Sri-Lanka and West Indies Series drawn after rain in all three matches
It was the fifth day at the Pallakele stadium in Sri Lanka and things couldn’t have been worse. The fifth and final day was washed out due to continuous rain. This was the debut match of this ground in Sri Lanka and it only had
103 overs bowled in total on it, in which the West Indian team managed 303 runs. All three matches of the series have been rain-hit and all ended in a draw. There were some good individual performances by players that entertained the fans and Test cricket
lovers but overall, it was a disappointing series.
After winning the toss, Sri Lankan Captain Kumar Sangakara had put the visitors to bat. The hosts got off to a fantastic start as Chris Gayle got out leg before to Suranga Lakmal on the very first ball which was bowled in the innings.
After the early loss, Darren Bravo and Devon Smith recovered well for West Indies. Both the batsmen put up a century partnership. It was then Ajantha Mendis who got the better of Devon Smith by trapping him leg before the stumps. This was not before the batsman
had scored a fifty. Darren Bravo then fell after yet another half century in this series. He managed 68 runs in his innings.
The West Indian team then again had a better stand as Shivnaraine Chanderpaul and Brendan Nash completed their half centuries and provided a 99 run stand for their team. The lower middle order then struggled and a few quick wickets
fell without adding many runs. Some resistance from Suleiman Benn and Kemar Roach took http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Benn-c47745 and Roach remained not out, scoring 29 and
12 respectively.
For the Sri Lankan team, it was Rangana Herath who claimed four wickets for 54 runs. He was well supported by the other spinner Ajantha Mendis who grabbed a couple of wickets. The Sri Lankan batsmen couldn’t get a chance to come
to the crease because of the rain which kept pouring down throughout the match.
Kumar Sangakara, the Sri Lankan Captain was disappointed with the result of the series. He claimed that he had never witnessed anything like this. He also suggested that the organizers look into the weather conditions before scheduling
the series. It would have been better to stay away from rain hit venues judging by the forecast according to Sangakara. He also suggested that if rain is predicted then there should be a back up for the series to continue which would be good for the sport.
Overall it was a disappointing series for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 as the host team lost two places in the ICC Test rankings slipping to 5th position from 3rd. However, there are some positives which they can take from the
match. Performances from the opener Paranavitana and Captain Sangakara were impressive whereas both the spinners, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ajantha-c42419 Mendis and Rangana Herath showed some good form. On the other hand, the West Indies side would also be happy with some impressive batting
shown by Chris Gayle and Darren Bravo.
The teams are also scheduled to play an ODI series which would be starting from the coming Thursday. Both the teams and the fans will hope that that rain doesn’t affect the ODI series as it did the Test matches. The teams have
some exciting limited over players and if the matches are not interrupted by rain, then the fans can expect a spectacular battle between the two nations.
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