Port of Spain (AFP) – West Indies will be looking to build on a considerable first innings advantage of 229 runs at the start of their second innings after dismissing Sri Lanka for 185 on Friday.
Despite having the option of putting the tourists back in to bat, home captain Jason Holder declined to enforce the follow-on after tea on the third day of the first Test at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad.
Fast-medium bowler Miguel Cummins cleaned up the Sri Lankan tail to finish with the best figures of three for 39, although the bulk of the damage was inflicted by pacers Shannon Gabriel and Kemar Roach, both in terms of wickets and psychologically given their pace and hostility from the second evening into the third morning.
They took two wickets each and will now be expecting their batsmen to extend the overall lead beyond the 400-run mark going into day four before they resume the battle with the Sri Lankan batsmen in the second innings as they seek to give the West Indies an early lead in the three-match series.
Yet as well as the hosts bowled on the third day, the visitors contributed to their own demise with a succession of poor shots.
Already in trouble at the overnight position of 31 for three in reply to the formidable West Indies first innings total of 414 for eight declared, Sri Lanka lost Roshen Silva at the start of the morning, bowled by Roach, before captain Dinesh Chandimal and wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella offered the only substantial resistance in a fifth-wicket partnership of 78.
They looked to be getting on top of the bowling heading into the lunch interval when Chandimal set the tone for the remainder of the innings by playing a loose shot in the final over before the break off Gabriel for Roston Chase to take his third catch of the innings at backward point.
Dickwella was then run out for 31 in a mix-up with new batsman Dilruwan Perera early into the afternoon session and from that point the innings subsided swifty, the last six wickets going down for 64 runs.
Brief scores:
West Indies 414-8 declared (S. Dowrich 125 n.o., S. Hope 44, J. Holder 40, D. Bishoo 40; L. Kumara 4-95, S. Lakmal 2-55)
Sri Lanka 185 (D. Chandimal 44, N. Dickwella 31; M. Cummins 3-39, K. Roach 2-34, S. Gabriel 2-48)
Match situation: West Indies lead by 229 runs at the start of the second innings
Toss: West Indies
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