Thilan Samaraweera smacked a brilliant 125 to rescue a wobbling Sri Lanka on Saturday and set West Indies 253 to win the second cricket Test and save the series.
The visitors, 1-0 up in the two-Test series, were bowled out for a second time on the last ball of the third day for 268 to leave West Indies with two days to make a challenging victory target at Queen’s Park Oval.
Samaraweera and Chaminda Vaas shared a seventh-wicket stand of 138 that pulled Sri Lanka from peril at 99-for-six.
PHOTO: AFP
Samaraweera crafted his sixth test hundred in five hours from 199 balls and struck 18 boundaries.
Veteran Vaas contributed 45 spanning 114 balls in just over three hours.
“I think every hundred is the best,’’ Samaraweera said. “My debut hundred was a special one and I scored one in Pakistan after we were nine for three and saved Sri Lanka. But this one is special.’’
Samaraweera also praised Vaas, with whom he shared the innings-reviving stand.
“Vaas was special. He is brilliant for Sri Lankan cricket and he did really well in supporting me,’’ he said.
Samaraweera added he was confident of winning in the last two days for a first series victory in the Caribbean.
“I think we have a good chance because we have a special spinner in Murali and the bounce is uneven,’’ he said. “I think the new ball is also key. If we can get two, three wickets with the new ball we will win definitely.’’
Jerome Taylor led the West Indians with four-for-52 and added a critical run out.
The home team spent the first hour of the day eking out a first-innings lead of 16 after resuming on 268-7 in reply to Sri Lanka’s 278.
West Indies added 26 runs, but the last three wickets tumbled for five runs as Muttiah Muralitharan completed his 63rd five-wicket haul in Tests.
The offspinner ended with 5-79. He claimed Denesh Ramdin to a sharp catch to first slip for 13 while Daren Powell was plumb leg-before-wicket (LBW) to one that kept a bit low on 3.
In between, Vaas claimed Taylor for 13 to a clear LBW verdict.
Sri Lanka’s second innings was rocked early by Taylor, who provided two wickets in his first over. He claimed Malinda Warnapura for a duck and ran out Michael Vandort for 1.
Warnapura edged to third slip where Sewnarine Chattergoon pouched a good catch while Vandort was a meter out after Taylor’s athletic pickup and direct hit.
Fidel Edwards and Powell provided the key scalps of captain Mahela Jaywardene and the world’s No. 1 batsman, Kumar Sangakkara, as Sri Lanka slipped to 32-4.
Manchester City have reached do-or-die territory in the UEFA Champions League earlier than expected ahead of what Pep Guardiola has described as a “final” against Club Brugge today. City have disproved the suggestion a new format to Europe’s top club competition would remove any jeopardy for the top clubs as Guardiola stares down the barrel of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his career. The English champions have endured a torrid season both in their English Premier League title defense and on the continent. A run of one win in 13 games, which included Champions League
Sumo is walking a “tightrope” as it prepares to stage events outside Japan for the first time in 20 years while also trying to preserve its ancient traditions, experts say. The sport is to hold exhibition tournaments in London in October and in Paris in June next year, the first time the Japan Sumo Association has been abroad since Las Vegas in 2005. Sports such as soccer, baseball and football play domestic games overseas in a bid to gain new fans in emerging markets. John Gunning, a former amateur sumo wrestler who commentates on the sport in English on Japanese television, says its
Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday poured in 35 points as the Thunder grabbed a bounce-back 118-108 victory in Portland to push their NBA-best record to 37-8. The Thunder, surprised by the short-handed Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, fended off a late surge from the Trail Blazers to snap their four-game winning streak. Jalen Williams scored 24 points and Isaiah Joe added 16 off the bench. Center Isaiah Hartenstein, back after a five-game absence with a calf injury, added 14 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a big block. The Western Conference leaders were under pressure late as Portland, trailing by 15 heading
The Golden State Warriors on Wednesday withstood Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 52-point outburst to beat the Western Conference leading Thunder 116-109. Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points and Warriors superstar Stephen Curry scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half as Golden State erased a double-digit deficit and pulled away late for the victory. “We just stayed solid,” said Curry, who entered the contest mired in a shooting slump and had just four points on one basket in the first half. “Just all-around effort.” The Thunder, fueled by 31 first-half points from Gilgeous-Alexander, led by as many as 14 in the
RSS