Kraigg Braithwaite and Suranga Lakmal were the stars on the first day of the second Test in Antigua. While the West Indies skipper finished one short of his ninth Test ton, Lakmal picked up three wickets. The hosts ended the day on 287/7 with Cornwall (43) giving his captain company at the other end.
It was a day where the honours were shared, and the game swung back and forth. If Sri Lanka had their noses in front early on the first morning, West Indies have wrestled back the initiative towards the end. Kraigg Braithwaite led from the front to help West Indies recover from early breakthroughs and end the day on even grounds.
The day started with Sri Lankan skipper Dimuth Karunaratne winning the toss and inserting West Indies into bat. Suranga Lakmal responded to his captain’s call of bowling first, knocking over John Campbell and first Test’s hero Nkrumah Bonner. Lakmal came around the wicket and had Campbell nicking one to the wicket-keeper before the ace Sri Lankan pacer forced Bonner to chop one back onto his stumps after troubling him throughout the over.
At 15/2, West Indies were in deep trouble, and Lakmal had his tail up. In fact, at one point, the 34-year-old fast bowler’s figures read 6-6-0-2. He caused all sorts of problems for the West Indies batters and got the ball to move around quite a bit. He could’ve picked up his third wicket if not for Pathum Nissanka’s drop at third slip, which gave Kyle Mayers a life. Mayers had a charming stay at the crease as he edged a few through the cordon while looking to attack. While all the drama was unfolding at one end, Braithwaite remained stoic at the other end, weathering the storm.
Lakmal bowled a terrific 10-over spell, but Mayers counter-attacked and raced away to 49 to take West Indies to 86/2. However, Mayers’ luck ran out as he nicked one off Vishwa Fernando in the first over after lunch. Lakmal came back to pick up his third wicket of the day as he nipped out Jermaine Blackwood.
Jason Holder joined Braithwaite in the middle, and the duo shared a 51-run stand for the fifth wicket. The partnership was threatening big time, and Holder was going at a superb rate before he fell to Dhananjaya de Silva for 30.
Joshua Da Silva, who overturned an LBW decision second-ball, scratched hard, but a loose shot brought about his dismissal as Dushmantha Chameera got his first wicket. West Indies were 185/6 at that stage, and Braithwaite, batting on 73, was waging a lone battle.
Alzarri Joseph came out swinging as he stroked his way to 29 before Lasith Embuldeniya pinned him LBW in the 69th over of the day. He was dropped off by Embuldeniya in the previous over, but he couldn’t make the most of it. At that stage (222/7), it seemed like West Indies might fold up on the first day. But Rahkeem Cornwall and Braithwaite had other ideas. While the West Indies skipper continued in his defensive way, blunting out the bowlers, Cornwall took the Sri Lankans attack as he smashed his way to 43 off 54 balls in a knock that included six fours and a six.
The off-spinner did survive a close LBW shout on the final ball of the day, but alongside Braithwaite, he took West Indies to stumps and even saw off the second new ball, which is currently six overs old. They have an unbeaten stand of 65, with Braithwaite not out on 99. Sri Lanka will rue the missed opportunities as they dropped as many as three catches, including Braithwaite when he was on 37.
Brief Scores: West Indies 287/7 (Kraigg Brathwaite 99*, Kyle Mayers 49, Rahkeem Cornwall 43*, Suranga Lakmal 3-71) vs Sri Lanka
