Amir Jangoo stood up for the West Indies in unlikely circumstances with his maiden Test double ton, which inspired the hosts, the West Indies, to literally brush aside Sri Lanka by an innings and 217 runs. Amir Jangoo may not have played this game had West Indies‘ best batter, Shai Hope, been fit. But it was one man’s loss, another man’s gain, as they say, as Jangoo made the most of the opportunity and blew Sri Lanka away.
There were other notable performers as well, with captain Roston Chase narrowly missing out on a Test double ton, and his partnership with Jangoo changed the complexion of the game. The West Indies bowlers also bowled well in both innings, while the Lankans were at best good in patches, and that is never enough to win matches in Test cricket. The hosts go 1-0 up and get their maiden win in this WTC cycle with one Test to play, which will be at the same venue, Antigua, from July 3rd.
Captain Dhananjaya de Silva’s masterful ton helped Sri Lanka post a competitive 308 in 71.5 overs
Put into bat first, Pathum Nissanka and Nishan Madushka came out to open the batting for Sri Lanka. Roach had the ball in hand for the West Indies. The West Indies got off to a dream start as Nissanka was removed in the first over itself by Roach for 2 off 6 balls with the score also at 2 runs. Dinesh Chandimal came out to bat next. Madushka and Chandimal got together to weather the storm and built up a partnership of 40 runs for the second wicket before Madushka fell for 23 off 27 balls with 3 fours and a maximum to his name to Alzarri Joseph.
Kamindu Mendis came out to bat next and fell on the first ball. Alzarri had two in two balls as Kamindu fell for a golden duck, as the Lankans were 42/3 in the 10th over. Captain Dhananjaya de Silva came out to bat next and managed to negotiate the hat-trick ball. Chandimal and de Silva led Sri Lanka’s fightback after the early strikes and made sure the visitors were 3 down at Lunch on Day 1. The duo carried on in the afternoon session. The duo added 68 crucial runs for the 4th wicket and took the score to 110/3 in 25 overs before Chandimal fell for 54 off 67 balls with 8 fours to his name to Shamar Joseph.
Kusal Mendis, the keeper-batter, came out to bat next. Shamar had two in the over next as he dismissed Kusal for a 4th ball duck. Debutant Sonal Dinusha came out to bat next. Dhananjaya continued to counter-attack and keep the Sri Lankan innings going forward. Sonal showed his class and added valuable runs for the 6th wicket. The captain and the tailender took Sri Lanka past 200 runs. Dhananjaya and Sonal added 99 crucial runs for the 6th wicket before Dinusha fell for a well-made 43 off 75 balls with 6 fours to her name to Kemar Roach.
Milan Rathnayake came out to bat next. Rathnayake forged another partnership and crucially added runs with his captain to take Sri Lanka forward. The duo added 64 runs for the 7th wicket, in which the skipper compiled a glorious Test ton and looked to take the innings forward. The score reached 273 when the 7th wicket fell off the captain de Silva as a magnificent innings came to an end for him, falling for 120 off 168 balls with 17 fours to his name to Justin Greaves.
Kasun Rajitha came out to bat next. Rathnayake and Rajitha managed to add 14 runs to the score before the former fell for 27 off 52 balls, with 3 fours to his name, to Greaves yet again, who knocked him over. Lahiru Kumara came out to bat next and got some crucial runs going. Rajitha and Kumara added 16 runs for the 9th wicket to take the score above 300 before Rajitha fell for 8 off 18 balls with one four to his name to Greaves. Asitha Fernando was the last player to walk out to bat.
Kumara and Fernando added 5 more runs to the tally before Fernando fell for a bronze duck to Jayden Seales as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 308 in 71.5 overs on the first day’s play. Kumara remained unbeaten on 12 off 14 balls with 2 fours to his name. 19 extras given by the West Indies bowlers.
It was a combined bowling display by the West Indies bowlers. Justin Greaves was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/39 in 11 overs. Shamar Joseph finished with 2/79 in 16 overs. Alzarri Joseph finished with 2/60 in 12 overs. Kemar Roach was excellent with the new ball as he finished with 2/32 in 12 overs. Jayden Seales finished with 1/73 in 15.5 overs. Roston Chase, the captain, bowled 5 overs for 16 runs. Now, it was the turn of the West Indies reply.
Amir Jangoo’s magical maiden double ton alongside Roston Chase’s 194 powered West Indies to 626/9 declared in 160.5 overs
In reply, West Indies came out to bat with their openers John Campbell and Brandon King, while Asitha Fernando started things off for Sri Lanka. The West Indies got off to a solid start with the bat in hand as the openers got starts. The duo of King and Campbell added a half-century stand for the first wicket. They added 58 inside 14 overs before King fell for 31 off 52 balls with 4 fours to his name to Milan Rathnayake. Kavem Hodge came out to bat next.
Hodge and Campbell tried to forge another solid stand, and they did that to a degree. The duo added 39 runs for the second wicket before Campbell fell after getting set for 39 off 64 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Sonal Dinusha. Amir Jangoo came out to bat at 4. Hodge did not last long thereafter, as just 5 runs were added to the score before Hodge fell for 16 off 44 balls with 3 fours to his name, clean bowled by Rathnayake as West Indies crossed the 100-run mark. Keeper batter Joshua Da Silva came out to bat next.
Joshua got a start as well and added another 52-run stand for the fourth wicket with Jangoo before Joshua fell for 20 off 56 balls with 2 fours to his name to Asitha Fernando. Justin Greaves came out to bat next. Greaves and Jangoo added 14 more runs for the 5th wicket before he too fell for 3 off 11 balls to Asitha. Captain Roston Chase came out to join Jangoo in the middle with West Indies at 168/5 in 50.1 overs in reply to 308 from Sri Lanka as the match was in the balance at this stage.
What followed from here was a pure exhibition of batting by both the West Indies batters. It was the Amir Jangoo show. Playing this match because of the absence of arguably West Indies’ best batter, Shai Hope and filling his shoes, Jangoo stuck to his task and delivered a performance for the ages, and the captain Chase complimented him well as finally he was back amongst the runs. The duo played through the rest of Day 2 and the majority of Day 3, and the Lankans did not have any answer to their performance.
Jangoo completed his maiden Test ton and was hungry for more, while Chase looked composed out there and did his best. Jangoo was the aggressor, but Chase was complimenting him well. The duo shattered world records to put the West Indies in a position of strength. The duo came in the 51st over and batted for over 100 overs to take the game away from Sri Lanka totally and wear them down to the ground.
Chase completed his ton while Jangoo also converted his ton into a magical double ton. The duo put on a record 401 runs for the 6th wicket in 603 balls, with Jangoo scoring more than Chase in the partnership. The score reached 569 in the 151st over when Jangoo finally fell for a fantabulous 233 off 273 balls with 19 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Rathnayake yet again.
Alzarri Joseph came out to bat and used the long handle to play the cameo while Chase was still there in the crease. The duo of Alzarri and Chase added 30 runs for the 7th wicket, in which the former scored 21 of them before Alzarri fell for 21 off 20 balls with 1 four and 2 sixes to his name to Rathnayake. Shamar Joseph came out to bat with the West Indies at 599/7.
Chase and Shamar got in with Shamar playing some shots and a handy knock as the score went beyond 600. The duo added 26 runs for the 8th wicket before Chase fell six short of his double ton, falling for 194 off 324 balls with 13 fours and 2 sixes to his name as he was knocked over by Dinusha. Kemar Roach came out to bat next. Just one run was added to the tally before Roach fell for a bronze duck to Rathnayake, who completed his five-wicket haul.
As soon as the 9th wicket fell, Roston Chase declared the innings with Shamar unbeaten on 17 off 21 balls with one four and one six to his name. 52 extras given by the fielding side as West Indies finished with 626/9 declared in 160.5 overs.
It was a hard toil for the Sri Lankan bowlers for more than 2 days. Milan Rathnayake was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 5/124 in 36.5 overs. Asitha Fernando finished with 2/56 in 28 overs. Sonal Dinusha finished with 2/234 in 56 overs. Lahiru Kumara bowled an over for 4 runs. Kasun Rajitha finished with 0/102 in 26 overs. Dhananjaya de Silva finished with 0/17 in 5 overs. Kamindu Mendis finished with 0/46 in 9 overs. Sri Lanka had a deficit of 318 runs in their first innings as they came out to bat in their second innings.
Kemar Roach’s 4-wicket haul rips Sri Lanka apart for 101 in 31.2 overs to give the West Indies a huge win
Faced with a massive deficit of 318 runs, Pathum Nissanka and Nishan Madushka came out to bat for Sri Lanka while Kemar Roach had the ball in hand for the West Indies. West Indies got off to the perfect start as just 8 runs were added by the opening pair before Nissanka fell for another low score of 3 off 6 balls to Jayden Seales. Kasun Rajitha, the night watchman, walked out to bat next to take the side to close of play on Day 3, 1 down.
Just 7 runs were added to the tally before Madushka fell for 2 off 12 balls to Kemar Roach. Dinesh Chandimal came out to bat next. Just 4 more runs were added to the score before Rajitha, the night watchman, fell for 4 off 13 balls with one four to his name to Seales. Kamindu Mendis joined Chandimal in the middle. Chandimal kept the fight and resistance going for Sri Lanka and was the lone man standing in the end.
Kamindu and Chandimal added 27 runs for the 4th wicket before the former fell for 9 off 34 balls with one four to his name to Shamar Joseph. Captain Dhananjaya de Silva came out to bat next. De Silva did not last long, as just 2 runs were added to the score before the captain fell for a 7-ball duck to Shamar. Keeper batter Kusal Mendis came out to bat next. Sri Lanka were 5 down under 50 runs. Kusal and Chandimal tried to forge a partnership.
They added 23 runs for the sixth wicket before Kusal fell for 8 off 20 balls with one four to his name to Alzarri Joseph. Sonal Dinusha came out to bat next. Chandimal and Dinusha added 13 runs for the 7th wicket before Chandimal fell for a valiant 43 off 60 balls with 5 fours to his name to Roach. Milan Rathnayake came out to bat next.
The score remained at 84 when Rathnayake fell for a bronze duck to Roach, who had two wickets in the over. Asitha Fernando came out to bat next. The score was still 84 when Asitha fell for a silver duck to Roach yet again. Lahiru Kumara walked in with Sri Lanka 84/9 and in danger of getting bowled out under 100 runs. Kumara and Dinusha resisted a little bit and added 17 runs for the 10th wicket to take the score beyond 100.
Lahiru Kumara was the last man out for 9 off 7 balls with 2 fours to his name, clean bowled by Seales. Dinusha remained unbeaten on 12 off 29 balls with 3 boundaries to his name as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 101 in 31.2 overs. 11 extras given by the fielding side.
Just 4 bowlers had to be used by the West Indies. Kemar Roach was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/51 in 11 overs. Jayden Seales chipped in with 3/14 in 10.2 overs. Shamar Joseph chipped in with 2/19 in 5 overs, while Alzarri Joseph chipped in with 1/11 in 5 overs. So, West Indies thrashed Sri Lanka by an innings and 217 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the 2-match Test series in Antigua’s Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. Amir Jangoo was awarded the Player of the Match for his exceptional double ton.
What Lies Ahead
So, the West Indies lead the 2-match series 1-0 with one Test to play. That second and final Test also takes place at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, starting on July 3rd. After being winless in 8 games, West Indies finally have a win under their belt. They would want to seal and win the series 2-0, while Sri Lanka would like to bounce back quickly. Their WTC position has definitely been dented, and they will be eager to bounce back.
Let’s see how things unfold in the second and final Test starting July 3rd.
Also Read:Â WI VS SL: West Indies Desperate To Get Some Points In WTC Cycle.