Shai Hope (112) and Justin Greaves (180) put on a memorable 242-run stand for the fifth wicket against Sri Lanka on Day 3 of the second Test at North Sound to take West Indies to 499. Yet they fell 50 runs short of Sri Lanka’s 549/9 decl. Sri Lanka then made the best of their first-innings lead and added a further 92 runs, to take their overall lead to 142 with eight wickets in hand.
It was a hard toil for the Sri Lankan bowlers, who bowled nearly 166 overs. Pacer Asitha Fernando picked up his third five-wicket haul, finishing with 5/130, bowling as many as 40 overs. Spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, who bowled almost 56 overs, picked up 3/131.
Barring the massive fifth-wicket stand, only Roston Chase (23) put on 52 with Greaves, but after that, the hosts added just another 51 runs.
Sri Lanka would have hoped to get off to a good start, but that took a dent as Lahiru Udara, who scored 188 in the first innings, was dismissed for a duck. Ishan Madushka (20) carried on for a while, but it was the unbeaten 60-run stand between Kamindu Mendis (30) and Dinesh Chandimal (40) that induced some momentum into the innings, and Sri Lanka would hope that they carry on from where they left off on Day 4.
Shamar Joseph and Alzarri Joseph picked up the two wickets between them and will have to play a huge role if West Indies are to get something out of this game.
Earlier, Sri Lanka managed 549/9 thanks to a massive century from Udara in the first innings. Kamindu (84), Kusal Mendis (69), and Sonal Dinushka too made vital contributions to put their side in a commanding position.
West Indies lead the two-match series 1-0 thanks to their massive innings victory in the first Test at the same venue.
Brief scores
Sri Lanka 549/9 decl. (Lahiru Udara 188, Sonal Diusha 92; Shamar Joseph 2/98) & 92/2 (Dinesh Chandimal 40, Kamindu Mendis 30; Alzarri Joseph 1/17) lead West Indies 499 (Justin Greaves 180, Shai Hope 112; Asitha Fernando 5/130) by 142 runs
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