April 06, 2008	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 28, 1429

PORT-OF-SPAIN (Trinidad), April 5: Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan picked up two of the three remaining wickets to help dismiss West Indies for 294 on the third day of the second Test on Saturday.The hosts, who were 268 for seven overnight, added just 26 runs in the morning session to lead by 16 runs on the first innings as Muralitharan, the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket, ended with figures of five for 79.

Chaminda Vaas made the first breakthrough when he trapped Jerome Taylor lbw for 13 and then Muralitharan accounted for the last recognised batsman, wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin who snicked a top-spinner and was also out for 13.

Daren Powell was leg before to Muralitharan for three to end the innings.

On Friday, Sri Lanka clawed their way back into the match, snapping up six West Indies wickets in the final session to leave the match finely balanced.

The home team had gone into tea on 133 for one in reply to Sri Lanka’s 278 all out.

Muralitharan did most of the damage, removing Ramnaresh Sarwan (57), Marlon Samuels (3) and Devon Smith (47).

There were some positives from the hosts’ batting with debutant opener Sewnarine Chattergoon scoring 46 before he was bowled by Vaas and captain Chris Gayle produced a hard-hitting 45 that dealt with some of the concerns about his ability to deal with Vaas’s left-arm swing.

Smith, an opener who was dropped down to No 6, looked confident in his knock but fell to a doosra from Muralitharan just five balls before play was ended due to bad light.

Apart from Marlon Samuels, trapped lbw by Muralitharan for just three — all of the top order West Indies batsmen got settled but were unable to make the kind of innings defining knock that wins games.

Sarwan in particular impressed with his half century coming off 75 balls, the Guyanese batsman enjoying a 79-run partnership with compatriot and close friend Chattergoon.

But as so often, Muralitharan took away the momentum from the home side.

Sri Lanka lead the two-Test series 1-0.

Scoreboard

SRI LANKA (1st Innings) 278 (L.P.C. Silva 76, T.M. Dilshan 62; F.H. Edwards 4-84).

WEST INDIES (1st Innings, overnight 268-7):

C.H. Gayle c Vandort b Thushara 45

S. Chattergoon b Vaas 46

R.R. Sarwan c Warnapura b Murali 57

M.N. Samuels lbw b Murali 3

S. Chanderpaul lbw b Thushara 18

D.S. Smith b Murali 47

D.J. Bravo lbw b Amerasinghe 26

D. Ramdin c Jayawardene b Murali 13

J.E. Taylor lbw b Vaas 13

D.B.L. Powell lbw b Murali 3

F.H. Edwards not out 1

EXTRAS (LB-5, W-2, NB-15) 22

TOTAL (all out, 76.2 overs) 294

FALL OF WKTS: 1-58, 2-137, 3-141, 4-177, 5-199, 6-246, 7-266, 8-289, 9-291.

BOWLING: Vaas 23-1-76-2 (8nb); Amerasinghe 12-1-62-1; Thushara 12-0-72-2 (5nb, 2w); Muralitharan 29.2-4-79-5 (2nb).—Reuters