Rain hands West Indies series win over Sri Lanka

West Indies completed their first home Test series triumph for four years when the second and final match against Sri Lanka petered out into a tame, rain-affected draw on the last day at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Tuesday.

Needing victory to square the series after a crushing innings loss in the first Test a week earlier at the same venue, the tourists declared their second innings at 251 for nine just after lunch, setting their hosts the daunting target of 302 in less than two sessions for a sweep of the two-match duel.

However the West Indies’ opening pair of John Campbell and Brandon King put together an unbroken opening stand of 89, interrupted first by a brief shower and by longer, sustained precipitation which extinguished any prospect of an outright result either way.

Fulfilling the often bewildering and tedious formalities of the traditional game in situations like this, play resumed in late afternoon for 40 minutes of aimless cricket when the match was called off as a draw with the West Indies at 109 with loss.

Both Campbell and King were unbeaten on 51 apiece.

West Indies’ last Test series win on home soil was a 2-0 hammering of Bangladesh in 2022 when comfortable victories were achieved at this venue and then at the Daren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia.

Their last series victory over Sri Lanka was in 2003 at home when they prevailed 1-0 in a similar two-match contest.

“I think this is, by far, my greatest achievement as a West Indies player,” said home captain Roston Chase before receiving the Sobers-Tissera Trophy, the symbol of Test supremacy between the two sides which was introduced for the series in Sri Lanka in 2015.

“Usually the bowlers do the hard work for the team but in this series the batsmen really stood out.

“Not just hundreds but big hundreds. I believe if the batting can keep clicking consistently, given the quality of our bowling, we can once again become a top Test-playing nation.”

‘No X-factor’

Starting the final morning at 92 for two in their second innings, an overall lead of 142, the Sri Lankan overnight pair of Dinesh Chandimal and Kamindu Mendis made intentions clear from the outset.

They looked for every opportunity to score to give captain Dhananjaya de Silva a realistic option of at least trying to declare to force a series-saving victory.

“This pitch hasn’t been turning much and we don’t have that X factor in our team, like someone bowling 140-145 kph,” was de Silva’s immediate observation on the timing of the push for victory on the last day.

“My focus in playing Test cricket is taking 20 wickets and we need to have the quality bowling to do such a job for us.”

Mendis fell to Jayden Seales for 44 while Chandimal continued to play his shots, the former captain getting to 71 off 107 balls with two sixes and four fours before he was next out, Kavem Hodge coming up with an excellent diving catch at backward-point off the bowling of Alzarri Joseph.

Wickets fell at regular intervals thereafter with the Sri Lankans continuing to take chances in seeking to accelerate the scoring.

As a result, all six bowlers used by West Indies captain Roston Chase, including himself and part-time spinner Hodge, were able to benefit from the risk-taking. Joseph had the best figures of two for 44.

West Indies now shift focus to a five-match one-day international series against New Zealand after which they return to the Test format for back-to-back matches against Pakistan in Trinidad.

Having not played any Test cricket for a year before this assignment in the Caribbean, the Sri Lankans return home for two Tests against India in Galle and Colombo, beginning in five weeks’ time.