For the first time since February 2023, West Indies celebrated a Test series triumph as the second match against Sri Lanka in Antigua ended in a run-filled draw, handing them a 1-0 series victory. Remarkably, this also marked their first series win over Sri Lanka in 23 years. West Indies Celebrate Series Win After Exciting Draw.
TOSS
Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat first.
PLAYING XI
West Indies:
John Campbell, Brandon King, Kavem Hodge, Amir Jangoo, Shai Hope (w), Roston Chase (c), Justin Greaves, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Jayden Seales, Anderson Phillip
Sri Lanka:
Nishan Madushka, Lahiru Udara, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Kusal Mendis (w), Sonal Dinusha, Milan Priyanath Rathnayake, Isitha Wijesundera, Prabath Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando
DAY 1
Forced into three changes due to injuries, Sri Lanka wasted no time in batting first. Nishan Madushka announced his arrival by driving the second ball of the match to the boundary. However, his stay was brief — Shamar Joseph dismissed the opener and, just a few overs later, sent Chandimal on his way too. Both batters played regulation deliveries straight to fielders, making the walk back a disappointing one.
Udara and Kamindu took on the rebuilding task without retreating into caution. Udara, in particular, looked sharp and fluent, dispatching boundaries at will and racing to his half-century off just 59 deliveries. The momentum carried through the lunch interval, with Sri Lanka gradually tightening their grip. Udara smashed a waist-high full toss from Alzarri Joseph for six to move into the 80s, then brought up a breathtaking century with his third maximum of the innings. The stroke play continued relentlessly—Udara hit his fourth six in the following over, while Kamindu clubbed three boundaries in the next.
This rich vein of attacking play pushed Sri Lanka’s run rate well above five per over, leaving West Indies scrambling for a breakthrough. By the time the partnership was broken, the duo had set a new record for the highest stand by any Sri Lankan pair against West Indies. Kamindu lost his footing to a delivery drifting down leg, and Shai Hope executed a sharp stumping against the flow of play. Though Kamindu fell 16 short of a hundred, Udara pressed on alongside skipper Dhananjaya de Silva, who had already notched a century in the first Test.
Dhananjaya and Udara combined for another 93 runs, piling on the pressure. Udara reached 150 with a crisp boundary and appeared well on course to build another half-century before the close. A fifth six took Sri Lanka past 300, but just three deliveries before the second new ball was due, Udara top-edged to be dismissed for 188 — a dozen runs short of a double century. Two balls into the new ball, Seales found the outside edge of the Sri Lankan captain with a sharp outswinger. With both frontline batters back in the dressing room near stumps, West Indies saw a path back into the game, though Sri Lanka already sat comfortably on 338.
DAY 2
West Indies would have been eager to press with the new ball barely three overs old at the resumption. An early scalp could have opened up the Sri Lankan tail, but Dinusha made his purpose clear immediately, cracking the third ball of the day for four. Kusal joined in at the other end with a tidy boundary off Alzarri before pulling the same bowler for two more. Dinusha then greeted Shamar Joseph warmly with another four, though it was Kusal who inflicted the real punishment — hammering the seamer for a six and a four in quick succession to put Sri Lanka firmly back in charge. West Indies were further undone in the field when John Campbell put down a routine chance that should have ended Kusal’s stay at 23.
Both batters navigated a disciplined spell before lunch with care, then shifted up a gear in the second session. A burst of boundaries from each left West Indies rattled and brought up their respective half-centuries. Kusal, who brought up his fifty with a towering shot, then went after Roston Chase for another six. Against the tide, West Indies finally got their moment after the drinks break when Kusal bottom-edged onto his stumps.
Milan Rathnayake provided enough lower-order grit to nudge Sri Lanka past 500. Dinusha, meanwhile, looked set for a well-deserved hundred after striking back-to-back fours into the 90s, only to fall to a leading edge. After Tea, Sri Lanka batted on for around seven overs before declaring near the 550 mark. That left the hosts facing 24 overs before stumps, with Sri Lanka eager to apply immediate pressure.
Asitha Fernando drew first blood, coaxing an edge from King to second slip, but West Indies dug in after that. Campbell held firm at one end, while Hodge endured a nervy time, surviving two dropped chances to finish unbeaten on just 6 from 41 deliveries. With the pivotal third day approaching, West Indies would need plenty more of that fighting spirit to stay in contention.
DAY 3
Sri Lanka’s bowlers took the field hoping to build on the enormous platform their batters had set with 549/9. But the surface offered little assistance, making every breakthrough hard-earned. Campbell and Hodge resumed on 58/1 and moved West Indies past 100 in a composed first hour. Campbell ticked past his half-century but was eventually caught at deep mid-wicket off a short delivery from Asitha Fernando, departing for a valuable 72.
Sri Lanka found their footing after lunch when left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya struck twice in quick succession. He first removed Amir Jangoo — the standout performer of the first Test — with a ball that gripped the rough, turned sharply and clipped the inside edge to short leg. In the same testing spell, Jayasuriya produced another delivery that dipped, turned, and found a faint outside edge off Hodge’s forward prod to account for him for 31 off 139 balls.
Hope and Greaves then came together and simply refused to take any chances, nudging the innings steadily forward. Given West Indies’ series lead, the burden rested squarely on Sri Lanka to press hard and build a commanding first-innings advantage. But the two batters made that task look impossible, seeing out the final 54 overs of the day between them.
Both brought up their fifties and added the occasional boundary as Sri Lanka’s bowling threat gradually faded. Hope closed the day on 86*, Greaves on 85*. With centuries likely on the fourth morning, their extended vigil put West Indies in an increasingly comfortable position to save the match.
DAY 4
If Day 3 was about igniting a comeback, Day 4 was about firmly planting the flag. Hope and Greaves showed no urgency to accelerate initially, yet the runs accumulated steadily. Hope raised his fifth Test century — his first on home soil — while Greaves completed his third Test hundred, to the delight of the Antigua crowd.
Just before lunch, though, the stand ended in rather peculiar fashion. Hope let a looping delivery on the leg side go through to the keeper, who failed to gather it cleanly. The ball ricocheted off the keeper’s gloves onto the stumps, and Hope was caught short of his crease. That brought an end to a monumental 242-run partnership spanning 76.1 overs.
Greaves pressed on alongside Roston Chase, who was subjected to a sustained barrage of short-pitched deliveries from Fernando. Chase eventually fended off a bouncer to the keeper. Fernando’s aggressive spell also accounted for two more wickets—Anderson Phillip and Shamar—while Milan Ratnayake dismissed Alzarri. West Indies crumbled from 438/5 to 499 all out, with Greaves closing out an exceptional 180.
In response, Shamar and Seales produced a lively opening spell that rattled Sri Lanka’s top order. Udara fell as early as the second over, pinned leg before by Shamar, while Alzarri removed Madushka to leave Sri Lanka wobbling at 32/2. The arrival of Kamindu Mendis steadied things momentarily—his 30 not out off just 35 balls featured three fours and a six, and Chandimal finished on 40* off 66. Their unbroken 60-run stand handed Sri Lanka some breathing space, but with only one day remaining and a series salvage mission to complete, time was very much against them.
DAY 5
On the final day, Sri Lanka batted with clear purpose and urgency. They advanced rapidly from their overnight total of 92/2, with captain Dhananjaya de Silva, Dinusha, and Rathnayake each contributing quick-fire knocks. The strategy was straightforward—set West Indies a target well beyond their reach while still leaving enough time for their bowlers to attempt a late charge. West Indies responded with tight, defensive lines, looking to slow Sri Lanka’s scoring. But the visitors rattled along at 5.79 runs per over in the morning session, adding 139 runs despite losing wickets as they took calculated risks. They went to lunch with a lead of 281 and returned to push it beyond 300 before declaring.
Despite some uneven bounce from Sri Lanka’s pacers, the West Indies openers Campbell and King remained undisturbed. Two brief rain showers interrupted play around Tea, but neither was prolonged enough to halt proceedings permanently, and play resumed after each break. During one of these interruptions, Jayasuriya thought he had trapped King leg before, with the on-field umpire initially agreeing — only for a batter’s review to overturn the decision.
In the final session, both King and Campbell surpassed their respective fifties without alarm, and a few overs later both sides shook hands, settling for a draw.
Brief Scores
Sri Lanka 549/9 decl. (Lahiru Udara 188, Sonal Dinusha 92, Kamindu Mendis 84; Jayden Seales 2-98, Shamar Joseph 2-98) & 251/9 decl. (Dinesh Chandimal 71, Kamindu Mendis 44; Alzarri Joseph 2-44)
drew with
West Indies 499 (Justin Greaves 180, Shai Hope 112; Asitha Fernando 5-130) & 109/0 (John Campbell 51*, Brandon King 51*)
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