Windies looking to take series 2-0 as visitors seek win

West Indies will look to keep their fire blazing come Test two after whipping the Sri Lankans by 200-plus runs in the first match, which ended on Sunday.

Led by centurion Shane Dowrich, Keiran Powell and a battery of fast-bowlers; West Indies secured a much-needed Test win against a decent team. Looking forward to the second Test, both teams will need to keep their cool and hope the glimpses of form shown by some of their players actually peak over the next few days.
Powell, who scored 88 in the second innings, will need to play another crucial role over the next five days as Dowrich’s rich vein of form was likely to continue. While the W indies will want more from their middle-order, the signs shown by Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Devendra Bishoo, Kemar Roach and others said mountains about the Caribbean side’s confidence.

Sri Lanka will want Kasul Mendis to continue his crafty ways as the opener scored a near match-winning/saving ton in the second innings and could be a thorn in the Windies side again. Skipper Dinesh Chandimal, veteran Angelo Mathews and Kasul Perera will need to play better innings this time around.
As seen at the Queen’s Park Oval, the Windies pacers are fired up and are keen on bowling with certain aggression. Roach, Miguel Cummins, and Shannon Gabriel were lively and dangerous which rattled the Asians while Chase and Bishoo provided enough spin to subdue the Sri Lankans.
From the visitors’ perspective, pacer Lahiru Kumara is a revelation and will be called upon to create more opportunities for his side while the veteran Ragana Herath could likely partner off-spinner Akila Dananjaya in this second Test, at the expense of Dilruwan Perera.
(Clifton Ross)