Windies Lose Again?

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) - Despite showing valiant fighting spirit, West Indies handed Sri Lanka their first Test win in the Caribbean after losing the opening Digicel Test by 121 runs in the dying stages of the final day at the Guyana National Stadium.

Set an unlikely 437 to win, West Indies, undermined by a five-wicket haul from left-arm fast bowler Chaminda Vaas, were dismissed for 315 at 4:44 pm with 6.4 overs remaining. West Indies' resistance came through half-centuries from captain Chris Gayle, vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan and make-shift opener Dwayne Bravo, but they were unable to bat out the final day after resuming on 96 for one.

Man-of-the-Match Vaas, who made telling inroads after lunch, finished with five for 61 from 22.2 overs and had the distinction of ending the match with the help of a brilliant running catch by Muttiah Muralitharan at mid-off.

Bravo, opening the batting in a Test for the first time, played impressively for 83 while Sarwan, who assisted him in a second wicket century stand, batted doggedly for 72. Gayle, who came in No 6 in a direct exchange of positions with Bravo, was left unbeaten on 51 but was roundly criticized for allowing No 11 Daren Powell to take on more of Vaas. West Indies seemed to be heading for defeat after losing four wickets in the pre-tea session and a further two in the first half-hour after the break, but Jerome Taylor stayed with Gayle for an hour to give the home team a chance of saving the match.

Taylor was eventually dislodged by a rising ball from Vaas that he gloved to second slip, leaving the last wicket pair of Gayle and Powell to bat out a further 10.5 overs. Gayle, who batted for 215 minutes, faced 131 balls and hit seven fours and six, opted not to take a single at the start of a new over from Vaas and Powell was unable to survive the next ball. With admission charges substantially reduced, the biggest crowd of the match was in attendance and their hopes were raised when West Indies lost just one wicket in the pre-lunch period. West Indies were given hope of an unlikely win when Bravo and Sarwan batted through the first hour and 40 minutes without being separated.

Their second-wicket partnership was worth 134 when Bravo, who started the day on 46, gave a return catch to off-spinner Muralitharan to end an innings that lasted just over three hours in which he faced 169 balls and struck 10 fours and a six. West Indies went to lunch at 170 for two, but Vaas gave Sri Lanka a boost by cheaply removing Marlon Samuels and Shivnarine Chanderpaul soon after the break. Samuels (10) fell to a catch by the 'keeper for the second time in the match when he nibbled at a ball outside the off stump, while Chanderpaul (3) was bowled off the inside edge. Sarwan, who started the day on 34 and batted carefully in the pre-lunch session to progress to 51, was again playing with caution when he was ruled lbw to a ball from left-arm fast bowler Thilan Thushara that was seemingly beating leg stump.

It brought an end to a fighting effort that lasted four-and-a-half hours in which he faced 206 balls and struck three fours. West Indies also lost Ryan Hinds for 10 on the stroke of tea to a leg-side catch by stand-in wicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara as he attempted to sweep off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan. At 229 for six at tea, Sri Lanka were favoured to win and they took a grip on proceedings when Denesh Ramdin (1) edged a catch to first slip of left-arm fast bowler Thilan Thushara and Sulieman Benn (7) was lbw trying to push forward to Muralitharan. Gayle and Taylor got together to add 47 for the ninth wicket as time was running out on Sri Lanka, but Vaas grabbed the last two wickets. Vaas, who also took three wickets in the first innings and made an unbeaten 54, earned the Man-of-the-Match award for his efforts. The second Test starts on April 3 at the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain. In the intervening period, Sri Lanka will play a practice match in Tobago starting on Saturday, while some West Indies players will be involved in the last round of Carib Beer Series matches beginning Friday.