The fourth day of the second Test match between http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 was washed out without a single ball being bowled as the series meanders towards a climax in the final Test as almost all hopes of
an enthralling end to the second match were washed away by rain.
Similarly there was no action on the start of day five as intermittent rains kept the players off the field, signaling that the match was as good as over.
After interruptions on the first three days of the match, the rain Gods were relentless on day four denying any action at the R. Premadasa stadium in Colombo.
On day three, the hosts were in the ascendancy after reducing the tourists to 165/5 in their first innings.
Earlier, Sri Lanka had declared its first innings at 387/9, with captain Kumar Sangakkara top scoring with a brilliant 150 run knock that included 18 fours and one six.
After declaring, the Sri Lankans were hopeful of picking some early wickets, most importantly that of Chris Gayle, the triple centurion from the first test. His wicket later on fell to debutant fast bowler Suranga
Lakmal.
The performance of the young pacer was appreciated by his Captain Sangakkara who had words of encouragement for the rookie.
"That short ball was an excellent delivery; great line and length. That whole over the one before as soon as [Suranga] Lakmal went around the wicket he troubled Gayle from ball one. Taking out Gayle was a huge
blow to the West Indies and it really put us on top."
Sangakkara also commended the effort by part time off-spinner and opening batsman Tilakaratne Dilshan who sent two West Indian batsmen back to the pavilion, his effort tilting the scales in favour of the hosts.
He also lauded the effort of his batsmen on a tricky wicket where run making was not easy as the ball was not coming on to the bat with disconcerting bouncers on offer that made life tougher for the stroke players.
"That was a fantastic effort," Sangakkara said. "Dilshan's got that magic touch when he comes on he manages to do something. Two wickets at a very crucial time - one guy was on 80. Now we got the opportunity to
come back tomorrow and really put the pressure on."
"It was really a struggle for the batsmen because the loose balls also it was hard to put them away. At the end of the day that's what makes Test cricket so interesting. It never comes easy for you. You get wickets
that are really flat and also wickets like this that makes you work hard."
The soft spoken Sangakkara regarded as one of the most articulate speakers in the modern game claimed that his dismissal coupled with the demise of wicket-keeper Prasana Jayawardene was the reason that the hosts
did not c cross the 400 mark in the number of overs that the team had stipulated the target in.
"That kind of put us on the back foot," Sangakkara said, however the game is now set to peter out towards a tame draw as by the close of the fourth day the first innings have not completed which means there is
hardly a chance of a result in the remaining day’s play.
The only way the Sri Lankans can give themselves a chance of forcing a result in their favour is by making the West Indians follow on if play resumes tomorrow.
For that they would have to get through the last 5 wickets with-in 23 runs, as the tourists are 23 runs away from the follow-on mark.
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