April 03, 2008	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 25, 1429

PORT-OF-SPAIN (Trinidad), April 2: Sri Lanka can kill the proverbial two birds with one stone when they face West Indies in the second and final Test, starting on Thursday at the Queen’s Park Oval.

When Sri Lanka flew into the region a fortnight ago, they had a single objective on their mind – to win a Test series on Caribbean soil for the first time.

They gained a welcomed boost to their chances when they clinched the opening Test at the Guyana National Stadium by 121 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the brief series.

But there is an extra special reason that Sri Lanka will pursue victory vigorously in the second Test – and that is to become the first side visiting the Caribbean to sweep a Test series of any length.

In the 80 years that West Indies have been a Test-playing nation, no side has ever come into their backyard and embarrassed them with a series sweep, although West Indies have achieved this several times on foreign soil.

West Indies captain Chris Gayle is well aware that his side faces an enormous challenge to win and level the series. Gayle would love to make a couple of changes to fortify the West Indies line-up, but the selectors have tied his hands, since they have retained the same squad from the first Test, except for left-hander Ryan Hinds, who will miss the Test because of a hamstring strain.

One of the places up for grabs is the opening slot alongside Gayle — although the West Indies captain dropped down the order in the second innings of the opening Test, he said he would return to the top for the second Test.

Beanpole left-arm spin bowler Sulieman Benn did reasonably well on his Test debut and both Gayle and coach John Dyson favour his retention, but hometown boy Amit Jaggernauth has made strong claims for his first Test cap, following a 10-wicket match haul in a West Indies domestic first-class match against Barbados.

Teams (from):

West Indies: Chris Gayle (captain), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Sulieman Benn, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Fidel Edwards, Amit Jaggernauth, Daren Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Marlon Samuels, Devon Smith, Jerome Taylor.

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Kumar Sangakkara, Ishara Amerasinghe, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Rangana Herath, Prasanna Jayawardene, Nuwan Kulasekera, Muttiah Muralitharan, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Thilan Thushara Mirando, Chaminda Vaas, Michael Vandort, Malinda Warnapura, Chanaka Welegedera.—AFP