Sri Lanka’s Ramesh Mendis, Praveen Jayawickrama and Lasith Embuldeniya spun a web around West Indies in the final session on Day 2 of the first Test in Galle. They took six wickets in the final session as West Indies slipped from 46/0 to 100/6 before closing the day on 113/6 after Sri Lanka got 386 in the first innings. They still need to score 74 runs to avoid the follow on.
Sri Lanka resumed Day 2 on 267/3, and lost the last seven wickets for 105. Roston Chase completed his five-wicket haul by dismissing Embuldeniya, the last batter. Jomel Warrican and Shannon Gabriel shared the other five wickets. Dimuth Karunaratne managed to add only 15 to his overnight 132 before Joshua Da Silva stumped him off Chase.
West Indies bat deep. Jason Holder and Kyle Mayers are at the crease, with Jeremy Solozano (if fit), Da Silva and Rahkeem Cornwall yet to come. Yet, trailing by 273 runs in the first innings with four wickets in hand, they have to perform something miraculous on Day 3 to get themselves back into the game.
If Sri Lanka manage to break the Holder-Mayers partnership early on Day 3, they will go for the kill and enforce the follow-on if possible to carry the momentum. The spinners, who dominated Day 2, will play crucial roles again.
Betway Fantasy Tips
- Back all three Sri Lankan spinners. They may even wrap up the game on Day 3.
- Mayers scored an unbeaten 210 not out on his debut Test against Bangladesh in February. He has to do something similar to bring West Indies back into the game.