By Dhammika Ratnaweera
Kusal Janith Perera and Dilruwan Perera made an unbeaten 63 run partnership to seal a four wicket win over West Indies to level the series 1-1 under stand-in Test captain Suranga Lakmal on Wednesday morning 1.30 am Sri lanka time. It was a fine battle between Sri Lanka batsman and West Indies paceman but finally Kusal Janith and Dilruwan got the better off to mark an excellent come back after having beaten in the first test.
Dilruwan made a good supporting role scoring 23 runs in 68 balls with only 3 boundaries while Kusal Janith the dashing left hander played his normal style to finish the game for a unbroken 63 runs stand.
All rounder Dilruwan was lucky to score the winning boundry over opponent captain Jason Holder who was later named the man of the match with his fine all round performances. Holder who took 5 for 51 in the Sri Lanka second innings struck very first over of the day as the overnight batsman Kusal Mendis was sent back to the pavilion with a LBW without adding to the over night score of 25. Sri Lankan were reeling with 63 runs behind the win with only 4 wickets in hand.
However Kusal Janith who was injured previous day and rushed to the hospital was well recovered to play the game on the fourth day. Kusal Janith made unbeaten 28 in 43 balls with two boundaries.
The jubilant Sri lanka skipper who joined srilankasports.com over the phone said this was the memorable match during his carrer. “This was my first test as a captain . I am very happy and didn?t expect to captain . But I think this was a good opportunity to lead the side and I took the challenge with confidence. I think all my team members gave good support and my supporting staff led by head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe made real support to us” said the winning captain. He further stated that he was personally satisfied with his performances but also all the three pacemen including himself, Lahiru Kumara and Kasun Rajitha did well and they received a good support from the Spinner Dilruwan.
Meanwhile head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe said it was really great and we have had a lot of ups and downs. To come back and level the series is a great effort. We always had hope but the way the game progressed we were under pressure. Tactically, Jason was on the mark but our bowlers responded in the second innings. Our second-innings bowling won us the game. Suranga had a chat and they rallied around. All credit to all four bowlers. Suranga led from the front. That particular 10-over spell put the Windies under pressure. For us, it’s a young team. Coming here and winning here for a subcontinent team is not easy. This win will give us a lot of confidence. We had Kusal Mendis batting at three different positions but he did not say anything. He’s a great talent for the future said proud coach Hathurusinghe.
Meanwhile West Indies wicketkeeper batsman Shane Dowrich won the Man of the Series award Skipper Jason Holder was a disappointed man and said all credit shoud go for the Sri Lankan team. “we just did not have enough runs in the second innings. They fought back well on the third day evening. It put our bowlers under pressure to come and do something special. We lost it with our batting in the second innings. said Holder.
Sri Lankan team will back home on 28th and expected to ready for the forthcoming South African home series.
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