Perera duo steer Sri Lanka to historic win

Kusal Perera and Dilruwan Perera weathered the West Indian storm on an “uneven” pitch to take Sri Lanka over the line.

Published : Jun 27, 2018 10:36 IST , Bridgetown, Barbados

 Job done! Kusal Perera celebrates after Sri Lanka’s four-wicket win.
Job done! Kusal Perera celebrates after Sri Lanka’s four-wicket win.
lightbox-info

Job done! Kusal Perera celebrates after Sri Lanka’s four-wicket win.

Kusal Perera battled through the considerable discomfort of a painful chest injury in partnership with namesake Dilruwan Perera to guide Sri Lanka to an historic series-levelling four-wicket victory over the West Indies in the third and final Test at Kensington Oval.

Set a target of 144 and resuming on the fourth day at the overnight position of 81 for five, Sri Lanka reached its goal for the loss of one additional wicket to become the first Asian team ever to win a Test match at Caribbean cricket’s most iconic venue.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

That wicket, which fell in the very first over of the afternoon to West Indies captain Jason Holder, ushered in Kusal, whose further participation in the match was in serious doubt when he injured himself crashing into the advertising boards the previous night.

Assured alliance

Both Kusal and Dilruwan had made only minimal contributions previously in the three-match series with the all-rounder Dilruwan having been dropped for the second Test while there was speculation that Kusal, the experienced but out-of-form opening batsman, would have been omitted from this final Test were it not for the suspension of regular captain Dinesh Chandimal for ball tampering in the previous match in St Lucia.

However, they both played with great determination, weathering the storm from the West Indies fast bowlers in an unbroken seventh-wicket partnership of 63. Kusal finished unbeaten on 28 with Dilruwan on 23.

It was Dilruwan who made the winning hit, hoisting Holder over mid-off for the boundary that sealed only Sri Lanka’s second Test victory in the West Indies. “Me and Kusal play for the same club so we know each other,” said a delighted Dilruwan in savouring the victory.

One-man show

“That experience and knowledge of each other’s games helped a lot because it was challenging. The pitch was bit uneven.”

For Holder, it was a cruel final twist of fate in a match in which he excelled all-around. His dismissal of Kusal Mendis, leg-before without adding to his overnight score of 25, was his fifth wicket of the innings and he finished with innings figures of five for 41 and a match analysis of nine for 59.

Read: Rahane's exclusion from limited-overs squad a surprise for Vengsarkar

Holder also contributed a top score of 74 in the West Indies first innings of 204 and was just one of four batsmen to get into double-figures when it crashed to 93 — its lowest-ever total in a Test innings in Barbados — on the third evening. He was the obvious choice as “Man of the Match,” small consolation for his team failing to finish the job.

‘Quick turnaround’

“We just did not have enough runs in the second innings,” Holder reflected. “We missed some chances in the field but it won’t put us down because we have a quick turnaround for the series against Bangladesh starting next week.”

Read: Arjuna Ranatunga blames board for tampering fiasco

Despite that early success, which raised hopes for the West Indies mowing through the tail in the same manner of 24 hours earlier in Sri Lanka’s first innings, none of the other bowlers could match their skipper’s probing accuracy and penetration. Shannon Gabriel failed to add to his series-leading tally of 20 wickets while the experienced Kemar Roach and seamer Miguel Cummins lacked potency when it was most needed for the home side to clinch its first series victory in six years against a team ranked higher than itself.

Leading from the front

“Our second innings bowling won us the game,” said Sri Lanka coach Chandika Hathurusingha. “We always had hope but the way the game progressed we were under pressure. Credit to all four bowlers. Suranga (Lakmal) led from the front.”

Charged with the responsibility of leadership for the first time at senior international level, Lakmal could not disguise the delight at his team’s achievement. “I didn’t expect to be made captain but I thought it was a good opportunity to lead and I took it,” he said. “I’m happy with my contributions but all the bowlers did very well.”

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment