There is all to play for when West Indies host Sri Lanka in the second Test match of the two-game series beginning in Antigua on Monday, and after a very good first Test we should hopefully get a decent and competitive game to round off the Sri Lankan tour of the Caribbean.
The first Test was drawn last week but had plenty of twists and turns along the way so hopefully we get something similar to keep us entertained for the five days here given that the series is on the line in this match.
West Indies
Having dominated the ODI series which preceded the Test matches, it looked like West Indies were well on their way to doing something similar in the red ball contests when they shot their opponents out on the opening day of the first game but gradually they allowed Sri Lanka back into proceedings and eventually the West Indies had to bat out a tricky final day just to seal a draw from a match they were in a position to win comfortably at one stage.
We can allow the West Indies letting Sri Lanka back into the game because they don’t play enough Test cricket to know when to put the foot on the throat and recognise the key parts of matches but if they want to become a good side in the format again they will need to recognise that quite quickly under their new captain. The positive is that they did bat out that final day and got a draw and they deserve a lot of credit for that.
Sri Lanka
Given where they were after the limited overs leg of the tour and indeed where they have been in Test cricket for a while, Sri Lanka came out of the first game with a good deal of cricket. They might not have been at their best on the opening day but given that they had struggled with the bat throughout the tour to get themselves into the position they did with their big second innings was a wonderful effort.
They will have come away from that match feeling a little deflated or disappointed that they couldn’t or didn’t get the job done in the end but if they can perform how they did in the middle three days of the match again this week then you would think they will have every chance of departing the Caribbean with a series win to their name. What they can’t afford to do is see the plane home and not come up with their best cricket.
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Team News
West Indies are likely to be unchanged for this match. They might have thought about replacing the ineffective Shannon Gabriel but there is no other seamer in their squad and you wouldn’t think they could bring a spinner in for him.
Sri Lanka may well decide to go in with the same starting XI as well and just hope that they begin the game a little better. If they do make a change then given how well he went in the white ball leg of the tour Wanindu Hasaranga could come in.
Betting
I’ll finish the tour with one bet which once again comes in the player performance markets which have served us pretty well in Test cricket this winter. The performance I like here belongs to Kemar Roach which is very much on the low looking side at 82.5 points for someone who is a seasoned performer and who will keep on coming in for his captain no matter what the situation is. He gets the new ball too which helps.
Roach took six wickets in the first Test match so he covered this line pretty early in the Sri Lanka second innings. He also scored five runs so he ended up with a total of 125.5, way above his target here. Jason Holder took five wickets in the first innings of that game and he doesn’t do that very often so there might be even more wickets for Roach to pick up here. He’s a pretty solid batsman in his own right too so if he can get a partnership with someone established he might be able to polish some of this line off with the bat so I’m happy to round off the tour with the over on this line.
Tips
Back K.Roach’s Performance – Over 82.5pts for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Betfair
Back him here:
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