Freed from the duties of captaincy, all-rounder Jason Holder took 5/27 as West Indies bowled out Sri Lanka for 169 on the primary day of the primary Test. Holder was changed earlier this month as captain by Kraigg Brathwaite, who selected to bowl after successful the toss on the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Sunday.
Holder backed up that call along with his eighth five-wicket bag in Tests, accomplished in 17.4 overs. He was supported by Kemar Roach who began slowly however discovered his size within the second session and took 3/47.
West Indies batted cautiously by way of the ultimate hour to attain 13-0 at stumps. Brathwaite, batting in sun shades, was 3 not out from 36 balls and John Campbell was on 7 from 44.
The West Indies bowlers didn’t get pleasure from instant success with the brand new ball and 10 overs had elapsed earlier than the primary wicket fell. Rahkeem Cornwall eliminated Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne for 12 and that started the unraveling of the Sri Lanka prime order.
Brathwaite brilliantly ran out Oshada Fernando for 4 and Holder claimed his first wicket when he dismissed Dinesh Chandimal (4) to depart Sri Lanka 54/3 at lunch. Roach was notably efficient between lunch and tea, dismissing Dhananjaya de Silva (13) and Pathum Nissanka (9), caught by Holder, to depart Sri Lanka 92/5.
Opener Lahiru Thirimanne and wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella mixed in a partnership of 58 for the sixth wicket which lifted the vacationers to 150/6. Dickwella was out at that complete for 32 and Thirimanne adopted at 160/7, bowled by Holder for 70.
Thirimanne’s battling innings gave some power to Sri Lanka’s struggling prime and center order. He wasn’t commanding and he hit solely 4 boundaries in an innings of virtually 5 hours. But he was resilient, standing in opposition to the whole collapse of the Sri Lanka innings.
Thirimanne scored principally by working the ball into the leg aspect, behind sq. or by way of mid-wicket. He reached his seventh check half century in 129 minutes. The Sri Lanka innings contained solely 11 fours and no sixes, a mark of the accuracy of the bowling and the testing nature of the pitch.
“I’m glad I could put us in a great position,” Holder mentioned. “There was a little bit of moisture up entrance and we most likely did not make the most of the brand new ball in addition to we’d’ve preferred.
“But it was good for myself and Kemar to set them up. We knew if we make early inroads, we could get into their lower order. It was a good day for Kraigg Brathwaite as captain. Winning the first day was crucial and hopefully we can press home the advantage.”
