Published: Oct 21, 2015, 06:57 PM (IST)
Edited: Oct 21, 2015, 07:47 PM (IST)
Sri Lanka and West Indies face off in the second Test at the P Sara Oval in Colombo on Thursday. While the first Test at Galle turned out to be a largely one-sided affair, with Sri Lanka beating the tourists by an innings and six runs, it did provide for some interesting contests between players from either sides. Vishal Mehra lists some of the interesting duels that fans of either teams can expect in the second game. LIVE CRICKET SCORECARD: Sri Lanka vs West Indies 2015, 2nd Test at Colombo (PSS)
Rangana Herath vs Darren Bravo: Herath, 37, looked at his potent best picking up 10 for 147 in the first Test where he was a thorn for West Indian batsman. Notwithstanding his age, Herath keeps performing day in and day out. As for Darren Bravo, who is said to be the next Brian Charles Lara, he needs to take his batting a notch higher if he intends to remotely scale the retired West Indian batting legend. Darren, who constructed a well-made 50 and 31 in the first Test, has to play with more grit and induce more charisma into his style of play. With Herath getting Darren out once, this battle up shall certainly be one to look out for.
Dhammika Prasad vs Jermaine Blackwood: With Prasad leading 2-0 in his duels in with Blackwood, the latter would be sure to turn the tide over in the upcoming match. Blackwood would want to cross this 100-mark barrier at the P Sara Oval after nearly breaching it at Galle. Prasad who is recently been fiery with his bowling and words (ask Ishant Sharma) would want to maintain his form. Will Prasad make it three in a row, or will Blackwood give it back is what remains to be seen.
Dimuth Karunaratne vs Devendra Bishoo: Karunaratne is having a fairly good year with the bat, and would want to carry on piling runs in the upcoming contests. With 604 runs already this year, which includes two centuries, he is one batsman for the future for Sri Lanka. Already making a brilliant 186 in the last match, he would want to start off from here he left. Bishoo would want to emulate Ashwin’s success against Karunarathne, with the latter getting him out cheaply twice during the Sri Lanka-India Test series. Bishoo, who bowled well against the Lankan batsman, looked very much in groove by picking up four wickets. Karunarathne and Bishoo are both in form and will be eager to get the better of the other.
Dinesh Chandimal vs Jerome Taylor: Chandimal is in red hot form since the India series and is getting better with every match, having posted another 150 in the first Test match. He thus would be aiming a much higher score in the coming matches. The only person who can cause some fiery road bumps is Taylor, who dismissed him in the first Test. Taylor seemingly bowled lesser than usual overs, and was sporadic at times. He will be the Windies’ best change to get Chandimal out for cheap before he again goes on a run scoring blitzkrieg.
Angelo Mathews vs Jason Holder: The clash of the captains, with each looking to prove a point (Holder being the more desperate one). Mathews, who had a decent outing in the first Test, would want to get more runs for the team and himself. Holder will fight for himself as a captain and as a player in the team. Holder got the better of Mathews (caught & bowl) while Mathews ran him out of the park. So as placed right now it is a even, the tussle for bragging rights as a supreme all-rounder is heating up and 2nd Test is where it all boils down to.
(Vishal Mehra is a reporter at CricketCountry.)
