April 04, 2008	Friday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 26, 1429

PORT-OF-SPAIN (Trinidad), April 3: Fidel Edwards captured two wickets in the final hour before lunch as Sri Lanka reached 89-2 on the opening day of the second and final Test against West Indies on Thursday.

At the interval, Michael Vandort was not out on 27 with captain Mahela Jayawardene not out on 12.

After a shaky start, Vandort and Malinda Warnapura grew in confidence and Sri Lanka strode confidently to 62 without loss before Edwards struck twice in the space of 12 balls.

Warnapura, playing loosely off the back-foot, edged a drive and was caught low at third slip for 35 in Edwards’ third over.

Kumar Sangakkara was then caught behind for 10 playing defensively forward in the fast bowler’s fourth over to leave the visitors 72 for two.

Greeted by a helpful Queen’s Park Oval pitch, things had gone wonderfully Sri Lanka’s way in the first hour of the morning.

Vandort was fortunate that umpire Billy Bowden ruled in his favour, when Daren Powell and West Indies appealed for an lbw verdict.

TV replays suggested that the tall, left-handed Sri Lanka opener was hit plumb in front by a fast, full, straight delivery which pitched on a length, on the line of middle stump, and straightened.

Warnapura, on 12, then saw Dwayne Bravo floor a regulation chance at third slip off Jerome Taylor with Sri Lanka on 21 without loss in the sixth over of the morning.

Vandort too, benefited from the West Indies’ epidemic of sloppy catching, when Powell failed to grab a sharp return catch with Sri Lanka on 39 without loss in the 11th over.

In between their run of good fortune, the two Sri Lanka openers put away anything loose with Warnapura striking eight boundaries including a handsome-looking drive through mid-off off Taylor, and Vandort five fours, one of them a sweetly-timed flick off Powell.

West Indies made two changes to their line-up.

They brought left-handed opener Sewnarine Chattergoon and fast bowler Edwards in to replace injured left-handed batsman Ryan Hinds and left-arm spin bowler Sulieman Benn.

Sri Lanka also made two changes.

They included batsman Chamara Silva for injured wicket-keeper/batsman Prasanna Jayawardene, and fast bowler Ishara Amerasinghe for left-arm spin bowler Rangana Herath.

Scoreboard

SRI LANKA (1st Innings):

M.G. Vandort not out 27

M. Warnapura c C’tergoon b Edwards 35

K.C. Sangakkara c Ramdin b Edwards 10

D.P.M.D. Jayawardene not out 12

EXTRAS (LB-3, W-1, NB-1) 5

TOTAL (for two wkts, 23 overs) 89

FALL OF WKTS: 1-62, 2-72.

TO BAT: T.T. Samaraweera, T.M. Dilshan, L.P.C. Silva, W.P.U.J.C. Vaas, M.T.T. Mirando, M. Muralitharan, M.K.D.I. Amerasinghe.

BOWLING (to-date): Powell 7-4-26-0 (1w); Taylor 5-1-29-0; Edwards 6-1-13-2 (1nb); Gayle 1-1-0-0; Bravo 4-1-18-0.

WEST INDIES: D.S. Smith, S. Chattergoon, R.R. Sarwan, M.N. Samuels, S. Chanderpaul, C.H. Gayle, D.J. Bravo, D. Ramdin, J.E. Taylor, D.B.L. Powell, F.H. Edwards.

UMPIRES: S.J.A. Taufel (Australia) and B.F. Bowden (New Zealand).

TV UMPIRE: G.E. Greaves (West Indies).

MATCH REFEREE: B.C. Broad (England).—AFP