Sri Lanka and West Indies draw rain delayed second Test

GROS-ISLET, Saint Lucia: Kraigg Brathwaite's defiance and more inclement weather ensured a draw on the final day of the second Test between the West Indies and Sri Lanka at the Darren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia on Monday (Jun 18).

On a day when their captain, Dinesh Chandimal, who has been charged by umpires Aleem Dar and Ian Gould with ball tampering on the second day of the match, is likely to know his fate, the tourists stayed focused on events on the field in reducing the home side to 64 for four in early afternoon after setting the West Indies an unlikely victory target of 296.

However Brathwaite's obdurate, unbeaten 59, with support from Shai Hope and captain Jason Holder ensured that the showers which came in the final session, coupled with deteriorating light, eliminated the Sri Lankans' chances of levelling the series.

Shannon Gabriel took the last two wickets of the Sri Lankan second innings within minutes of the start of play to finish with the outstanding innings analysis of eight for 62 and match figures of 13 for 121, the third-best by a West Indian in Tests and the best-ever by a Caribbean bowler in home conditions.

When he wrapped up the Sri Lankan innings for 342 by bowling Akila Dananjaya, Gabriel also reached the landmark of 100 Test wickets.

Kasun Rajitha, the debutant fast-medium bowler who claimed three wickets in the first innings, rocked the West Indies with the wickets of Devon Smith and Kieran Powell within the space of three deliveries at the start of the final innings of the match.

Senior seamer Suranga Lakmal accounted for Roston Chase and Hope but time ran out on the striving Sri Lankans and they were left frustrated by the weather, which once again closed in during the final session and leaves them trailing in the series ahead of the final Test in Barbados, beginning on Saturday.

It will an historic occasion at Kensington Oval as the first day/night Test to be played in the Caribbean and will also be starting on the 90th anniversary of the West Indies' first day of Test cricket against England at Lord's in London on June 23, 1928.

Yet it is quite possible that Chandimal will only be a spectator to all that history if he is found guilty of ball tampering.

While he has challenged the charge, match referee Javagal Srinath will be required to adjudicate in a hearing immediately upon the conclusion of the match to make a final determination on the Sri Lankan's skipper's fate.

Evidence to be presented against Chandimal will include video footage from the television broadcasters which appear to show him taking sweets from his pocket and placing them in his mouth and subsequently applying saliva onto the ball in a manner that the umpires determined to be in violation of the code of conduct regulations in relation to "changing the condition of the ball."

There were concerns that the Test match was in jeopardy on the third morning on Saturday when Chandimal refused to lead his team onto the field for the continuation of the West Indies first innings after he was informed of the charge by the umpires and the application of a five-run penalty.

Play was delayed for two hours as animated discussions took place involving Srinath and Sri Lankan team officials.

It required clearance from Sri Lanka Cricket authorities in Colombo to clear the team to continue the match under protest. SLC also issued a statement saying they were satisfied their players were not involved in any wrongdoing, based on the information provided to them by the officials on location.

Should he be found guilty though, Chandimal faces a one-Test suspension which will rule him out of the last match of the series.

While the International Cricket Council's cricket committee has recommended an increase to the penalty for ball tampering to suspension for four Tests or eight One-Day Internationals, that has yet to be ratified by the ICC.

Sri Lanka  1st innings
 Kusal Perera         c Jason Holder b Kemar Roach               32
 Mahela Udawatte      c Jason Holder b Shannon Gabriel            0
 Dhananjaya de Silva  b Shannon Gabriel                          12
 Kusal Mendis         c Shane Dowrich b Jason Holder             45
 Dinesh Chandimal     Not Out                                   119
 Roshen Silva         c Jason Holder b Shannon Gabriel            6
 Niroshan Dickwella   c Shai Hope b Shannon Gabriel              16
 Akila Dananjaya      c Shane Dowrich b Kemar Roach               2
 Suranga Lakmal       lbw Shannon Gabriel                        10
 Kasun Rajitha        c Shane Dowrich b Kemar Roach               4
 Lahiru Kumara        c Shai Hope b Kemar Roach                   0
 Extras               1b 2lb 2nb 0pen 2w                          7
 Total                (79.0 overs)                      253 all out
Fall of Wickets : 1-0 Udawatte, 2-15 de Silva, 3-59 Perera, 4-126 Mendis, 5-148 Silva, 6-179 Dickwella, 7-190 Perera, 8-206 Lakmal, 9-237 Rajitha, 10-253 Kumara

 Bowling          Ov  Md  Rn  Wk  Econ  Ex
 Kemar Roach      18   8  49   4  2.72  1w 2nb
 Shannon Gabriel  16   4  59   5  3.69
 Miguel Cummins   19   5  69   0  3.63
 Jason Holder     14   2  56   1  4.00  1w
 Devendra Bishoo  11   3  15   0  1.36
 Roston Chase      1   0   2   0  2.00

 Windies  1st innings
 Kraigg Brathwaite  c Niroshan Dickwella b Kasun Rajitha             22
 Devon Smith        lbw Akila Dananjaya                              61
 Kieran Powell      c Kusal Mendis b Lahiru Kumara                   27
 Shai Hope          c Dhananjaya de Silva b Suranga Lakmal           19
 Roston Chase       c Suranga Lakmal b Lahiru Kumara                 41
 Shane Dowrich      c Niroshan Dickwella b Suranga Lakmal            55
 Jason Holder       c Niroshan Dickwella b Kasun Rajitha             15
 Devendra Bishoo    c Kusal Mendis b Kasun Rajitha                    2
 Kemar Roach        lbw Lahiru Kumara                                13
 Miguel Cummins     Not Out                                           8
 Shannon Gabriel    c Dhananjaya de Silva b Lahiru Kumara             3
 Extras             11b 8lb 1nb 5pen 9w                              34
 Total              (100.3 overs)                           300 all out
Fall of Wickets : 1-59 Brathwaite, 2-115 Powell, 3-149 Hope, 4-163 Smith, 5-241 Chase, 6-254 Dowrich, 7-261 Bishoo, 8-279 Holder, 9-292 Roach, 10-300 Gabriel

 Bowling                Ov  Md  Rn  Wk  Econ  Ex
 Suranga Lakmal         24   6  50   2  2.08  1w
 Akila Dananjaya        25   7  81   1  3.24
 Kasun Rajitha          22   6  49   3  2.23  2w
 Lahiru Kumara        26.3   4  86   4  3.25  2w 1nb
 Dhananjaya de Silva     3   0  10   0  3.33

 Sri Lanka  2nd innings
 Kusal Perera         c Shane Dowrich b Shannon Gabriel           20
 Mahela Udawatte      c Devendra Bishoo b Kemar Roach             19
 Kasun Rajitha        lbw Shannon Gabriel                          0
 Dhananjaya de Silva  c Devon Smith b Shannon Gabriel              3
 Kusal Mendis         b Shannon Gabriel                           87
 Dinesh Chandimal     c Shane Dowrich b Kemar Roach               39
 Roshen Silva         c Shane Dowrich b Shannon Gabriel           48
 Niroshan Dickwella   c Kieran Powell b Shannon Gabriel           62
 Akila Dananjaya      b Shannon Gabriel                           23
 Suranga Lakmal       lbw Shannon Gabriel                          7
 Lahiru Kumara        Not Out                                      0
 Extras               12b 8lb 11nb 0pen 3w                        34
 Total                (91.4 overs)                       342 all out
Fall of Wickets : 1-32 Perera, 2-34 Rajitha, 3-44 de Silva, 4-48 Udawatte, 5-165 Chandimal, 6-199 Mendis, 7-298 Silva, 8-307 Dickwella, 9-334 Lakmal, 10-342 Perera

 Bowling              Ov  Md  Rn  Wk  Econ  Ex
 Kemar Roach          21   3  78   2  3.71  2nb
 Shannon Gabriel    20.4   6  62   8  3.00  4nb
 Jason Holder         15   5  38   0  2.53  3w 2nb
 Miguel Cummins       13   1  44   0  3.38  3nb
 Devendra Bishoo      11   0  58   0  5.27
 Roston Chase         10   1  38   0  3.80
 Kraigg Brathwaite     1   0   4   0  4.00

 Windies  2nd innings
 Kraigg Brathwaite  Not Out                                     59
 Devon Smith        c Dhananjaya de Silva b Kasun Rajitha        1
 Kieran Powell      c Mahela Udawatte b Kasun Rajitha            2
 Shai Hope          b Suranga Lakmal                            39
 Roston Chase       b Suranga Lakmal                            13
 Shane Dowrich      c Dhananjaya de Silva b Akila Dananjaya      8
 Jason Holder       Not Out                                     15
 Extras             10b 0lb 0nb 0pen 0w                         10
 Total              (60.3 overs)                             147-5
Fall of Wickets : 1-6 Smith, 2-8 Powell, 3-55 Chase, 4-64 Dowrich, 5-117 Hope
Did Not Bat : Bishoo, Roach, Cummins, Gabriel

 Bowling                Ov  Md  Rn  Wk  Econ  Ex
 Suranga Lakmal       17.3   3  48   2  2.74
 Kasun Rajitha          13   3  23   2  1.77
 Lahiru Kumara          10   3  28   0  2.80
 Akila Dananjaya        19   7  33   1  1.74
 Dhananjaya de Silva     1   0   5   0  5.00