen Mervyn Dillon attacking the crease in his five over spell before tea. He looked a different bowler to the pained-seamer that trundled in during the first innings.
Realistically, with 37 overs remaining in the day, Sri Lanka will now want to score at three runs per over to give themselves a lead of 250 by the days end. This can be increased quickly in the morning, before leaving West Indies with 85-95 overs to score 280-300 to win.
Straight after the drinks break Vaas was given a hat-trick opportunity when trapped the left-handed Dinanath Ramnarine lbw first ball with a late inswinger. Pedro Collins, however, just survived.
Vaas has been working on his reverse swing for a while, but this is the first time that we have seen him consistently bend the old ball in the air. He troubled all the batsmen, including Brian Lara, who was lucky to survive one close appeal for lbw.
Vaas took the ninth wicket to fall. Collins, desperately trying to provide support to Lara, survived for 22 minutes without scoring before Vaas trapped him lbw.
Lara tried to retain the strike thereafter and Colin Stuart only faced one ball in their 11-minute partnership. He, though, was eventually trapped lbw by Muralitharan for 74.
Vaas finished with four for 56 and Muralitharan with four for 54.
West Indies were 173 for seven at the first drinks break in the afternoon session, still 115 runs adrift of Sri Lanka’s first innings score.
Jacobs clearly came out to bat with positive intentions. Unlike some of his colleagues he also had a gameplan against Muralitharan, which may been somewhat simplistic (he tried to sweep every ball!), but it worked for a while as he scored 24 from 27 balls.
However, acting captain Marvan Atapattu, called back Chaminda Vaas after short spells from Nuwan Zoysa and Thilan Samaraweera and the left-arm fast bowler immediately started to reverse swing the old ball.
In his first over he bowled Jacobs off the left-handers inside edge and then troubled the right-handed Mervyn Dillon with a series of away swingers. Having played and missed four times he eventually edged a low catch behind, which was well taken by Kumar Sangakkara behind the stumps.
Lara remained at the crease, unbeaten on 57, having reached his 34th half-century with a lofted boundary off Thilan Samaraweera from 102 balls.
Muralitharan returned for his second spell of the morning to take two quick wickets and leave the West Indies precariously placed on 129 for five at the luncheon interval.
The two-wicket strike followed an entertaining fifty stand between Carl Hooper and Brian Lara, as the senior batsmen attacked left-arm spinner Niroshan Bandaratillake.
Lara, who waited 72 minutes for his first boundary, celebrated the withdrawal of Muralitharan from the attack, by hitting the left-armer for two fours and two straight sixes.
The fifty partnership came up in just 67 balls.
The runs now flowing, skipper Sanath Jayasuriya pulled back his best bowler from the other end.
Hooper stretched forward to pad the ball away and umpire Gamini Silva turned down several lbw appeals before the Guyanan right-hander was deceived in the air and left stranded on the crease to be adjudged lbw for 23.
Marlon Samuels, dismissed by Muralitharan in both innings in Galle, was then snapped up for a duck as he edged Muralitharan’s straight-ball behind.
West Indies were 126 for five.
The tourist’s hopes now rest on the shoulders of Lara once more. He started slowly and struggled against Muralitharan, but he weathered the storm and was 37 not out at the interval.
West Indies were 96 for three at the second water break of the morning, with Lara on 11 and captain Hooper on 15.
Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya replaced Chaminda Vaas with Nuwan Zoysa and the tall left-armer soon dismissed Chris Gayle with full-length inswinger, which slipped between bat and pad to send the middle stump cartwheeling.
Gayle had scored 44 in 73 balls and fir six boundaries.
Hooper and Lara then added 24 runs, but both lived dangerously, as they frequently played and missed.
Lara, in particular, struggled against Muralitharan, against whom he was determined to be positive. Nevertheless, despite his attacking intent, he failed to find the boundary.
Hooper was more assured against Muralitharan and hit the off-spinner for two confidant boundaries: an on-drive and a pull.
West Indies, 39 for one over night, added 31 runs in the first 50-minute passage of play and were 70 for two at the first water break.
Play started on time despite soft and muddy brown patches on the outfield; the result of prolonged wet weather during the past two days.
Sri Lanka opened with Nuwan Zoysa and Chaminda Vaas and the West Indian batsmen, Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan, started cautiously as the ball jagged off the seam in the opening overs.
In the seventh over of the day Zoysa (3-1-5-0) was replaced by Muralitharan. Immediately, the Kandy-born off-spinner extracted more turn and bounce than he had down in Galle.
In his second over, Sarwan, trying to work the ball into the leg-side, ended up in a tangle and, misjudging the amount of spin, was bowled through the gate for 17.
The wicket brought Brian Lara to the crease and the left-hander struggled in Muralitharan’s next over, twice playing and missing.
Gayle had been forthright yesterday afternoon. This morning though he started as if he had his heart set on a big score. Finally, in the ninth over of the day, he opened his shoulders and hammered Vaas through the covers. Next over he then lofted Muralitharan handsomely over mid-off. At drinks, he was 44 not out.
© CricInfo
Date-stamped : 24 Nov2001 - 18:37