Tharanga Paranavitana hit an impressive 95 and Mahela Jayawardene a solid 58 to help Sri Lanka draw the opening Test against the West Indies on Friday. Sri Lanka, following on 202 runs behind, reached 241-4 in their second innings when play was called off due to rain after tea on the fifth and final day. Thilan Samaraweera was unbeaten on 19 and Angelo Mathews on five not out.
The West Indies now go into the second Test of the three-match at Colombo next week in a confident frame of mind, having dominated the opening match against favourites Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium. "We are quite confident going into the next Test after dominating this match. The result will give the guys a lot of confidence. I am quite happy with the performance of the team," said West Indies captain Darren Sammy.
Paranavitana, dropped on 53, guided Sri Lanka to safety with a defiant 87-run stand for the third wicket with former captain Jayawardene, who batted patiently for his second successive half-century.
The West Indies bowled well in the extended morning session, with paceman Kemar Roach grabbing two wickets off successive overs in a lively opening spell after the hosts had resumed at 89 for no loss. "It was an eye opener for us. I think it was an example for us the way they (West Indies) were disciplined in their bowling," said Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara. Paranavitana, 44 overnight, missed out on his third Test century when he was caught at first slip by Sammy while attempting to steer the spinner. He hit eight fours in his 219-ball knock. Jayawardene, who scored 59 in the first innings, reached his half-century in style. He also hit seven fours in his 134-ball knock.
scoreboard West Indies 1st innings: 580-9 dec. (C. Gayle 333, A. Barath 50, Darren Bravo 58, B. Nash 64; A. Mendis 6-169, S. Randiv 3-183) Sri Lanka 1st innings: 378 (K. Sangakkara 73, M. Jayawardene 59, T. Samaraweera 52, P. Jayawardene 58; K. Roach 3-75, S. Shillingford 4-123)
Sri Lanka 2nd innings (overnight 89-0):
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T. Paranavitana c Sammy b
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Shillingford 95
T. Dilshan b Roach 54
K. Sangakkara c Sammy b Roach 4
M. Jayawardene c and b Nash 58
T. Samaraweera not out 19
A. Mathews not out 5
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Extras: (lb1, nb1, w4) 6
Total: (for four wickets; 81.2 overs) 241
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