Kusal Mendis, Sonal Dinusha make it Sri Lanka’s day in Antigua

Sri Lanka batted a touch over two sessions on day two before eventually declaring on 549 for 9, while West Indies in their response ended the day on 58 for 1, trailing by 491 runs, with Brandon King the only batter to fall. John Campbell was at the crease on 31 off 77 with Kavem Hodge (6 off 41) alongside him, as they sought to blunt the Lankan attack towards the close of play. Even so Sri Lanka will rue some missed opportunities, two off Hodge and one off Campbell. Campbell’s was the toughest of the chances, as a top edged pull gave Isitha Wijesundara plenty of ground to cover from fine leg. Always on the move, he was uncertain about whether to go for the catch or not and eventually ended up bailing on the chance in favour of stopping the boundary – something he failed to do in any case. The next was a similarly tough chance as Hodge’s top-edged pull was nearly taken by a diving Sonal Dinusha at fine leg, where having got his hands to it he was unable to hold on. But the most straightforward opportunity came in the final half hour of play, as the probing Milan Rathnayaka induced a thick edge straight to second slip, who spilled it having been briefly unsighted by Kusal Mendis’ flashing right glove in his field over view. The fielder was Udara, who himself had been dropped owing to similar bit of confusion in the slips cordon on day one. The one chance Sri Lanka took ironically came courtesy some excellent catching, as Asitha Fernando got King nicking behind and Kamindu Mendis at second slip held on to a low chance. Prior to that scalp West Indies had got off to a reasonable start, putting on 33 for the first wicket. Twelve of those runs came in an expensive Wijesundara over, as King took on the debutant in style. Wijesundara was perhaps guilty of striving for movement with the fuller ball, something which Campbell also capitalised on later with a sumptuous inside-out drive for six. But aside from that, for the most part, Sri Lanka gave little away as they produced a disciplined outing with the ball, one that they know should have produced more wickets. The day as a whole however belonged to Sri Lanka, who built on the platform set on the opening day to rack up a further 211 runs on day two. Leading their charge was the pair of Kusal Mendis and Dinusha, who put on a stand of 143 off 246. Both passed fifty along the way, though Dinusha would have been gutted to have fallen eight runs short of a maiden Test ton, to go with his maiden Test fifty. Most of the runs were scored in a 114-run afternoon session, echoing the pattern of the previous day. The morning session was much more of a slow burn – just 64 runs were scored – but crucially Sri Lanka went wicketless. This laid the platform for the aggression showcased after lunch, particularly in the first hour when a Kusal-led onslaught saw Sri Lanka rack up 69 runs in a 12-over spell. An attempted scoop off Jayden Seales signified the shift in gears; it fetched a boundary, but it could have spelled his demise had a backtracking Shai Hope managed to hold on having got his gloves on it. Kusal made the most of the fortuitous break as he picked up Alzarri Joseph for a flicked six over backward square leg the very next over, before ramping a cut over the slips a couple of balls later. The introduction of Roston Chase made little difference as Kusal gave him similar treatment, twice using his feet to loft him down the ground. And Kusal was gearing up for more when his salvo was cut short when he played on attempting another scoop, this time off Anderson Phillip. The rate of scoring understandably dipped following his dismissal, but Dinusha managed to stitch together a stand of 36 off 64 with Rathnayaka, before he too fell for 92 off 166. The breakthrough came from an unexpected source, as West Indies captain Chase dug deep into his bowling options to bring on Hodge and his slow left-arm spin. He was greeted by two boundaries – the first a reverse slap behind point and then a pull through midwicket. The third ball though was on a length and held a touch in the surface, enough to see Dinusha close the face of the bat too early, as the ball popped up off a leading edge for a straightforward take at cover. After the tea interval, Prabath Jayasuriya and Rathnayaka were given free reign to score quick runs, which brought about an entertaining, if chaotic, passage of play. Both batters were quick to swing the blade and to their credit it brought about a 20-run stand. Once Rathnayaka fell, top-edging a sweep, the debutant Wijesundara showed some intent as well – notably clubbing Hodge over deep midwicket – but another top-edge brought his brief innings to a close and with it came the declaration. Earlier in the day, the West Indies continued their poor showing in the field, letting off Kusal after he edged through to first slip for a regulation chance. Campbell moved to his left and seemed to have pouched, but the ball slipped through his grasp. Kusal was on 23 at the time, and he certainly ensured he made the most of the second life granted to him. Scores: West Indies 58 for 1 in 24 overs (John Campbell 31*, Brandon King 17, Kaveem Hodge 06*; Asitha Fernando 1-11) trail Sri Lanka 549 for 9 dec in 139.3 overs (Lahiru Udara 188, Kamindu Mendis 84, Kusal Mendis 69, Sonal Dinusha 92; Jayden Seales 2-98, Shamar Joseph 2-98) [Cricinfo]