Right-arm leg spinner Seekuge Prasanna tantalized the Windies ‘A’ batting line up with an extraordinary spell of spin bowling as Sri Lanka ’A’ hold the cards of the 1st unofficial Test match at Hambanthota with two more days of play left.
Seekuge Prasanna wrecked the visitors taking 5 wickets for just 24 runs as West Indies ‘A’ team were 96/7 in 39 overs at stumps on day 2. Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka ‘A’ resumed their innings from the overnight score of 261/2, Thirimanne was the first to be dismissed as he was caught LBW by seamer Shannon Gabriel for 93, falling short of a well-deserved century. Few overs later, Dinesh Chandimal too perished within sight of a century when he was caught and bowled by off-spinner Shane Shillingford for 87.
After being 345/3 at one stage, Sri Lanka ‘A’ middle and lower order lost their way as they were bundled out by Shane Shillingford and co as the hosts were all out for 413 in 140.5 overs. Shillingford captured 5 wickets conceding 160 runs in a marathon spell of 44.5 overs.
The Windies commenced their 1st innings rather positively as their openers put on 44 runs for the 1st wicket but since the introduction of Seekuge Prasanna’s spin, the visitors lost wickets at regular intervals. The major batting collapse saw the boys from Caribbean islands losing 7 wickets for 52 runs. Two stumping’s display the impatience batting of the Windies as they crumbled like cookies handing the hosts an added advantage in the final two days. The opener, Assad Fudadin top-scored for the visitors with 32 valuable runs.
Chief Scores:
Sri Lanka ‘A’ – 413 all out in 140.5 overs: Dimuth Karunaratne 139, Lahiru Thirimanne 93, Dinesh Chandimal 87, Shane Shillingford 5/160, Shannon Gabriel 2/43.
West Indies ‘A’ – 96/7 in 39 overs: Assad Fudadin 32, Kraigg Braithwaite 24, Seekuge Prasanna 5/24.
The match will be continued tomorrow on Monday.
