COLOMBO (Reuters) – West Indies’ seam trio wreaked havoc on Sri Lanka to leave the hosts in big trouble on 145-6 at tea on the first day of the second test at P Sara Oval on Thursday.
Jerome Taylor, who came through a late fitness test after concerns about a groin problem, and skipper Jason Holder each took two wickets as the tourists’ pace and bounce hurt Sri Lanka, who had won the toss.
Milinda Siriwardana (50 not out) and Dilruwan Perera (16) led the Sri Lanka fight-back with a sixth-wicket stand of 37 before spinner Jomel Warrican marked his debut by dismissing Perera, caught and bowled, four overs before the tea break.
Dilruwan Perera (three) was at the crease when tea was called alongside an increasingly attacking Siriwardana, who smacked a couple of sixes off Warrican to notch his first test 50.
Taylor inflicted the first wound by striking with the fourth ball of the morning to dismiss Kaushal Silva, caught behind for a duck, after the tourists successfully reviewed the not out decision of the umpires.
Opener Dimuth Karunaratne (13) was next to go in the 10th over after Holder trapped him leg before with an angled delivery from around the wicket, which the Sri Lankan failed to overturn after asking for a review.
Debutant Kusal Mendis followed three balls later after another successful review by the West Indies, leaving the hosts teetering on 34-3. The 20-year-old batsman, starting ahead of out-of-form Lahiru Thirimanne, wafted at a delivery from Kemar Roach to go for 13.
Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews (14) then fell just before the lunch break when he edged a Holder delivery to Kraigg Brathwaite at second slip, which again required television replays before a decision was ratified.
Milinda Siriwardana joined Dinesh Chandimal at the crease and saw off the final three balls of the session without scoring to leave the hosts on 54-4 at lunch.
The pair dug in at the start of the second session, with the West Indies restricting the scoring rate before Chandimal played a Taylor delivery onto his stumps to depart for 25.
(Writing by Patrick Johnston in Singapore; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
